UCSF Cardiovascular Research Institute

"We used Synchro's 4D BIM schedule simulation to communicate among the project stakeholders the complex construction sequences and site logistics. The ability to see clearly the schedule sequences creates a team dialogue and encourages creative problem solving." --Michael Piotrkowski, Director of Technical Development, Rudolph and Sletten Synchro Professional 4D BIM Image from View By View, San Francisco

The University of California at San Francisco is a leading university that advances health worldwide by conducting advanced biomedical research, educating graduate students in the life sciences and health professions, and providing complex patient care.

Their new building will be a collaborative center that brings basic research scientists and clinicians together under the same roof, thus accelerating their efforts to understand cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack and stroke. It will house the existing world-renowned UCSF Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI), and will be home to a new UCSF Center for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with an outpatient facility that will focus on advancing ways to predict and prevent these devastating illnesses.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in the United States, accounting for roughly 950,000 deaths each year, and are expected to increase as the population ages.

UCSF has allocated $52 million from its own resources and an anonymous donor has contributed $30 million toward the building's cost, which is projected to be $241 million.

The new building will enable UCSF to bring together scientists and clinicians who are now dispersed over several sites, while also integrating many levels of research aimed at understanding, preventing and treating these diseases. By pooling physicians' knowledge of physiology and disease with basic scientists' understanding of genetics, chemistry, protein interactions, molecular and cell biology, and model systems, UCSF hopes to attain a level of sophistication in thinking about disease mechanisms that would not otherwise be possible.

Facilitating that type of collaboration has been a guiding factor in planning the new facility, including its proximity to the cancer research building. The cardiology clinic also will complement other UCSF Medical Center facilities planned for the Mission Bay campus, such as the proposed 289-bed, integrated hospital complex that will serve children, women and cancer patients. UCSF has shown throughout its history that interaction of scientists with different skills and knowledge is the key to valuable discovery and quicker "translation" of research into patient care.

The Client
The University of California at San Francisco

The Contractor

In 1959 Onslow H. "Rudy" Rudolph formed a small contracting company, O.H. Rudolph, General Contractor, based out of his garage in Los Altos, California. Starting with just a small amount of savings, a pickup truck and two employees, Rudy quickly built a business that became known for its ability to deliver the highest quality work on-schedule and within budget. In 1962, Kenneth G. Sletten joined the business as partner and the company was renamed Rudolph and Sletten, Inc., General and Engineering Contractors. Over the years, the company grew and its reputation for excellence grew with it. The Rudolph and Sletten name became a guarantee of honest estimates, innovative schedules and an ethical way of doing business.

Due to the company's location in Silicon Valley, its growth paralleled that of the valley. Rudolph and Sletten has grown from a small business to a vital corporation. Over 48 years later its corporate culture still clearly reflects the value it places on personal relationships. Many of the company's current employees are second and third generation employees. Rudolph and Sletten is known for its innovative approach to building and ethics in business dealings. More than 85% of its business is from repeat clients.

Today, Rudolph and Sletten is a subsidiary of Tutor Perini Corporation the 9th largest general contractor in the nation as ranked by Engineering News Record. With its headquarters in Redwood City, Rudolph and Sletten also has regional offices in Sacramento, Irvine and San Diego, California.

Specification

UCSF CVRI celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008. Since its founding, CVRI scientists have worked together across disciplines to attack cardiovascular diseases. Their partnerships have led to major advances in understanding the disease and in medical care, aiding everyone from infants with respiratory problems to adults with arrhythmia.

CVRI's new building at UCSF Mission Bay will provide state-of-the-art laboratories for current scientists and allow for the recruitment of more investigators. In addition to research, it will house an outpatient clinic for patients with cardiovascular disease.

The new 232,000 square-foot building focusing on cardiovascular disease will include "clusters" of about 20 faculty offices on each of its three floors, which are joined by a central staircase. Flexible laboratory space will accommodate nearly 500 graduate students, post-doctoral scientists and other researchers.

The building will allow CVRI to increase its faculty research team from 22 to 48. The building is expected to be ready for occupancy in 2011.

What Synchro Ltd Provided

• Technical back-up to the consultant, View by View
• Highly responsive client service
• Construction modeling support for Rudolph and Sletten
  

The Outcome

Rudolph and Sletten and View By View were able to optimize the added value of BIM for delivery:

· Synchro provided the delivery team onsite with a shared, common view of the project among all participants in the project "Big Room" co-location facility on the worksite.

· Synchro's scheduling capabilities enhanced their ability to sequence optimally, for example, the site logistics and exterior skin system of the new building.

· Synchro enables the delivery team to communicate better among the construction delivery team, consultant and the client/philanthropic teams at UCSF.

· The construction team with Synchro embodies USCF's own philosophy on the worksite about the vital importance of proximate "relational teams" working collaboratively to solve complex problems.

· Synchro provided leading construction technology to contribute to the construction of this scientific research institute, which could benefit so many people from its medical advances.

"Synchro has been useful at UCSF to schedule site logistics," said Mitch Boryslawski, Principal at View By View. "It is so helpful to identify and address potential scheduling problems early with 4D BIM software."

To play a brief YouTube movie clip about Synchro's 4D BIM construction software, simply click here.

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