McCarthy Celebrates Opening of Neuroscience Research Building at Washington University School of Medicine
One of the largest and most advanced neuroscience buildings in the United States
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., one of the largest and most accomplished contractors nationwide for scientific and pharmaceutical research, recently celebrated the grand opening of the new Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building for Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Designed to accelerate research in areas that include Alzheimer’s disease and brain tumors, the facility currently accommodates 1,000 faculty and staff, including 95 research teams. Additional space could be built out in the future to accommodate another 350 faculty and staff, including about 145 research teams.
The $616-million, 11-story, 609,000-square-foot facility is one of the largest neuroscience buildings in the world. In addition to McCarthy, which oversaw construction, the team included architecture firms of CannonDesign and Perkins+Will. Located at 4370 Duncan Ave., the building is located within the Cortex Innovation District on the eastern edge of the Washington University School of Medicine medical campus. The proximity of these institutions is important in fostering collaboration that can have a significant impact on healthcare.
When construction began in spring 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the project immediately faced many unknowns, including labor and supply chain concerns. Despite these daunting challenges, the team remained on budget and on schedule. Effective pre-project planning and the use of sophisticated lean construction techniques contributed to the project’s ultimate success.
“Early collaboration played a pivotal role in the success of this project,” emphasizes Andy Poirot, Vice President and Project Executive at McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. “We successfully realized the client’s vision, delivering a cutting-edge research facility poised to enhance lives for generations to come.”
The facility comprises a research building and an 1,846-vehicle parking structure equipped with bicycle racks and electric vehicle charging stations. An impressive 1,000-ft. elevated pedestrian connection spans 360 ft., linking the new building to an existing parking garage and surrounding structures to maintain campus connectivity. Additionally, a two-story, 24,775-sq.-ft. utility plant was constructed, housing five 1,250-ton chillers, five cooling towers, and two 3,000-kilowatt emergency power generators.
To meet the myriad of project constraints, a significant portion of the effort involved prefabrication. Approximately 90 percent of the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (M/E/P) systems underwent prefabrication and pre-testing in local prefab shops before installation on-site. Advanced 3D modeling and early coordination facilitated understanding spatial constraints and the generation of fabrication drawings for use in the shops. Prefabricating essential components offsite in a controlled environment not only enhanced quality but also reduced the number of on-site craft professionals required for M/E/P component installation.
In addition, the building's façade, featuring a unitized curtain wall, was also prefabricated. This includes 141,707 square feet of grey unitized metal wall panels accented with customized Washington University-red metal panels. The north elevation curtain wall comprises 57,142 square feet of high-performance Low E coated vision glass, custom color spandrel glass, and 16,454 square feet of ultra-clear low-iron glass for the dramatic three-story high lobby wall.
This project represents an important investment not only in the research that will be conducted within the facility, but also in the advancement of the St. Louis region. The project is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification, focusing on reducing energy, noise and the overall carbon footprint. Moreover, it provides a welcoming and sophisticated environment conducive to research and collaboration for years to come.
About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. is the oldest privately held national construction company in the country – with more than 150 years spent collaborating with partners to solve complex building challenges on behalf of its clients. With an unrelenting focus on safety and a comprehensive quality program that spans all phases of every project, McCarthy utilizes industry-leading design phase and construction techniques combined with value-add technology to maximize outcomes. Repeatedly honored as a Best Place to Work and Healthiest Employer, McCarthy is ranked the 19th largest domestic builder (Engineering News-Record, May 2023). With approximately 7,000 salaried employees and craft professionals, the firm has offices in St. Louis; Atlanta; Collinsville, Ill.; Kansas City, Kan.; Omaha, Neb.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Denver; Austin, Channelview, Dallas, and Houston; and San Diego, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento, Calif. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com or by following the company on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
