Project Profile: University of Central Florida Research I
From Building Central Florida magazine, January/February 2019 edition, featuring CPPI’s University of Central Florida Research I project :
January marks one year since the University of Central Florida’s Research I Building opened its doors to UCF faculty and colleagues from various colleges and centers. Together with architect Ponikvar & Associates and engineer of-record Moses & Associates, construction manager Charles Perry Partners, Inc. (CPPI) completed the 109,575 square foot building near the end of 2017. The facility is strategically placed on campus and is surrounded by other innovation facilities, including Engineering and the College of Optics and Photonics.
Research I represents a large step in UCF’s mission to establish itself as one of the country’s top research universities. The project is a three-story research building that houses 78 labs, eight lab-support rooms, 75 office spaces, and includes over 6,500 square feet of conference and collaboration space. CPPI and UCF worked to ensure that the health and safety of faculty, students, and staff working within Research I was the first priority. CPPI installed 52 fume hoods for safe ventilation in lab rooms, and various facility features meet safety criteria well above standard code requirements.
Faculty, students, and staff at Research I complete work in nanoscience technology, advanced materials processing and analysis, lasers and photonics, and energy research. Research I also houses the Faculty Cluster Initiative, UCF’s group of 50 faculty members focused on solving today’s toughest scientific and societal challenges through teaching and research. Prior to the completion of Research I, many UCF research staff members were working in rented space off campus at Central Florida Research Park. The completion of Research I has unified the research teams in a one centrally located building on campus.
Research I’s steel structure is clad with an elegant combination of curtain wall, brick, aluminum panels, and architectural precast panels. The building blends well with the surrounding architecture, yet exudes a 21st century aesthetic.
The structure was designed and constructed to accommodate two Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) rooms that house multi-million dollar electron microscopes. These rooms were built with 36-inch thick concrete slabs in order to eliminate background noise and ground level vibration, which is critical to the functionality of the equipment.
The labs were also equipped with an air monitoring system that provides UCF with sustained energy savings by optimizing ventilation rates through its intelligent measurement solutions. The system tests the air in the labs every 30 seconds and if no particulates or volatile organic compounds are detected, the required air changes per hour are reduced from six to three, saving UCF up to 50 percent in HVAC energy costs.
This project was made truly special by the close and collaborative relationship between UCF, CPPI, Ponikvar & Associates, Moses & Associates, and various trade partners. This collaboration allowed the team to deliver a substantially technical project on time and under budget.
Interior Specialties provided the motorized shading system that covers windows in the Spectroscopy and Focused Ion Beam labs, as well as in the conference rooms for the UCF Research Project. The shading system chosen includes double motorized shades, providing both solar and blackout shading. Interior Specialties was proud to contribute to the project. The company has completed more than 30 projects on the UCF Campus.
Research I provides the infrastructure, atmosphere, and culture that UCF interdisciplinary research teams have long awaited. UCF plans to utilize its new resources to begin collaborations and programs in research, technology transfer, and commercialization. This much needed research space is helping UCF bridge the gap between the development of technology and the commercialization of technology for sale and use. Commercialization of new technology drives economic development not only for UCF, but across the region and state of Florida.
Research I is the winner of an ABC Eagle Award for excellence in construction, as well as a Construction Owners Association of America (COAA) Gold Award for project leadership. The building also attained LEED Gold Certification, a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement.
“UCF staff have been planning an interdisciplinary research facility for a decade. It was our pleasure at CPPI to deliver a functional and beautiful lab space that executed their vision of bringing UCF researchers and disciplines together on campus,” said CPPI Vice President/Principal Jason Morgan.
Research I Wins Prestigious Award
UCF Facilities Planning and Construction (FP&C) is excited to announce that FP&C has won the Construction Owner’s Association of America (COAA) Gold Project Management award in 2018 for our management of the Research I project. Research I is a 109,775 gsf building which has 78 labs, 8 lab support rooms, 75 offices, and over 6,500 sf of conference and collaboration space. The project is also LEED Gold Certified.
UCF is one of two universities in the nation to win this award (the other being Michigan State). This award recognized excellence in Owner’s project management. The Research I project was extremely complex – it had lofty interdisciplinary programmatic goals, it was designed and constructed in multiple phases, it had significant scope added during construction, and it was an extremely complicated and technical building. Collaboration between the Architect (Ponikvar), MEP Engineer (Moses), and Construction Manager (CPPI) was essential to the project’s success. Research I opened in January 2018 and continues to add research staff. The building will play a major part in reaching our UCF Collective Impact Strategic Plan goals.
The project also won an Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc (ABC’s) Eagle Award for excellence in construction, and is featured in ABC’s “Building Central Florida” publication, pages 22-23. See the link below for additional project information.
https://www.abccentralflorida.com/wp-content/uploads/delightful-downloads/2019/01/BCF_JanFeb_2019_web-1.pdf
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UCF Research 1 Building
The University of Central Florida Research I Building, constructed in two phases, provides UCF with critically needed space to enhance its research activities and to position it for large research projects and partnerships. The building houses more than 60 research/incubator labs of varying sizes as well as conference, meeting and informal gathering areas that encourage interaction among the multiple disciplines and tenants. One of the labs is designated as a Biosafety Lab Level 2 with biosafety cabinets and incubators.
