Welliver was hired to manage pre-construction planning and construction of a $58 million state-of-the-art research and teaching facility that united Cornell’s Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility (CNF), the Nanobiotechnology Center, and the Center for Materials Research – providing one central location for research and collaboration. The previous facilities used had been constructed nearly two decades before and the University’s research community was in dire need of expanded capabilities. The project supports research and instruction in electronic and photonic devices, microelectromechanical devices, advanced materials processing, and biotechnology devices.
Size: 153,000 SF total Atria: 21,563 SF Clean Room: 25,788 SF Lab Space: 50,267 SF Mechanical: 44,796 SF
Project Highlights
- Multiple types of laboratories to meet all research needs of the housed disciplines: wet, dry, specialty, and a 20,000 SF clean room.
- Redesign of the Engineering Quadrangle, with the construction of four large atria, providing year-round learning space for faculty, staff, and students.
- The sensitive nature of nanoscale research demands a significant reduction in vibrations and electromagnetic fields normally found in buildings. The existing laboratory, located adjacent to Duffield, had to be kept operational during construction. The team installed “floating slabs” that were separate from all building elements to prevent ground and internal building vibrations from reaching research areas.
- To ensure a clean laboratory environment the team wore protective gear, used a specialized HEPA filter vacuum system during procedures such as welding, and wiped down all construction materials before entering the clean room.
- Duffield Hall was built as a shared-services facility therefore, the research capabilities provided by the facility cover a wide variety of needs that allow for shared research programs and partnerships across disciplines including: Process Integration, Cell-Surface Interactions, Modeling and Simulation, Biomolecular Devices, Nanoscale Cell Biology, Electronic Interfaces IRG, Nanoscale Growth IRG, Atomic Membranes IRG.
