C.W. Driver Begins Construction of $110 Million Life Sciences Building at LMU

May 9, 2013 - PRLog -- C.W. Driver, a premiere builder serving the Western U.S. since 1919, has broken ground for the new 103,500-square-foot Life Sciences building at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles. The $110 million (total project cost), three-story building will serve as a teaching, research and laboratory facility for the Seaver College of Science and Engineering’s biology, chemistry and natural science departments. Designed to LEED® Silver specifications by Los Angeles-based CO Architects, construction on the building will begin May 13, 2013, and will be completed in two years.  

The facility will be built to promote interdisciplinary collaboration between faculty, students and researchers, while promoting sustainability and fostering indoor and outdoor connectivity.

         “Students will benefit from the functionality of the building itself, and from the exceptional equipment within,” said LMU’s Dean Richard G. Plumb of the Seaver College of Science and Engineering. “Our undergraduates currently have access to equipment that most students would not be allowed to touch until they began their Ph.D. programs. Having access to state-of-the-art equipment available in the new building will give students an enormous advantage when they apply to graduate school, dental, optometry or medical school, or pursuing careers in the allied health fields.”

The building will be constructed within the footprint of an existing parking area and will form the cornerstone of what will become the Seaver College Complex, which will include Pereira Hall, Seaver Hall and the new life sciences building -- creating one location for all the departments of the Seaver College of Science and Engineering. In addition to research and teaching laboratories, the new building will also include faculty offices, classrooms, shared public spaces, a 292-seat auditorium and a 372-vehicle underground parking structure.

Driven by the concept to “put science on display,” the classrooms and laboratories will have glass walls in the hallways, allowing other students and guests to observe the activity in these rooms. A particularly distinctive feature of the facility will be an open design to foster collaborative learning among students and faculty, and include multiple open spaces to encourage discussion and teamwork. Additionally, research and teaching laboratories will be configured for maximum exposure to promote visual and physical connectivity.

Designed to seek LEED® Silver certification, the project has capitalized on established and new sustainable technologies, such as green roofs and drought-tolerant vegetation that will be used as teaching tools in biology coursework; storm water retention planters that natural science students will monitor for pollutants; photovoltaic energy coursework; and water recycling measures that will be studied by both biology and natural science. Notably, 30 percent of the building’s energy will come from renewable sources.

“This facility was inspired by science, and we want the students to be equally inspired when they come here to learn,” said C.W. Driver’s Mike Byrne, vice president of operations in Los Angeles. “The project is focused on green building techniques and emphasizing sustainability throughout the project, so when students are learning about biology and life sciences, those concepts are reflected in the building.”

The Life Sciences building is one of a number of projects C.W. Driver has been involved with in the biomedical/life sciences field, including the Steven Spielberg Building, Microbiology Lab at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles completed in June 2011; the Health and Sciences Complex at Grossmont College in El Cajon, Calif., completed in March 2010; and six completed projects in summer 2012 which included biology, physics and laser labs at various buildings throughout the Caltech campus in Pasadena, Calif.

Features of the 103,000-square-foot life sciences building and parking structure include:

·         292-seat, multi-purpose auditorium with an adjoining 1,800-square-foot terrace

·         34 teaching labs

·         10 informal student study spaces

·         16,000 square feet of faculty laboratory and research space

·         Rooftop garden and laboratory to provide materials for natural science, botany and other classes

·         Three conference rooms

·         50 faculty and staff offices

·         372-car underground parking structure

Program’s sustainable details include:

·         Renewable technology that generates about 30 percent of the facility’s energy

·         Green roof that is sustainable, provides natural insulation and captures water runoff

·         Solar screen on west façade to reduce radiant heat

·         Displacement air system for faculty offices rather than air conditioning

·         Drought-tolerant vegetation

About C.W. Driver

C.W. Driver, a premier builder serving the Western United States since 1919, specializes in general contracting and construction management services by remaining on the cutting-edge across a broad spectrum of industries, including higher education facilities, K-12, healthcare, biomedical/life sciences, civic/government, entertainment, hospitality and military. C.W. Driver has offices in Los Angeles, Irvine, Ontario, Anaheim, San Diego and San Mateo, Calif. For more information, please visit www.cwdriver.com

About Loyola Marymount University

Located between the Pacific Ocean and downtown Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive university offering 60 major programs, 36 master’s degrees and a doctoral degree in education from four colleges, two schools and Loyola Law School. Founded in 1911, LMU is ranked third in “Best Regional Universities/West” by U.S. News & World Report. LMU is the largest Jesuit Catholic university for undergraduates on the West Coast with more than 5,900 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate and law students. For more LMU news and events, please visit www.lmu.edu/news.