Building Information Modeling and the Build-Out—A Golden Success Story for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Matt Meyer, LEED AP®, JE Dunn Construction
Daniel Smith, LEED AP, Smith Carter Architects and Engineers

This presentation, centered on a design-build shell space build-out for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), will highlight the close collaboration and teamwork between client, contractor, and architect/engineer, resulting in a flexible laboratory space that greatly surpassed its goal of LEED® Certification and achieved a LEED Gold rating without any additional project scope or cost. This process was aided by using an investigative approach and lessons learned to achieve timely results. During this presentation, the speakers will identify the objectives of 1) identification of a sustainable strategy; 2) management of the LEED certification process; 3) highlights of the design process (lessons learned) and 4) explanation of the design-build process. The speakers will discuss how a project is best approached based on the client (federal government as opposed to private) and the importance of using building information modeling (BIM) throughout the design process to aid in on-time, on-budget delivery, as well as the importance of leaving behind a more complete record for building maintenance and further renovation. Both JE Dunn and Smith Carter have been actively using BIM in laboratory, vivarium, and educational design projects since 2005. The BIM software and database constitutes the companies' newest tool for creating more accurate information earlier to generate better design solutions and allow continuous coordination through the end of construction. BIM allowed for:

  • Ease of coordination.
  • Ability for disciplines to coordinate their work.
  • Ability of the software to automatically check for conflicts.
  • Identification of details requiring decisions early.
  • Better cost estimating and scheduling accuracy.

One of BIM's greatest advantages is that drawings have a much longer lifespan. Facility owners can use BIM files throughout a building's lifecycle. BIM drawings can become an interactive record, not only of as-built conditions but also of the ongoing maintenance and replacement of components. Collaboratively, Smith Carter and JE Dunn used BIM technology to improve communication between the design-build team to facilitate a faster approach to understanding the design intent through improved visualization. It is important to recognize that, in order to realize benefits from the utilization of BIM, it must be determined how and where to promote this technology and clearly define the expectations of all. Both the client and the design-build team greatly benefited from this approach. BIM allowed the speakers to focus very early on issues such as sustainability and flexibility, resulting in a LEED Gold certification, which was much higher than what was originally planned for this project.

Biographies:

An engaging and informative speaker, Matt Meyer is a senior project manager for JE Dunn Construction's Science and Technology Group in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Meyer holds a Bachelor of Science in construction management from Colorado State University and is a LEED AP. Mr. Meyer has more than 25 years of experience and is responsible for the planning, cost estimating, construction, and commissioning of life science, laboratory, and hospital facilities for entities such as Sandia National Laboratory (Albuquerque, New Mexico), Amgen (Longmont, Colorado), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Fort Collins, Colorado), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Areas of specialty include healthcare, research laboratories, biotech, biosafety level 2 (BSL) 2 and BSL3. Mr. Meyer is a current member of the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers.

An illustrative and expert presenter, Daniel Smith is a principal, architect, and senior project manager at Smith Carter Architects and Engineers based in Atlanta, Georgia. With more than 22 years of experience, Mr. Smith has long been committed to the principles of sustainable design, pioneering the greening of responsible environmental design with several complex high-containment building projects that serve as examples throughout the industry. Mr. Smith's experience has enabled him to acquire a keen knowledge of bioscience research standards, code compliance, and containment technical building systems to aid in the cross coordination of architectural and engineering disciplines. Mr. Smith has been instrumental in writing the bio-containment chapter for BSL3 and BSL4 laboratories in the National Institute of Health's Design Requirements Manual published in 2009. Mr. Smith is a LEED AP and is currently working on projects that are seeking LEED Gold and Platinum certifications.