Projects

Otago University Science Precinct Redevelopment

Otago University
Otago University

The brief

When the University of Otago wanted to strip out the 3-storey, 45-year-old Science 1 building in the Dunedin Campus Science Precinct and create new state-of-the-art research and teaching laboratories and facilities, Jacksons were engaged as independent commissioning agents.

Our solution

The Science Precinct Redevelopment plan had two stages.

Stage 1 involved stripping out and refurbishing an entire floor in the adjacent 8-storey Science 2 building, making this space available to accommodate research students and staff from the Science 1 building during its refurbishment works.

Stage 2 had two phases. Stage 2A involved refurbishing the western half of the Science 1 building – stripping the building right back to a skeleton and rebuilding from there. Stage 2B completed the building’s eastern half.

Being a science facility, the air conditioning design includes highly sterile, pressurised clean rooms with HEPA filtration to ensure no material is contaminated. Numerous variable volume fume cupboards are manifolded to common extraction systems and there are laboratory gases and reticulated vacuum systems involved.

Interestingly, the unique Germany-designed PicoTrace metal free clean rooms facility we installed is incredibly energy efficient (alongside its many other advantages), so the air flow rates are only a fraction of those required by a conventional clean room facility. An obvious benefit is the substantial energy savings for the University.

As independent commissioning agents, we protected the University of Otago’s interests with respect to the proper commissioning of the works. This included commission witnessing and quality assurance of the Operating and Maintenance Manuals and as-built documentation.

The outcome

The full project, including Stage 1, Stage 2A and Stage 2B, was completed in late 2017 to a high standard.