Construction of the island’s first-ever molecular sciences facility is on track for its late December 2009 delivery date to the University of Puerto Rico, Lorenzo Dragoni, president of construction firm AMS Construction Managers, told CARIBBEAN BUSINESS.

The $77 million, 149,000-square-foot, eight-story structure is designed to meet the island’s advanced scientific research needs for the next 25 years. It sits on a one-acre lot across the street from the Urban Train station in Cupey.

“The reinforced concrete structure features a sophisticated foundation system that provides a near-zero vibration tolerance, architecturally striking glass curtain wall enclosure and innovative project management to assure its construction stays within budget,” Dragoni explained.

The first phase of the project, at $12 million, began in May 2007 and consisted of site preparation, which involved demolition of existing structures at the site, asbestos and lead mitigation, installation of 869 foundation piles and designing and ordering the structure’s trademark exterior glass enclosure from Canadian glass manufacturer Glasstra. Currently, the project is 60% complete and well into its construction, or second phase, which began in September 2007 at an estimated $55 million.

“This is the first time this type of glass enclosure has been done on the island, which AMS did in collaboration with Glasstra. Typically, glass buildings don’t comply with green building requirements, but this glass has high-efficiency capabilities. It features a mesh-type curtain that allows visibility, but modulates the light that comes in,” Dragoni explained. The building will have a small number of parking spaces, as most scientists working at the facility will travel by Urban Train, either from the Río Piedras Medical Center or UPR’s main campus in Río Piedras.

Given the building’s proximity to the Urban Train station and to vehicles passing along PR1, the structure required a near-zero vibration tolerance because of the sensitive and delicate scientific research instruments to be used inside the structure. The near-zero vibration tolerance was achieved through the 869 foundation piles and the use of isolated five-foot-thick tiles on the first floor, which will house most of the specialized equipment, including an electron microscope and some 100 researchers and their support staff.

According to Dragoni, the construction-management method used in this project, called construction management with a guaranteed maximum price-at risk (GMP-at risk), assured UPR the project would be built within budget even before construction began, by separating the different construction phases into packages and involving various local subcontractors in the process.

Construction of the building is a joint venture between AMS and Providence, Island-based Gilbane Building Co. based on a design by Hillier Architects. Some 400 local construction workers have been involved in this project since its inception, including local subcontractors Enrique Blanes Palmer (civil engineering), Aireko Construction (concrete structure) and Bermúdez & Longo (mechanical engineering).