Construction Cost

Brasfield & Gorrie’s virtual design and construction team is utilizing DroneDeploy software to enhance site planning, design, and safety. Drones can rapidly capture aerial images of a building site, and drone mapping software produces 3D point clouds for integration with Building Information Modeling (BIM) and virtual reality platforms. Brasfield & Gorrie has equipped each of their regional offices with DJI Inspire series drones which upload data to the DroneDeploy dashboard.

The University of Hawai’i at Mānoa will begin construction in late 2017 on the $50 million Life Sciences Building in Honolulu. Designed to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, the four-story, 45,000-sf facility will provide the College of Natural Sciences with classrooms, teaching and research laboratories, lab support spaces, and offices. Accommodating the departments of biology, microbiology, and botany, the building will also house the Pacific Biosciences Research Center and the Biological Electron Microscope Facility.

All lab work—experiments, equipment usage, write-ups—occurs on countertops, but these flat horizontal surfaces are rapidly changing. “Today, lab work surfaces need to be adaptable, flexible, ergonomic, mobile, reconfigurable, versatile, sustainable, design-oriented, aesthetically pleasing, cost-effective, and easy to install,” says Arnulf Penker, president of FunderMax, a designer and producer of wood-based materials and compact laminates in St. Veit an der Glan, Austria.

Renovating an existing science facility or constructing a new building at today’s busy colleges requires the right approach in order to minimize the impact on students and faculty, while also adhering to the institution’s financial goals and strategic plan. It is important to design the project in a manner that allows students to complete their courses, and for faculty to maintain their research and teaching schedules. This is achieved with one of three phasing strategies: using 100 percent temporary facilities, no temporary space, or a hybrid of both.

The U.S. economy grew at a healthy rate in the first quarter of 2017, adding roughly 176,000 jobs per month. Capital construction prices continued their 2016 trend, increasing at an average of 6 percent, depending on location. Construction job growth was approximately 89,000 or 1.3 percent nationally. Energy and commodity prices continue to remain at levels not seen since the 1990s, due to abundant international and domestic supplies combined with a strong U.S. dollar.

The Rockefeller University is constructing the $300 million Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Research Building in New York. Designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, the two-story, 135,600-sf facility will provide flexible, open laboratories, two amphitheaters, offices, conference rooms, a dining area, outdoor terraces, and a green roof. Completion is expected in 2019.

Just Biotherapeutics is integrating PODs® made by G-CON Manufacturing into the construction of its biologics manufacturing building in China. Located in the Hangzhou Economic & Technology Development Area (HEDA), the cGMP plant will utilize the prefabricated cleanroom units to create a highly flexible and efficient facility. Completion is expected by early 2018.

Construction prices increased an average of 6 percent in 2016, as energy and commodity prices remained at levels not seen since the 1990s, due in large part to the strength of the U.S. dollar. Five consecutive years of above-average cost escalation has driven the construction cost trendline to 3.3 percent. Price increases are attributed to robust construction activity allowing contractors to increase their margins as demand grows. The construction sector is also reaching full employment levels, which is expected to drive wage increases in the near to mid-term.

Value engineering (VE) can save money on a BSL-3 project without compromising facility operations, lifecycle costs, regulatory compliance, or biocontainment requirements; if managed correctly, VE is an opportunity to improve a project, not just a cost-cutting tactic.

3D Robotics (3DR) has created Site Scan, a drone-based aerial analytics platform that can be used as a Building Information Modeling (BIM) tool to digitize the construction site. Featuring Autodesk integration, Site Scan creates a 3D model from aerial photographs which is then overlaid on the original CAD designs to enable the construction team to identify problems and optimize scheduling operations. PCL Constructors is currently using 3DR’s Site Scan to enhance the project delivery process. 

Non-residential construction spending has dropped 6 percent since the beginning of 2016. This reduction was offset by a nearly equal increase in infrastructure spending and steady residential construction. Increases in construction prices for 2016 are now trending towards 6 percent annually, depending on location, while job growth saw a slight up-tick with an average of 192,000 jobs added per month in the third quarter of 2016 versus the 171,000 jobs per month averaged in the first half of the year.

DYNALABS completed a 15,500-sf expansion of its pharmaceutical testing facility in St. Louis in July of 2016. The $1.5 million project added wet and dry labs, offices, conference rooms, a glass wash, sample management and inspection areas, and storage and distribution space. Designed and constructed by The Artisan Building Co., the facility was delivered for less than half of the original cost estimates from other contractors, enabling DYNALABS to invest in further capital improvements such as the planned renovation of an existing cleanroom.

Retrofit or renovate? It’s a common question facing many owners of laboratory facilities built in the 1970s, and the answer isn’t always obvious. A simple retrofit of building systems can improve reliability and cut energy consumption significantly, but a gut renovation can be transformative by enhancing performance and providing associated benefits in recruitment and retention, quality of life, and scientific productivity––benefits that can more than offset the higher initial cost.

After a soft May, second quarter data indicates that job gains were stronger in June 2016, while economic activity has been expanding at a moderate rate. Overall job growth in the first two quarters of 2016 declined from an average of 245,000 per month to 172,000 per month. The slowing trend could be part of a cycle witnessed in previous expansions. Commodity prices appear to have stabilized at a reduced level, which increases room for inflation in construction and other sectors.

The Pennsylvania State University is planning a $44.5 million renovation and expansion of the Agricultural Engineering Building in University Park. Providing multidisciplinary laboratories and classrooms, the project will add 35,000 sf to the existing 64,533-sf (44,581-asf) structure. The building houses the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, a department jointly administered by the College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Engineering.