Unique Challenges with Constructing a New Crime Laboratory
Brian Holthaus, LEED AP®, JE Dunn Construction
Greggory LaBerge, Ph.D., Denver Crime Lab
This presentation will discuss the challenges with constructing a state-of-the-art forensic crime laboratory, which is a unique type of laboratory facility. The Denver Crime Laboratory is the second oldest crime laboratory in the country. Based on the success of the use of this technology, the city has seen a significant reduction of crimes, such as burglary, over the past 10 years. The city has seen the value of this investment and saw the need to triple the size of the current crime laboratory. The Denver Crime Laboratory incorporates seven specific areas in a building with 70,000 square feet of space with different requirements and specialized equipment for each area. The areas are firearms, imaging, DNA, latent print, trace, crime scene investigators, and chemistry.
The speakers will discuss some of the lessons learned and as they relate to the contracting method used, which allowed getting the construction team started early in the design; the use of building information modeling to allow the users to visualize the layout of their new space, providing a modular design that allows for future flexibility; the importance of the owner being continually involved in the design and construction process; the use of technology to provide the most integrated and complex building owned by the city of Denver; and the use of the building automation system to communicate with the city's asset system to generate work orders based on run time of equipment and to provide energy monitoring for the different utility systems.
Due to the complexity and uniqueness of each area, one of the key elements found to be successful was a review with each user group of the laboratory casework shop drawings. These reviews were examined page by page, and while there were not many significant monetary changes, quite a few minor revisions were found that were incorporated into the construction without any schedule impacts and gave the user groups more ownership of their laboratory design. In addition, the pre-drywall review of each laboratory space with the user groups reviewed the mechanical and electrical rough-in as well as the laboratory casework layout. This practice allowed the user groups to get a spatial awareness of their laboratories, as well as allow comments to be addressed prior to having finishes installed.
Biographies:
Brian Holthaus is a senior project manager for JE Dunn Construction's Science and Technology Group in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Holthaus holds a Bachelor of Science in construction engineering and management from Purdue University. Mr. Holthaus is a LEED AP and holds a certificate of mastery from the Design-Build Institute of America. Mr. Holthaus has more than 28 years of experience in construction project management and has worked on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency forensic laboratory at the Denver Federal Center, the University of Colorado at Boulder Biotech laboratory, and the Denver Crime Laboratory.
Greggory LaBerge, Ph.D, is the director of the Denver Police Department Crime Laboratory. Dr. LaBerge has worked with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) over the last 12 years to build one of the most successful DNA cold case programs in the world. He has provided support to the forensic community through teaching at the National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC) and around the world in collaboration with the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program and the U.S. State Department. Dr. LaBerge continues to explore new research ideas to aid forensic science and business process development in collaboration with the NIJ, NFSTC, and Somalogic Incorporated in Boulder, Colorado. He has earned an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in molecular biology and genetics from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, a Masters of Science degree in biostatistics from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and a doctorate in human medical genetics from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colorado.