M

St. Petersburg College Natural Science Building / Multi-story addition and renovation on college lab complex / 36,000 GSF

This multi-story addition included renovations to the existing facility and construction of a new connecting lobby at the apex. The new and renovated facility houses classrooms, two 100-seat tiered lecture auditoriums with distant learning capabilities, biology teaching labs, testing labs, and raised-floor computer labs with integrated IT/AV technologies. The facility includes conference rooms, administration and faculty offices.

The SPC Planetarium and Observatory is housed on the third floor, required relocating a state-of-the-art 360° telescope with a 360° rotating custom-fabricated dome, and new observation deck. The telescope is mounted on free-standing concrete column anchored at the building foundation which extends three stories through the building to the observatory. To assure no building vibration is transmitted to the telescope, the support column is totally independent from building with a one-inch gap between the column and building structure. Strict adherence of the gap tolerance was critical to the column construction to assure accurate telescope performance.

Constructed adjacent to an occupied facility and within an occupied campus, the project scope included all associated site work, utility and infrastructure extensions and connections, landscaping and parking.