Science Center | Tradeline, Inc.

Fulfilling the college's mission to create a research-rich, interdisciplinary science program, the 115,000-sf Center brings together the departments of biology, physics, chemistry, and psychology with state-of-the-art instrumentation and support. Since it opened its doors in January 2003, the Center has attracted a significant number of students, resulting in increased student research, according to the College.

Organized around a "racetrack"floor plan, the $36.5-million facility's shared resources are located in the center of the building's two wings with labs and classrooms around the perimeter. Rising from the first to the third floor, an 80' x 40' central, light-filled atrium creates a hub of faculty and student activities and serves as a visual integrator of the building. Departmental offices and the Science Center for Women are surround the atrium, linked by circulation pathways and informal seating.

On the ground floor, due to the sloping site, the east wing is partially underground, housing neurosciences, an imaging suite, a 1,200-sf vivarium, and mechanical space. The west wing, which is partially above ground, contains a 300-megahertz NMR, loading dock, stockroom, herbarium, and plant biology teaching and research labs with an adjacent 1,200-sf greenhouse. A 60-seat classroom is located in the center of the ground floor.

Psychology and physics departments are located on the first floor, along with seminar rooms, classrooms, and the Science Center for Women. Biology teaching and research labs are on the second floor with chemistry labs on the third floor. Laboratory support on the various levels includes preparation rooms, a tissue culture room, controlled environment rooms, an instrument room, and an electron microscope suite.

Wireless access is available throughout the building as is data and Internet connectivity. Most teaching labs have moveable tables, and utilities run overhead and are fed down to the casework. A mechanical penthouse is located on the roof.

Sited along a principal campus walkway, the Center facilitates pedestrian movement to and from academic buildings and athletic facilities. As a gathering space for non-science as well as science students, the atrium in particular has had the biggest impact. Filled with artwork inspired by science, including a floor-to-ceiling mural of the mitochondrial DNA of Agnes Scott, the mother of the founder of the college, the atrium is the site for many activities sponsored by the college and the community at large.

Project Information

Building Owner:

Agnes Scott College

Owner Contact:

Sandra Bowden, Professor of Biology, Project Shepherd/Overseer

Building Location:

Decatur, GA UNITED STATES

Project Type:

New Construction

Principal Building Function:

Science Research and Teaching

Project Delivery Method:

Construction Management

Project Timeline

Mar 1999	Planning Start
May 1999	Design Start
May 2001	Construction Start
Dec 2002	Completion
Last known status: Completed

Project Cost:

$36,500,000

Construction Cost:

$23,000,000

Cost Per Sq. Ft:

$200

About These Cost Figures

Building Information

Project Includes:

Atrium
Biology
Chemistry
Education
Education: Biology
Education: Chemistry
Education: Physics
Greenhouse
Laboratory
Laboratory: Chemistry
Laboratory: Teaching
Plant Growth Chambers
Research
Vivarium

Total GSF:

115,000

Total NSF:

60,500

Efficiency:

53%

Building Population:

750

People Density:

153 gsf/person

Building Services:

Hot water, cold water, Type 2 DI water, natural gas, laboratory vacuum, nitrogen and piped CO2 in selected spaces.

Special Equip:

Plant Growth Room, NMR, Electron Microscopy

Office Size:

200 NSF

Power Req:

17.52 w/nsf Lighting & Equipment: 9.81 w/nsf

HVAC Req:

1.17 cfm/nsf

Structure/Foundation:

Augar cast piles, concrete frame/steel frame at roof

Laboratory Parameters

Lab Module:

10'-4" x 30'

Casework Mat'l:

Red oak casework with epoxy resin benchtops

Project Team

Architect

Shepley Bulfinch

Builder

Brasfield & Gorrie

Consultant - Laboratory Design

Research Facilities Design (RFD)

Consultant - Landscape Architect

Roy Ashley and Associates

Engineer - MEP

Nottingham Brook & Pennington

Project Management

Carter & Associates

Supplier - Air Handlers

Trane Company

Supplier - Building Automation Controls

Phoenix Controls Corporation

Supplier - Carpet

Shaw Industries Inc.

Supplier - Casework

Fisher Hamilton

Supplier - Elevators

Thyssen Krupp

Supplier - Fume Hood Controls

Phoenix Controls Corporation

Profile Created 02/11/2004

Last Updated 04/04/2006

About the Reported Cost Figures

The cost figures reported are supplied by the firms that submitted these projects for publication, which in most cases are the designers or builders. Whereas these sources are intimately familiar with their projects, they may not be fully aware of the owners' finally-realized and recorded costs. In some cases, costs are truly and completely accounted for, and in others they represent a near approximation of the final costs. Costs have not been adjusted for year of construction, nor has any attempt been made to make regional cost adjustments.

Further, costs are not comparable on any kind of detailed standard costing model. Hence, it is possible for the cost of one building to include a steam boiler, while the cost of a comparable building might not include the boiler, if steam is being supplied from an already existing campus grid. Or, in another case, a building might include excess boiler capacity to supply steam to another building. Some submittals include fees or unusual site improvements as part of the construction costs, which others do not.

Fig. 1

Atrium

Fig. 2

Laboratory