The two new laboratory buildings being constructed on Regeneron Pharmaceutical’s north campus in Tarrytown, New York, feature a two-phase construction schedule. The first consists of building the steel frame and cladding it with architectural precast concrete panels and curtain wall. Then a second contractor takes over to install the sensitive research and laboratory equipment needed for the employees.
“Our job is to complete the core and shell and create wide-open floors so the next phase of work can begin,” explains John Ruggiero, project manager at John Moriarty & Associates, the general contractor on the project. That portion was complicated enough, he notes. “They’re not conventional looking buildings of simple rectangles. There’s a lot of complexity with radiuses and angles to deal with. It makes them tricky.”
The architectural design, by Perkins+Will, features a variety of setbacks and extensions that add geometric shapes and visual appeal. The buildings, encompassing about 300,000 square feet in all (180,000 and 120,000 square feet apiece), each feature two wings that meet at the middle at an obtuse angle, creating a wedge shape that leads visitors to the entries.
The precast concrete panels serve as a frame for curtain wall on upper floors, with curtain wall used across the base as well. Some corners have the architectural precast concrete panels extending past the adjoining curtain wall, while others feature curtain wall on the corners meeting up with the panels further over. Coreslab Structures (CONN) Inc. fabricated the precast concrete components.
About 56,000 square feet of architectural precast concrete panels were erected, featuring a light sandblast finish and color to simulate a limestone appearance. About 350 panels were erected, with some large panels requiring close attention to handling. “There was plenty of room on the site to stage the panels, as the buildings are in a fairly isolated portion of the campus,” Ruggiero explains.
Scheduling was the biggest challenge, he notes, as the interiors contractor needed as much time as possible to complete its complex installations of sensitive equipment. “It was a lot of work to meet the schedule, but it’s going smoothly. The precast concrete erection was pretty standard and went up smoothly.” The first phase of work is expected to be completed in spring 2015, with the rest to follow in the fall. A precast concrete parking structure also is being built as part of the project.
Coreslab Structures Inc. fabricated all of the precast concrete components. |