Grand Challenges Building wins CBF 2024 Project Team of the Year Award

Cornerstone Building Foundation (CBF) has honored the Grand Challenges Research Building (GCRB) project its 2024  Project Team of the Year.  GCRB is an interdisciplinary research facility designed to foster interaction among diverse scientific disciplines and programs to leverage and amplify University of Arizona's core research strengths, addressing grand challenges identified in Pillar 2 of the University's strategic plan. 

GCRB supports expansion of the Optical Sciences and provides research capacity for the new Center for Quantum Networks.  It facilitates collaboration, discussion and innovation among world-class University and industry-partner researchers in engineering, optical science, lunar & planetary science, medicine, and other disciplines in a common space to address practical, real-world needs.

Building construction addressed its own grand challenges. 

The building was built adjacent to the existing Meinel Optical Sciences Building which has a three-level basement in which large mirrors, lenses, and other optical equipment are fabricated.  On the grounds, a large shaft with a removable cover allows a crane to hoist large items from the fabrication floors and load them onto trucks for delivery.  So, construction staging needed to maintain continuous hoisting-shaft access and accommodate periodic work-stoppage to allow hoisting activities. 

The tight construction footprint minimized the area available to assemble building components, especially the large exterior façade panels.  Those were assembled off-site, transported to the site, and installed as large 14- to 21-foot panels.  Building them off-site allowed them to be fabricated in a controlled environment and reduced the number of crane lifts required and the amount of onsite labor performed at elevation, decreasing safety hazards on-site.

Construction began under the labor shortage constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, so, anything that reduced labor needs was crucial.  One of the most tedious tasks in building large buildings is marking the floors so that walls, HVAC equipment and ducts, plumbing, electrical, and other utilities can be accurately placed.  The Building Information Model (BIM) plans developed in the design stage were directly printed onto each floor by “Dusty the Robot”. Dusty can mark the floor for all the trades in one to two days per floor, rather than the 2 weeks or more required to do it manually.  The robot is also more accurate, marking with a precision of 1/16th of an inch across the entire floor.  The floor drawings allowed direct, preconstruction visualization of the placements, to identify potential conflicts before they required re-working to correct.

GCRB balances the needs of research equipment with the needs of researchers who use the equipment.  Optical labs need to shut out all stray light, but humans work more productively in well-lit environments, especially naturally lit spaces.  So, many of the exterior walls are windowless, to accommodate the equipment, but the NW corner features an “eroded” area with overlapping and staggered patios, and full-length windows to maximize natural lighting and access to fresh air under shade.

Cornerstone Building Foundation is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit group comprised of architects, contractors and other collaborating organizations in the construction industry working together, to: 

• Foster an exchange of ideas in a free flowing environment and develop stronger working relationships.
• Honor the best in project delivery through annual awards that recognizes members of the building community in the format of a “dream team.”
• Raise money for scholarships and other worthy projects related to the design and construction industry at the University of Arizona, Pima Community College, TUSD, other educational institutions and programs.

Brian Brandis is the Project Manager and Dana Sylvester is the Construction Project Manager for the GCRB Project.