INFRASTRUCTURE
AT THE BEGINNING of this academic year , the first students at the Innovation , Science and Technology ( IST ) building at Florida Polytechnic University started their studies in STEM ( Science , Technology , Engineering and Mathematics ) subjects . The building , designed by renowned architect Santiago Calatrava , was constructed by Skanska USA - on-time and within the set budget of $ 60 million .
The biggest challenge facing both the design and the construction teams of the 160,000-square-foot structure was that 90 percent of it was on a radius , so the team had to find a way to build never-done-before louver arms that would rise to 12 stories above grade , and then hydraulically lower – all to ensure the optimum amount of daylight would enter the building .
Chuck Jablon , Vice President of Operations at Skanska USA , explains : “ These arms raise and lower in sync each day like butterfly wings , with the goal of shading the interior and inspiring the young STEM students as they arrive at school each day .” Working on such a complex building required the very best out of the project team , which included
The rooftop aluminum louvers , were made within a 1 / 16 of an inch tolerance
12 salaried Skanska employees , 45 trade contractors and a total of over 1,000 craft workers . Jablon says : “ All workers on site needed to pay immense attention to each detail and perform their work with the utmost precision . In order to bring Calatrava ’ s vision to life , it was imperative to build the project without any imperfections , which took careful planning and close coordination . For example , the rooftop aluminum louvers , with
8 December 2015