WJE PROJECTS

Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery

 
CLIENT
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
LOCATION
Madison, WI

Building Enclosure Commissioning

The owner retained WJE to provide building enclosure commissioning services to assist in delivering a quality new building that manages and prevents air and water penetration into the building. Building enclosure commissioning is a quality-oriented process for achieving, verifying, and documenting that the performance of facilities, systems, and assemblies meets defined owner objectives and criteria.


BACKGROUND

The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery project consists of a four-story, three hundred thousand-square-foot building that is irregularly shaped in plan. The exterior of the building features a combination of rain screen terra cotta cladding, aluminum-framed windows and curtain walls, and composite metal panels. Situated on a trapezoidal parcel of land, the building occupies one entire city block in the heart of the University's campus.

SOLUTION

WJE services began with design phase peer reviews. As the project progressed into construction, WJE undertook a comprehensive commissioning approach to the building enclosure. This consisted of the development of a building enclosure commissioning specification; laboratory mock-ups and performance testing; submittal reviews; field quality coordination seminars for the contractors; building enclosure checklists; on-site construction observations and documentation; and building enclosure commissioning meetings and follow-ups. Field testing to validate the performance of the various building enclosure systems and components was undertaken by WJE staff with assistance from ATI.

The project highlights WJE's leadership within the building enclosure commissioning industry and is an excellent example of WJE's resolve to deliver quality and effective service in a time sensitive manner.