May 25, 2006
New Research and Technology Building is open for business
The UW’s new Research and Technology Building is now open for business. The building, located just west of Publications Services, has its first occupants.
Research programs led by researchers in the College of Engineering are the first to occupy the building. Mani Soma, Mary Lidstrom, Deirdre Meldrum and Murray Hackett began moving their lab groups into the building in April.
The building is the first Design-Build-Operate-Maintain (DBOM) structure that the University has constructed. The benefit of this approach is that a single team of builders, designers and operators are bound together with a contractual incentive to provide both initial and long-term innovation and value to the University.
Currently the shell and core, including elevators and the mechanical and electrical systems, are already completed. But the shape and composition of the internal space is determined by the tenants, based upon their needs for wet labs, dry labs or offices. The building is designed so that it can meet current research needs but is flexible enough to be changed with relatively short notice.
Tenants will pay for the space based upon how much they occupy and how much it costs to build and use the space. “The model is structured so that one way researchers can pay for space is from the indirect cost return of their grant portfolio,” said Denis Martynowych, principal planner in the Capital and Space Planning Office.
A Web site, http://www.washington.edu/admin/pb/RT/index.htm, goes into detail about the funding model and includes some cost estimating tools, Martynowych said. Space allocation involves a two-step process, with both programmatic and financial considerations factored into allocation decisions.
The newly-occupied labs cover about 13,000 square feet and are located on the fourth floor of the six-floor building. Two other labs — one for the School of Medicine’s Department of Radiation Oncology radio chemistry lab and another College of Engineering lab in environmental microbiology have already committed to occupy the building.
“We are reviewing requests from several other units,” said Martynowych. “If they are approved, more than 60 percent of the building will be assigned.” The process for requesting space is to contact the Capital and Space Planning Office. Staff there will facilitate the review process for final approval of the assignment of space by Provost Phyllis Wise.
Because the building is not assigned to any department or college, it is particularly suitable for interdisciplinary research groups. Martynowych says that although some portions of the building — like the lowest level or another area with thickened floor — are ideal for research involving vibration-sensitive equipment such as a magnetic resonance imager, the structure as a whole is flexible enough to accommodate almost any use on any floor. As a bonus, many of the labs have a view of the water.
Once space is committed to a group, it takes about nine months for design and construction, Martynowych said. The University has a prime contract with Mortensen Construction; they are also the lead on the core and shell construction and the tenant build-out work. Collins Woerman, is providing design services and Johnson Controls Inc. is operating the building.
Anyone interested in space in the building should contact Martynowych at 206-543-7466 or denism@u.washington.edu. A formal building dedication is planned for the fall.
