IBio: The Integrative Biosciences Center is a multidisciplinary biomedical research facility and a reflection of Wayne State University’s commitment to the growth and prosperity of Midtown Detroit. The project repurposed 127,700 SF of the existing three-story 1920’s Dalgleish Cadillac Dealership building, with the facility totaling over 200,000 SF. Barton Malow and LS Brinker provided construction management services for the higher education addition and renovation project, and Barton Malow self-performed civil and concrete.
The addition and renovation support Wayne State’s scientific programs such as biomedical engineering, cardiovascular, diabetes and metabolism, systems biology, and computational systems biology. Research laboratories in the IBio facility include wet and dry labs and vivarium space, as well as shared support and core laboratories. The project also included private offices, support services, and various flexible conferencing facilities incorporating state-of-the-art technology provisions for presentations and teleconferencing.
Mitigating Unforeseen Conditions + Weather Challenges
Barton Malow/Brinker performed outstanding preconstruction services to coordinate the construction logistical and sequencing challenges into the advanced configuration of the existing building. An enormous value engineering effort took place in order to limit the budgetary impact due to major challenges such as unforeseen structural conditions and excessive weather conditions. At the time, Detroit experienced the most severe winter in Southeast Michigan in the last 90 years, with 23% colder average temperatures and 128% more snowfall. The team aggressively attacked the phasing of scheduled activities and implemented creative and collaborative solutions in order to maximize productivity and combat unforeseen conditions throughout the higher education renovation project.
