ATHENS, Ga.—McCarthy Building Companies along with project partners Newcomb & Boyd, Koons Environmental and FLAD Architects jointly announced the delivery of the 70,000-square-foot Poultry Science Building at the University of Georgia’s College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

The $54 million facility features classrooms incorporating the latest technology, laboratories as well as collaborative meeting spaces. The six-floor building is also home to cold storage rooms, avian vivarium, biosafety labs, and staff and support offices. Specific areas are devoted to graduate and postdoctoral study areas, with large conference rooms also accessible throughout the building.

The builders applied a green energy model to ensure that the Poultry Science Building would meet certification from the Georgia Peach Program. The recognition demonstrates that a state-owned or -managed building delivers on energy efficiency, utilizes construction materials from within the Peach State, as well as respects the state’s natural resources throughout its construction process—and will also be efficient in terms of resource consumption moving forward.

Bobby Campell, business unit leader and executive vice president at McCarthy’s Atlanta location, said that the pandemic, materials delays and additional cost overruns threatened to detail the project timeline, but the firm was able to maximize its team power to ensure timely delivery of the Poultry Science Building in time for spring classes.

“We are proud to deliver this project to the students and faculty at the University of Georgia, as the new Poultry Science Building stands as a testament to the university’s dedication to advancing agriculture in Georgia, a state at the forefront of poultry production in the nation,” said Campell.

“From the office to the jobsite, we did our best to respect the environment and tap in our extensive Georgia Peach building expertise to exceed sustainability,” added Lizzy Burge, project director at McCarthy’s Atlanta location. “We are excited to be a part of this exceptional building and the future it will provide for its students.”

The Poultry Science Building is McCarthy’s first construction buildout at the University of Georgia, and the company will soon commence work on the school’s West Campus Parking Deck II as well. The firm has completed various Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission (GSFIC) projects and Board of Regents (BOR) educational work such as West Georgia Technical College’s Carroll Campus, Georgia State University’s College of Law and Petit Science Center Building, and Georgia Institute of Technology’s Krone Engineered Biosystems Building.

McCarthy, which is owned by its employees, has been in business for over 150 years, and is America’s oldest privately held national construction company.

The post University Of Georgia Wraps New Poultry Science Building appeared first on School Construction News.

When Rush built the original lab in 2003, it became a leader in simulation training. Over the years, however, the need for the facility had greatly outgrown the space. After factoring the need for storage, Vice President of University Affairs Lois Halstead figured only about 100 square feet could actually be used for training. The tight squeeze, in addition to the time and personnel needed to move equipment around, strained education efforts to the point that many requests for simulation time had to be denied.

A feasibility study determined that moving the lab from the Armour Academic Center to the Kellogg building on the north side of campus would provide the necessary space and functionality. Construction was done in two phases, with Phase I completed by the time classes started in September 2014.

Phase I consisted of a 7,400-square-foot space that includes four debriefing conference rooms and simulation labs with adjacent control rooms for the emergency department, pediatrics, operating room and general patient care. Phase II, totaling about 7,600 square feet, includes 10 patient rooms, three more debriefing conference rooms and additional labs and training rooms.

Now that both phases are completed, the state-of-the-art facility offers seven new training environments that simulate real-world patient care settings where students and caregivers can train together. Training sessions are digitally recorded and projected to an adjoining classroom for others to view. After these sessions participants can review and analyze their performances through a structured debriefing process.

In addition to patient simulators that display lifelike responses to treatment and external stimuli, the new center incorporates a wet laboratory, where trainees can practice skills like central line insertions or surgical stitches using cadaveric body parts. Another program allows students and staff to work with live actors posing as patients and family members, strengthening diagnostic and communication skills.

Funding for the new lab came from several sources, including donations, the state of Illinois and the university’s capital improvement funds.

The post Rush University Medical Center Completes Simulation Lab appeared first on School Construction News.