CORNERSTONE 9/14/07 3:30 PM Page 38
CORNERSTONE CONSTRUCTION
The centrally located atrium at UAA’s 120,000-square-foot Integrated Sciences Building will serve as
the main area for faculty, researchers and students to socialize when it opens in 2010.
ness of the need to prevent the state’s
“brain drain” fueled the need for the new
building. Before, the university could
only provide a portion of the students
with the latest technology and lab facili-
ties, forcing many to look out-of-state for
other programs, and eventually, careers.
Now, Hatch says, “there is no doubt we
will retain more students.”
Meeting Complex Requirements
Cornerstone Construction, the construc-
tion manager-at-risk on the facility, broke
ground on the facility in March 2007
after an extensive preplanning process
that involved forming a strong partner-
ship with the owner and the architect.
38 ■ CONSTRUCTION TODAY ■ OCTOBER 2007
The Anchorage-based company has
found its niche constructing complex
facilities in Alaska, where the competi-
tion cannot. Cornerstone specializes in
medical, military, laboratory, educational
and industrial projects.
Meeting tight deadlines and budgeting
requirements while still building a quali-
ty facility requires the company to part-
ner with UAA, a team of subcontractors
and ZGF Architects. According to Project
Manager Mark Palmatier, the
design/assist relationship has helped
keep all parties aligned with the budget,
allowing the company to make immedi-
ate adjustments when needed in the ini-
tial design phases. For example, when
the project exceeded the budget by
almost $6 million, within 10 days, the
company used value-engineering, pulled
out unnecessary mechanical, electrical
and plumbing elements and brought the
budget back in check.
In March, Cornerstone broke ground
on the facility, constructing the founda-
tion and erecting the steel and concrete
frame. The company had to pay close
attention to the seismic zone require-
ments. To meet the zoning requirements,
the company constructed five groups of
pilings made of steel pipe that were each
driven 40 feet below the surface and
capped off with as much as 160 pounds
of concrete and steel plates.
“I have never seen anything quite like
this – and I have been doing construc-
tion for 30 years – with the giant seismic
plates of steel that go down so far,”
Palmatier says.
As if merely constructing a building of
this magnitude wasn’t enough of a feat,
Cornerstone must also deal with the sea-
sonal, but harsh, Alaskan climate. “Our
timeframe is the biggest challenge,”
Palmatier says. “We just don’t have
enough summer to get things in place.
The building is too large. We’ve been
working crews as much as [12-hour
shifts, seven days a week].”
The company plans to have the roof
on by early October, which will allow the
team to work inside the structure during
the winter months.
The location also makes it more chal-
lenging for the contractor to meet work
force goals. Extensive preplanning and
scheduling helped cut the risk of coming
up short with its work force.
“We put together an organizational
chart; the planning up front was enor-
mous, so we assigned duties before we
started,” Palmatier explains. Several
members of the team have also been
assigned to specific tasks, with individu-
als in charge of document control and
construction management.
Cornerstone also held an extensive
interview session to select the 40-plus
subcontractors it will have working on
site by the building’s completion. During
the interview process, Palmatier says, the
company looked closely at the subcon-
tractors’ experience in complex design,
cost margins and ability to meet tight