The $177 million Construction Manager at Risk project built by Clancy & Theys Construction Company consisted of the new Genomic Science Building, new central park, related site utilities work, surface parking, a new cast-in-place parking deck, and modifications/additions to the existing chiller plant on a tight 20-acre site at UNC-CH.
The Genome Sciences Building (GSB) is a cast-in-place architectural concrete building with multiple glass systems, two levels below grade, five levels above grade, and a greenhouse on the roof. The GSB features research laboratories, research support space, an 80-seat classroom, four 30-seat seminar rooms, a 250-seat lecture hall, a 450-seat lecture hall, 54 offices, and three conference rooms. GSB incorporates three distinct laboratory types: wet and dry labs and rooftop greenhouses. By the numbers: nine wet laboratories, four bioinformatics laboratories, and a ten-compartment greenhouse. Support rooms include cold rooms, dark rooms, tissue culture facilities, growth chambers, freezer farms, crystallography labs, low-ozone rooms, x-ray facilities, robotics labs, isotope labs, warm rooms, and plant growth facilities. Level five is the roof level, which features a greenhouse space and an extensive green roof system. This system utilizes a low-profile perimeter air diffuser cabinet along the greenhouse’s exterior wall, along with clear acrylic ductwork, to maximize natural light exposure. With a fully functioning headhouse and lobby entrance gallery, the rooftop greenhouse of the GSB is a unique design feature of the building—one with a minimal presence—stylized and in line with the façade of the building enclosure.
The new central park includes a bowl-shaped lawn with granite retaining walls at seat height. This area slopes down from the eastern entrance of the Genomic Science Building to Kenan Stadium. It features a narrow granite wall water feature, perfect for ample gatherings and seating during outdoor events. The cast-in-place concrete parking deck is an eight-level parking deck accommodating 700+ cars and is located between the chiller plant and the central park. The chiller plant was upgraded, and new cooling towers were replaced.
The project earned LEED Gold.