TLC provided LEED v2009 NC enhanced commissioning of these major systems and equipment:
• Mechanical: 100% of labs, including supply, general exhaust, & fume exhaust venturi air valves serving fume hoods & chemical gas cabinets; N+1 high plume fume exhaust fans; sophisticated lab air quality controls for energy conservation measures; 100% OA lab AHUs, VAV AHUs & associated VAV and RHC equipment serving support spaces; chilled and hot water plant &distribution; TAB validation
• Electrical: Emergency power systems, including generators, automatic transfer switches, uninterruptible power source, lighting controls systems
• Plumbing: Gas-fired condensing water heating and associated booster and recirculating pumps
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Wearable Engineering Assistive robotics
Wearable Engineering and Assistive Robotics (WEAR) laboratory’s mission is to research wearable technologies to assist, enable and augment human performance and to develop assistive robots for real world applications. This 1400 -square-foot laboratory is located in Research 1 building (Room 313) facilitating research and development of innovative technologies, testing and evaluation of the developed technologies, and interdisciplinary collaborations.
The unique capabilities of the lab include the state-of-the-art equipment for high fidelity human movement biomechanics measurement as well as robotic platforms, sensors and embedded systems to implement and validate different design and control approaches while researching their impact on human performance, human-robot interactions and user acceptance.
Construction to Begin on Main Campus New Energy Plant
By Rachel Williams | January 31, 2017
Construction is set to begin on a new facility that will provide more resources to help affordably operate the growing University of Central Florida campus and serve as an educational tool for students.
District Energy Plant IV, a water plant that will break ground Feb. 1 on the northeast side of campus, will produce both chilled and hot water to cool and dehumidify buildings on campus, including the under-construction Research 1 Building, formerly called the Interdisciplinary Research and Incubator building. The plant’s energy-efficient materials combined with its overall life-cycle cost is estimated to save the university $121,000 annually in operation costs and resources.
“This project has been developed over three years and in many phases to ensure we meet our current and future energy demands in the most efficient way possible,” said Curtis Wade, director of UCF Utilities & Energy Services. “Our goal always is to ensure that energy at UCF remains as affordable and reliable as possible.”
Historical data of campus cooling and other energy demands were used by Utilities & Energy Services and Facilities Planning and Construction to design this project.
District Energy Plant IV will have the capacity to produce 8,000 tons of chilled water, but only 4,000 tons will be put in place in the first phase. One thousand tons of chilled water will be used by the Research 1 Building alone, and the remaining 3,000 tons will be added to the existing underground infrastructure that serves nearly 75 percent of main-campus buildings. Research 1 Building is a 100,000-square-foot, three-story building that will have a mix of research labs, conference rooms and offices when it opens later this year. At maximum capacity, District Energy Plant IV can support six additional buildings the size of the Research 1 Building.
The $14 million District Energy Plant IV project also is designed to serve as an educational tool for students. Interior pipes will be color coded, rather than just a “sea of pipes,” to better show the various water circuits involved in the plant’s operation, Wade said. Plus, an electric dashboard will display in real time the plant’s metrics, including efficiency, energy usage and dollar per ton being saved, to name a few. Plant tours will provide educational opportunities outside of the classroom for engineering disciplines.
“The campus grounds and the building itself can be used as a teaching tool, where we can blend academics with operations,” said Wade, who added that LEED certification, a high-performance green building rating system, will be pursued for the new plant. If granted, this will be UCF’s first industrial LEED certified facility on campus.
RLF Architects is the architect and engineer of record for the project, Exp is the third-party commissioning agent and LEED consultant, and Charles Perry Partners Inc. is the construction manager. The plant is expected to be complete in November.
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Campus UCF Main Campus Abbreviation R1
Research I – UCF Planning, Design and Construction. Originally titled the Interdisciplinary Research and Incubator Facility (IRIF), Research I is a 105,775gsf building containing 79 labs with a NFPA 45 rating, 84 offices, conference rooms, break rooms, and support rooms.
Research I represents a large step in UCF’s mission to establish itself as one of the country’s top research universities. The project is a three-story research building that houses 78 labs, eight lab-support rooms, 75 office spaces, and includes over 6,500 square feet of conference and collaboration space.
The long-awaited Research I building located between Engineering and CREOL is just about ready for business. Faculty members from various colleges and centers will begin moving into the 105,775-square-foot facility this month.
Research I is a 109,775 gsf building which has 78 labs, 8 lab support rooms, 75 offices, and over 6,500 sf of conference and collaboration space. The project is also LEED Gold Certified. UCF is one of two universities in the nation to win this award (the other being Michigan State).
in Orlando, FL; find buildings, locations, organizations and more at the University of Central Florida.
The University of Central Florida Research I Building, constructed in two phases, provides UCF with critically needed space to enhance its research activities and to position it for large research projects and partnerships.
This 1400 -square-foot laboratory is located in Research 1 building (Room 313) facilitating research and development of innovative technologies, testing and evaluation of the developed technologies, and interdisciplinary collaborations.
105775 sqft Research building, constructed in 2017.
Research 1 Building is a 100,000-square-foot, three-story building that will have a mix of research labs, conference rooms and offices when it opens later this year. At maximum capacity, District Energy Plant IV can support six additional buildings the size of the Research 1 Building.