This is the first of a series of periodic updates on the construction of Duffield Hall, the $58.5 million nanotechnology research facility adjacent to Phillips Hall on the Engineering Quad. The author is Bob Stundtner, Duffield Hall project manager.
Contractors are continuing their site preparation for the construction of Duffield Hall. In recent days Schnabel Foundations Inc. of King of Prussia, Pa., has been installing an extensive bank-retention system to allow the safe mass excavation of soil and rock. The upper portion must be tied back into the bedrock with drilled anchors.
Because the drill rig has been experiencing an unusual number of breakdowns, consultants have been brought in from Los Angeles, Boston and Philadelphia to troubleshoot and adjust the rig for the rock conditions on the site.
As the retention system is anchored into the bedrock, which should be exposed in coming days, Paolangeli Contractor of Ithaca will continue the mass excavation.
Because mass rock removal will require blasting, site engineers are concerned about the effect on class schedules and research activities. Both will be considered in planning blasting activities, and details of the work will be communicated to the surrounding community.
Paolangeli will also drill two 18-inch-diameter tunnels under the north wing of Phillips to accommodate conduits for telephone, data and emergency power systems for Duffield.
The McCarthy/Welliver McGuire joint venture has now occupied its site trailer and has completed its project staffing. Cornell's own Planning, Design and Construction shops are putting the finishing touches on a $1 million heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) project in Phillips Hall that was necessitated by the Duffield project. Safe occupancy of the rooms during construction requires them to be isolated by a two-hour, 8-inch-thick fire wall. Because this separation blocks windows, the HVAC project had to be completed before classes could resume this semester.
The wall also serves to isolate the classrooms acoustically and visually from the construction. Eventually, the entire west side of Phillips will become interior spaces overlooking the atria connecting to Dufeld and Upson halls.
Previously, several large classrooms in Phillips had no ventilation other than open windows. Most of the remaining spaces had window air conditioners to cool the large collections of computers or other lab equipment.
Work to be completed in Phillips includes finishes in Room 429, extension of the stairs to the new mechanical room above 429 and installation of a new corridor ceiling and lights. The installation of a corridor ceiling will be delayed until a tele/data upgrade is completed.
Feedback from the community led the construction project team to install a bike rack at the north end of Phillips. Other useful feedback led the team to remind truck drivers that they could reduce noise by changing their driving techniques.
Suggestions for further reducing construction impacts are welcomed by the construction team. The e-mail address is duffield@cornell.edu.
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