LF Driscoll is helping make history in New Jersey. The LFD team is currently building Rowan University’s new Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine, the first in the state.
The first two floors of the 162,000-square-foot building will house the veterinary school and animal hospital’s classrooms, exam rooms, and animal care spaces. The third and fourth floors will include labs, collaboration areas, and support spaces for the Virtua Health College Research Center.
LFD senior project manager Ken Kaighin says the facility’s standards are just as high, even though it treats animals instead of people. “The school and its facilities go through an accreditation process,” he explains, “but the Department of Health doesn’t inspect the building.”
The facility must still meet all hygiene and biosafety requirements for anatomy labs, surgical rooms, pharmacies, and other areas. “We have extensive knowledge in this field,” he adds.
Keeping up with the project’s ambitious timeline has been one of its most difficult tasks thus far. The team cannot afford delays because the academic school year tightly dictates the project schedule.
Coordination of the MEP systems’ constructability within the design has been the team’s primary priority. For example, the air handlers require a lot of ductwork. Some ducts are as wide as 12 feet. To support extra equipment underneath, the team had to install additional steel support racks.
Virtual design and construction (VDC) techniques were extremely useful in this situation.According to Kaighin, “By resolving challenges in virtual space first, we’ve avoided several conflicts over the past few months.” The team also tested a program that lets members use virtual reality headsets to explore the modeled space. The owner’s engineering and maintenance staff found this tool very helpful. It helped them understand what they would receive at the end of the project and offer suggestions for changes before construction began.
The team expects to finish the project by August 1, 2025. They are currently working on the interior systems and fit-out. The roofs are up, and most of the walls are framed and topped out.
According to Steve Ciallella, senior superintendent of LF Driscoll, “there are currently around 250 tradesmen on-site.” “We’re working quickly to install the MEP systems. Our goal is to ensure the school welcomes its first-ever veterinary students on schedule.”
