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Background |
The WPI Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center is a 4 storey, graduate academic and corporate research complex. The facility consists of a new chemistry building and a renovated mill building, connected through a shared amenies structure where retail, rest rooms, elevators and meeting spaces are located. |
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Challenges |
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The research spaces needed to flexible to accommodate future changes, an example was the constantly shifting demands of the bio-tech start-up incubator space on the ground floor |
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The program of uses needed to be optimized to make the best use of the renovated mill building and save the new building areas for the most intense lab uses |
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The MRI facility was added to the project program after final CD’s had begun, and as such, was determined to need to be undeground or as close to invisible as the ground water table would allow so as to not disturb the approved elevations of the facades |
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Solutions |
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The incubator labs were fitted with a ceiling mounted custom service core, similar to a surgical column, but much closer to the ceiling, constructed of commonly available parts |
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The mill building was prioritized for office and dry lab uses while the wet labs and other heavy lab uses were focused in the new building |
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The MRI “box” was shoved downward until the geotechnical engineer informed us we were in the seasonal water table. So we raised it up and created a raised green roof over the MRI box and graded up to the roof level along the side of the south parking lot entry |
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Services provided on behalf of Tsoi Kobus & Associates |
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