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Team members behind the renovation/addition of 138,000聽square feet at the Portland State University School of Business Administration had used BIM before. But never like this, they said.

Instead of merely detecting clashes in the piping and conduit, building mapping software in this case helped ensure every piece of the project was routed appropriately. And with the first half of the project now turned over to the owner, and the remaining, entirely new construction, the team is breathing a little easier.

The 鈥榩erfect storm’

Lots of firms bid for the $60 million project before PSU decided to withdraw its RFP聽and not select a winner. The feedback it provided SRG was to add 鈥渋nternational flare鈥� to its next proposal.

鈥淭hey wanted the project to have a bigger profile than what a local firm could provide,鈥� Stadler said.

SRG was familiar with Stuttgart, Germany-based Behnisch Architekten and its principal Stefan Behnisch through green design circles. And Behnisch himself is said to have a personal connection with PSU.

鈥淪o it was really a perfect storm for us,鈥� Stadler said.

Since the 鈥渞ejuvenation鈥� effort began in 2015, SRG has worked hand-in-hand聽with Behnsich’s Boston office 鈥� the Germans in charge of the big-picture vision, and SRG handling matters like delivery, documentation, logistics, and even hosting Stefan Behnisch on several trips to Portland.

What the team turned in was ambitious 鈥� in the case of the renovation, a clean and airy modern update to 1970s design, and new construction featuring a showpiece atrium encased in sloped glass. Workmen last month waterproofed the glazing and added steel members to support several massive skylights. Shoring recently came off the slab, exposing many different tight radiuses and angles.

BIM functioned here, as on every project, as a shared resource for team members down to the foreman level. It was key to the 鈥渋ntensive鈥� semi-weekly meetings of project leaders. Skanska‘s mechanical, electrical and plumbing partners for the project were also involved, keeping data constantly updated. Skanska’s VDC (virtual and design construction) manager, Robert Smith, has been on-site throughout, helping glue together different 3-D models and coordinating the latest designs with foremen and other managers.

Skanska project manager Ryan Gay said that in his opinion, the intent of BIM is to coordinate what’s being installed to make sure everything fits. This project has been that, plus design evolution 鈥� or, essentially, 鈥渄esigning as we go.鈥� Overall, there were 鈥渃onsistent鈥� changes to what Skanska was installing.

鈥淪ome of it’s just tinkering, moving things a foot in either direction to get a certain look,鈥� Gay said. 鈥淪ome of it’s redesigning the entire electrical system.鈥�

Part of the problem was the minimal amount of ceiling called for in the original designs. Most projects hide their infrastructure 鈥� water and electrical conduit, ductwork, etc. 鈥� under dropped ceiling, so the routing of that stuff doesn’t matter much to the architecture, Stadler said. But on this project, 鈥渓iterally鈥� every piece of infrastructure is out in the open.

Working in the team’s favor was the CM-GC delivery method. The process afforded 鈥渇luidity鈥� in cost reconciliation. An example is in the exterior cladding, which was originally intended to be tiled metal panel. That choice proved costly once Skanska priced it out. The firm selected another material that would meet the project’s aesthetic goals, but the Portland Design Commission thought a higher quality was needed. Eventually, the 鈥渟tars aligned,鈥� Stadler said, and the commission OK’d the next, and final, alternative 鈥� a Morin-made, V-profile, blended mill-finish stainless steel panel in a horizontal configuration.

Other changes include wood doors designed as oak being switched to maple, because the contractor recognized聽the cost difference between softwood and hard. The ductwork was also swapped out in value engineering, from oval to more economical rectangular. The whole ceiling was originally supposed to be painted, but that was taken out to afford a more 鈥渋ndustrial鈥� look, with some of the tectum panels now painted bright accents. A passive air transfer system using offset air slots in the walls also had to be tweaked.

鈥淚t was challenging to build. We had to help design the construction because what they designed wasn’t constructable,鈥� Gay said.

Other challenges include those associated with working on a busy college campus in a dense urban area 鈥� just-in-time deliveries, minimal staging area, road closures, noise and other construction impact mitigation. And, as with many others these days, the project has been affected by the labor shortage, Gay said. As many as 100 craft workers have been employed. On the day of a site tour last month, about 45 union and nonunion tradespeople were working.

As of last month, there had been only one reported injury on the project, and it was minor, Gay said.

The next phase should proceed faster, with material selections having already been vetted. It will be all-new construction, which is generally faster than renovation. Plus, there won’t be any asbestos to mitigate or faculty members to avoid.

鈥楩urniture and walls’

This project was percolating for a long time, according to Cliff Allen, dean of the business school.

He said it’s been nicer interfacing with donors and alums now that it’s聽fully funded.

鈥淔undraising for buildings, it’s difficult,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淥ur donor base loves a new building, but what they love even more is to give to the school and the students. It will be nice to get back to fundraising for things like student scholarships and faculty endowments, instead of furniture and walls.鈥�

PSU has a number of other projects in the works, several of them comparable in cost to the School of Business Administration. The $70 million renovation and seismic upgrade of Neuberger Hall now has a contractor (Fortis Construction) and an architect (Hacker), and heavy work should begin soon. Crews broke ground in April on the new $50 million Viking Pavilion at the Peter W. Stott Center. It also features Fortis as the builder, as well as a design partnership consisting of a local firm (Woofter Architecture) and a high-profile out-of-town firm (Denver-based Sink Combs Dethlefs).

Those projects also include ambitious designs and a mix of public and private dollars. The breakdown of the business school project is about one-third private, and two-thirds from the state.

The project effectively doubles the school’s footprint. The new facility will feature 23 classrooms and 11 break-out rooms that can be reserved by students. All will be rigged with technology to enable distance learning. There will be a Bloomberg terminal-equipped finance research lab, and a primary lab for marketing research, on topics such as consumerism.

It will mean the business school can add to its enrollment of 3,800 undergraduate students, and, likely, its 400-500 graduate students. With the school sharing space with the Graduate School of Education, students, staff and faculty had grown snug in their old space. But close quarters don’t necessarily translate to collaboration, and the new facilities were designed with teamwork in mind, Allen said.

PSU has changed a lot since it began as a commuter campus. 鈥淚nteraction鈥� wasn’t being fostered by the old building and students were left to meet after class at nearby coffee shops, or not at all. The new building’s design 鈥� for all its complications to the build team 鈥� reflects the state of the industry today, and where Allen says it’s going.

鈥淲e’re trying to build camaraderie, and that’s really a change in how we view things,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he irony is, kids are using more devices and connecting in new ways, but the face-to-face is becoming more and more important to businesses.鈥�

PSU School of Business Administration

Project: renovation of six-story building and construction of student pavilion

Cost: $60.3 million ($20 million from private donations)

Contractor: Skanska USA

Architect: Behnisch Architects-SRG Partnership Inc.

Progress: first phase finished, completion of second phase anticipated for August 2017