Biodesign Institute at ASU wins ‘Build America’ award

The joint venture team of Sundt Construction, Inc., and DPR Construction, Inc. has won a 2007 Aon Build America Award for construction of Building B at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University. Build America Awards are often referred to as the “Oscars of the Construction Industry.” Sundt/DPR will receive the award during the Associated General Contractors of America annual convention in San Antonio, Texas on March 23.

Build America Awards showcase the best of construction, recognizing outstanding contractors building America’s buildings, bridges, roadways and municipal and utility construction. The Sundt/DPR joint venture was chosen for the award due to its overall excellence in project management and completion of the research facility, including its success at taking ownership of the institute’s distinct challenges, overcoming those challenges, and meeting goals.

The 183,000-square-foot Building B combines many of ASU’s top biomedical science programs, including research efforts in biotechnology, information technology, manufacturing, technology transfer and workforce development in one location. To complete the project on a timeframe that would allow ASU to fully utilize the laboratory for recruitment purposes and initial research, Sundt/DPR adopted a fast-track construction plan using phased documentation. This allowed the joint venture to deliver biotechnology and nanotechnology laboratories approximately one year faster than could have been accomplished using more conventional approaches.

The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University was designed by the team of Gould Evans Associates and Lord, Aeck & Sargent Architecture. The state-of-the-art facility was recently recognized internationally by R&D Magazine as the 2006 Laboratory of the Year.