The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s mission-critical Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory was in substantial need of modernization. One of the project’s biggest challenges was completing that work while time-sensitive poultry research continued uninterrupted across the active federal research campus. The seven-phase modernization project completed over approximately eight years ultimately delivered a new facility on time and on budget without disrupting the facility’s critical ongoing operations.
Collaborative Leadership Provides Safety and Stability
The project used design-build delivery to bring designers, builders, contract administrators and end users into a single collaborative team, allowing decisions to reflect real-world operational needs rather than assumptions. This collaborative leadership produced more efficient, user-informed solutions than a traditional design-bid-build approach could accommodate. According to the project Owner, the effectiveness of design-build “far exceeded expectations,” highlighted by the facility achieving its biosafety certification on an accelerated four-month timeline.
VDC technology was also critical to maintaining operations throughout the modernization. The team used Geographic Information System (GIS) utility tracking to locate and stake existing utilities within one inch of accuracy. That precision significantly reduced the risk of utility strikes during excavation, directly supporting uninterrupted research operations while improving safety and avoiding schedule impacts and unplanned costs.
To maintain consistency throughout the more than eight-year project, leaders also developed a comprehensive Project Requirements Document that consolidated RFP requirements, ARS design guides and bridging documents into a single, living reference manual. The document served as a quality control checklist throughout design and kept Owner goals at the center as the project advanced.
These processes resulted in a LEED Silver-certified facility that now operates as one of the most complex Biosafety Level 3 laboratory facilities in the USDA’s portfolio.
Design-Build Team
| Client/Owner: | U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) |
| Owner Advisor: | Merrick & Co |
| Design-Builder: | Mortenson Construction |
| General Contractor: | Mortenson Construction |
| Architect: | Zimmer Gunsul Frasca (ZGF) Architects |
| Engineers: | Kimley-Horn; Thorton Tomesetti; Jensen Hughes |
| Specialty Contractors: | White Electric; Harris Company |
| Project Cost: | $149,565,702 |
| Construction Duration: | 93 months |
Photos
Photo Credits: Alvaro Santistevan