C.W. Driver Completes New "Gateway" to UCSD East Medical Campus

April 23, 2012 - PRLog -- A new medical office building designed as a gateway building to the University of California, San Diego’s (UCSD) Health Sciences and Medical Center has opened its doors to doctors and staff. Built by C.W. Driver, which led the design-build team that included Gensler as the architect and Miyamoto International as the structural engineer, the building provides much needed office space in a convenient location adjacent to medical facilities such as the Thornton Hospital and Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center.

Supporting UCSD’s vision of requiring all campus projects to achieve LEED® Silver certification, C.W. Driver completed the east campus office building on time and on budget by managing a strategic project delivery that allowed the campus to remain open throughout the construction period.

“Now more than ever is it important for campus projects to be delivered on time, on budget, and with limited disruptions to the surrounding operational facilities,” said C.W. Driver Project Manager Garrett Wilson. “By addressing this challenge early on and frequently communicating with UCSD, our design-build team worked closely together to take the design to the fullest extent within a specified budget, which allowed for our team to achieve a wonderful facility for UCSD that will be celebrated for years to come.”
   
Tucked behind UCSD’s Thornton Hospital, the $25 million, 75,000-square-foot building features office and meeting spaces on all three levels, while the main floor includes exam rooms and a café. The new medical office space will hold a first floor Clinical and Translational Research Institute consisting of exam rooms, pharmacy, treatment rooms, blood draw rooms and related support areas including waiting rooms, restrooms, a reception area and more. Currently in process of achieving LEED® Silver certification, the new facility will improve efficiency and enhance collaboration by consolidating related research and associated staff that were previously scattered among several on- and off-campus locations, in one building.   
   
“The C.W. Driver team has done an incredible job in delivering this office building for the campus,” said Barbara Anderson, project manager at UCSD. “Throughout the construction process, though we almost doubled the scope of work per the contract amount, C.W. Driver had accommodated to the best of its ability and mitigated as much of the time extension as it could, which helped bring the project to fruition, all while remaining on time and on budget.”

Through the creative use of various materials utilized during the construction process, such as form liners, numerous sandblast textures and changes in plane wall panels, a very classic and timeless look was achieved, which is consistent with the high architectural standard established on the campus and without paying a premium for more expensive materials. Because Gensler designed a project based on budget and by ensuring the design concepts envisioned were compatible with construction methods, C.W. Driver constructed the building in record time, within budget and with limited disruptions to the surrounding medical facilities.

C.W. Driver, a leader in Southern California campus and healthcare construction, maintains its strong relationships with a number of institutions. Additional work on the campus includes the UCSD Torrey Pines Center North project and similar projects to the east campus office building are planned for the future.

About C.W. Driver
C.W. Driver, a premier builder serving the Western U.S. since 1919, specializes in general contracting and construction management services by remaining on the cutting-edge across a broad spectrum of industries including higher education facilities, K-12, healthcare, entertainment, hospitality and military.  C.W. Driver has offices in Los Angeles, Irvine, Ontario and San Diego. For more information, please visit www.cwdriver.com