Duke University has been investing significantly in new facilities in Durham, N.C., and its cancer institute showcases the owner's commitment to improving health-care services.
The 270,000-sq-ft Duke Cancer Institute accommodates all of Duke University Health System's cancer programs and includes 125 exam rooms, 75 infusion stations, 25 clinic rooms, three linear accelerators, nine CT scanners and a fourth-floor rooftop garden terrace.
Contractors were challenged by the project's location in the middle of the medical center's campus. At one point, for instance, 11 other projects were under construction, including a $240-million, eight-story hospital facility that was being built just 90 ft from the cancer center jobsite.
The roof garden terrace on the fourth floor, built of cast-in-place concrete planters and some precast planters, provides a space for patients to relax while at the facility for treatment. A roof garden on the fifth floor features a mix of green roof plant species—mostly succulents—selected to reduce the amount of unused stormwater collected from roof leaders.
The building's reclaimed water system is separated into two purposes: stormwater roof collection and reclaimed condensate water from the air-handling units. Roof leaders carry water to either the three penthouse cisterns for rooftop irrigation or are diverted to the underground 100,000-gallon cistern, which provides water for irrigation. This cistern's capacity equates to roughly a month's supply of irrigation water.
KBR achieved substantial completion 49 days ahead of schedule, mostly by working two shifts and monitoring subcontractor manpower. The project team also accommodated Duke's request for early partial occupancy up to 12 weeks ahead of schedule for training and orientation.
Key Players
Owner: Duke University Health System, Durham, N.C.
Contractor: KBR Building Group, Charlotte, N.C.
Designer: TSOI/Kobus & Associates, Cambridge, Mass.
Structural Engineer: Souza, True & Partners, Watertown, Mass.
Civil Engineer: Haden-Stanziale, Durham, N.C.
MEP Engineer: Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers, Watertown, Mass.
Submitted by KBR Building Group
