Chemical Sciences Laboratory

The new facility houses 57 labs for upper and lower division Chemistry and Geology teaching and research; 17 research faculty offices; offices for the Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS); and a campus information kiosk.

The Chemistry Science Laboratory building provides more than 40,000 sf of laboratory and office space. It is subdivided into two wings served by an exterior atrium at each level and is physically organized with all lower division Chemistry laboratories at the topmost entry floor, followed by upper division labs at the fourth floor, research labs at the second and third levels, and the offices for EHS and information kiosk at the ground level. Passenger and freight elevators serve each level from the street entry point to the main campus core.

The modular laboratory space design contains more than 200 fume hoods, water, air, vacuum, natural gas, and nitrogen. The main utility lines run overhead into each room. Local access to the utilities is either from above via a utility drop panel or up from the countertop. Campus steam and chilled water is supplied to a VAV mechanical system to heat and cool the building.

The Chemistry Department at SDSU provides a substantial inventory of modern chemical instrumentation in support of teaching and research. Included are systems for the performance of nearly all major types of chemical separations: moderate- and high-resolution GC-mass spectrometric systems; ultraviolet-visible spectrometric instruments; electrochemical instrumentation; radiochemical instrumentation; laser systems for spectroscopy; 200-, 300-, and 500-MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers; and two Fourier Transform (FT) infrared spectrometers.

Housing for the NMR spectrometers was constructed using fiberglass non-ferrous reinforcing in pour-in-place concrete in the pit walls and floor, along with fiberglass angles for support of the fiberglass grate over the pit for the NMR. The plumbing is all non-ferrous material throughout the entire room. In-house support includes an NMR technician and an electronics technician.

Currently, SDSU is the only United States university to house an FT infrared spectrometer. The spectrometers are used for microscopy, ATR, diffuse reflection, reflection-absorption spectroscopy, photoacoustic spectroscopy, data manipulation, and quantitative analysis by FT-NIR spectroscopy. Infrared spectroscopy is the most popular and cost effective technique for the structural illumination of complex organic molecules.

The departmental computer lab has 16 personal computers with access to the SDSU campus network and the Internet. Four Silicon Graphics Indigo workstations are provided for molecular modeling. Additional computer resources are available through collaboration with scientists at the San Diego Supercomputer Center, a research unit of the University of California at San Diego.

Each floor on both wings of the facility is secured from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., accessible only by card key. The bridge, the arcade between the two the wings, and the passenger elevator and exit stairs are accessible 24 hours a day. SDSU has a campus-wide emergency call button system located on each floor of the arcade for contacting campus police.

Information for this profile provided by HDR Architecture Inc.

Project Information

Building Owner:

San Diego State University

Owner Contact:

Anthony Fulton, Director, Facilities Planning and Management

Building Location:

San Diego, CA UNITED STATES

Project Type:

New Construction

Principal Building Function:

Classrooms and Research

Project Delivery Method:

General Contractor

Project Timeline

Aug 1992	Planning Start
Oct 1992	Design Start
Nov 1997	Construction Start
Apr 2001	Completion
Last known status: Completed

Project Cost:

$30,000,000

Construction Cost:

$27,000,000

Cost Per Sq. Ft:

$270

About These Cost Figures

Building Information

Project Includes:

Chemistry
Education
Education: Chemistry
Education: Classroom
Education: Faculty Office
Geology
Laboratory
Laboratory: Chemistry
Laboratory: Teaching
Office: Researcher
Research

Total GSF:

100,800

Total NSF:

71,000

Efficiency:

70%

Building Population:

744

People Density:

136 gsf/person

Building Services:

DI, N2, compressed air, vacuum, natural gas, hot and cold water

Special Equip:

Environmental rooms: two constant temperature and two cold. Two Hazardous Material Storage Modules located outside in the chemical storage area. Flammable and acid cabinets located under the fume hoods.

Office Size:

9' 6" x 12' 6" NSF

Power Req:

38 watts/nsf

HVAC Req:

4 cfm/nsf

Structure/Foundation:

Reinforced poured concrete floor, beams and columns from first to fourth floors. The fifth floor, penthouse, and roof are steel framing.

Laboratory Parameters

Lab Module:

10' 6" x 31' 6"

Casework Mat'l:

Maple veneer custom cabinets with black epoxy resin countertops.

Fume Hoods:

200 fume hoods; variable sizes 8¢, 6¢, & 5¢ in length, variable types (chemical, ADA-complaint chemical, and walk-in)

Project Team

Architect

HDR Architecture Inc.

Builder

Blake Construction

Construction Management

R.G. Wade

Consultant - Civil Engineering

Rick Engineering Co.

Consultant - Electrical Engineer

R.E. Wall & Associates

Consultant - Landscape Architect

KTUA

Consultant - Mechanical Engineer

TKG Consulting Engineering Inc.

Consultant - Structural Engineer

Nowak + Meulmester Structural Engineers

Supplier - Access System

Continental Instruments

Supplier - Air Handlers

York International

Supplier - Building Automation Controls

Simplex Grinnel

Supplier - Building Automation Controls

Siebe Environmental

Supplier - Carpet

Collins & Aikman Floor Coverings Inc.

Supplier - Casework

RMA/ALC

Supplier - Elevators

KONE Inc.

Supplier - Flooring

Armstrong World Industries

Supplier - Fume Hood Controls

Phoenix Controls Corporation

Supplier - Fume Hoods

Airguard Ly-Line

Profile Created 06/12/2002

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

Chemistry Lab