Construction Commences on $160 million OHSU Knight Cancer
On June 16, approximately 300 people, including Oregon Governor Kate Brown, celebrated the official groundbreaking milestone at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) for its new Knight Cancer Institute research building. The construction joint venture team of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. and Andersen Construction (McCarthy/Andersen) was selected to construct the $160 million, 320,000-square-foot facility, which will house up to 600 researchers and administrators dedicated to cancer research. The team has partnered with architect SRG Partnership, Inc. (SRG) on the project, which is expected to complete in July 2018.
McCarthy/Andersen brings together extensive and diverse experience in the research and laboratory market. This partnership combines the renowned Portland-based builder with the resources and expertise of the esteemed national firm to deliver the highest quality facility in support of the Knight Cancer Institute’s life-saving cancer research.
“This facility will foster life-saving research in a highly synergistic environment, and the project team is employing a similar comprehensive design and construction process through a customized integrated project delivery model,” said Tim Albiani, McCarthy’s project executive. “We have been conjointly working to with the architectural team and our co-located trade partners to jointly develop design scopes that both align with the project budget as well as allow the team to identify challenges and provide solutions prior to the design implementation. The project construction team is utilizing cutting-edge technologies, including virtual reality and lean construction practices, which are helping us reach our full potential as an integrated design and building team.”
“As a Portland-based builder, we are thrilled to be constructing this highly anticipated institution, which will greatly enhance the research function and capabilities for the Knight Cancer Institute researchers,” said Andersen Construction Vice President Todd Duwe. “We are longtime supporters of OHSU, with hundreds of completed projects over the past 20 years. Additionally, this project presents a great opportunity for our local trade partners to participate on a highly collaborative delivery model and walk away with integrated project delivery experience and lean tools they can use on future projects in the region.”
The Knight Cancer Institute research building will house a myriad of research programs focused on early cancer detection, computational biology and immuno-oncology, among others. Beyond state-of-the-art research and wet lab spaces, the building will include administrative offices, a conference center, cafés, street-level retail space and an integrated parking structure. Two floors of the building will be dedicated to the Early Cancer Detection Center, offering a collaborative environment for the multidisciplinary research team dedicated to early detection research led by newly recruited nanotechnology expert Sadik Esener, Ph.D.
A primary goal of the Knight Cancer Institute is to foster “team science,” in which interdisciplinary teams conduct targeted research in early detection and treatment. The design team focused on two distinct opportunities for the building to support this goal – collaboration and interaction. Various design strategies are employed to create a joint work environment, including many shared spaces and core laboratories supporting the research community, small-group informal work spaces, and visual transparency via interior glazing. Quiet spaces allow researchers to escape the hustle and bustle of this environment for more reflective and privately-focused work. Opportunities for social interaction have been provided by a central kitchen for sharing meals, an “intellectual lounge” for the researchers to relax, and areas throughout the building where casual seating facilitates the chance encounters that help define a collective culture.
The building’s exterior architectural design clearly articulates floors 2 through 5, where the research laboratories are located, and provides a high-performance skin emphasizing daylighting and solar control. A rooftop terrace and exterior balconies capitalize on stunning views to the Willamette River and Cascade Mountains. A 200-seat auditorium and additional meeting rooms create a ground floor Conference Center for a wide variety of events, along with a retail café and other amenities that create an area open and available to the public.
About McCarthy
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has been building communities across America for more than 150 years, delivering certainty for clients in a diverse range of markets. Throughout all phases of a project, from early integrated design phase services, through construction and after completion, McCarthy builders utilize industry-leading construction techniques and the most sophisticated technology tools to deliver the highest quality, job-site safety and ultimately, the best value. Repeatedly honored as a Best Place to Work and Healthiest Employer, McCarthy is ranked the 12th largest domestic general contractor (Engineering News-Record, September 2015). The firm has approximately 1,600 salaried employees with offices in St. Louis, Atlanta; Collinsville, Ill.; Portage, Ind.; Kansas City, Kan.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Dallas, Houston; Albuquerque; and San Diego, Newport Beach, San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento, Calif. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at the website or by following the company on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.
About Andersen
Andersen Construction, founded in 1950 by Andy Andersen, is Oregon’s largest family-owned Construction Manager / General Contractor. With a staff of over 700 employees, Andersen is led by CEO David Andersen and President Joel Andersen. With Portland serving as the company headquarters, Andersen also has offices in Eugene, OR, Seattle, WA and Boise ID. With a goal to earn each client’s designation as their “Builder of Choice”, Andersen excels in technically challenging projects, utilizing the latest technology and management trends in construction. This includes highly collaborative management approaches such as Integrated Project Delivery, Design-Build and CM/GC services. Andersen’s diverse portfolio includes healthcare, research, multi-family housing, educational, commercial offices, industrial, mission critical, retail, parking, institutional, places of worship and entertainment facilities. More information about the Andersen is available online at the website or by following the company on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
About the Knight Cancer Institute
The Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University is a pioneer in the field of precision cancer medicine. The institute's director, Brian Druker, M.D., helped prove it was possible to shut down just the cells that enable cancer to grow. This breakthrough has made once-fatal forms of the disease manageable and transformed how cancer is treated. The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center between Sacramento and Seattle – an honor earned only by the nation's top cancer centers. It is headquarters for one of the National Cancer Institute's largest research collaboratives, SWOG, in addition to offering the latest treatments and technologies as well as hundreds of research studies and clinical trials. For additional information on the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute visit www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/cancer or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
