WJE PROJECTS

Image Research Building

 
CLIENT
The University of North Carolina / Facility Dynamics Engineering
LOCATION
Chapel Hill, NC

Building Enclosure Commissioning Services

WJE was engaged to provide building enclosure commissioning services in order to maintain the high performance required of this critical research building, ensuring comfort for building tenants and protecting costly research equipment against damage due to moisture and/or air ingress. The project team sought an improved strategy for documenting field observations in real time, tracking discussion related to specific corrective efforts, and confirming remedial repair where appropriate.


BACKGROUND

The Image Research Building houses the University of North Carolina's School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy, and the Institute for Nanomedicine. It is intended as a major cancer research and medical imaging center. The building was designed by Perkins+Will and constructed by Choate Construction.

SOLUTION

In light of recent innovations in web-based project management software, WJE elected to utilize the e-Builder® program to document on-site observations and to record the results of field performance testing during construction. Site observation items were identified as either noncompliant with the contract documents or marked as an unanticipated condition that required further review by the design team. WJE's use of e-Builder® enabled individual site observations to be created by WJE and efficiently distributed to the architect of record, general contractor, and/or owner for comment. Relevant parties commented within the structure of the program and deficient items were monitored until corrected or accepted by the architect of record or owner. This process ensured that incorrect or otherwise nonperforming work did not remain unresolved at project completion.