An Eye for Optics
By K. Robert Wendel

Designers are taking a bold new look at the University of Arizona with the construction of a seven -story building dedicated to the optical sciences.

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Departing from the traditional "University of Arizona" red brick so common throughout the Tucson campus, architects from Richard & Bauer of Phoenix are wrapping the $17 million Meinel Optical Research Center in a red copper cladding on three sides. A fourth side, on the north, features an articulated glass curtain wall stretching from top to bottom.

The building is named after Dr. Aden Meinel, a professor emeritus at the University of Arizona, who was involved in the design and construction of >> many telescopes, including Kitt Peak and the Steward Observatory.

Strangely enough for a building that will function as an optical science center, the building's entire south façade has no windows. Much of the research takes place in darkened rooms.

General contractor Lloyd Construction Co. Inc. of Tucson started work on the 47,000-sq.-ft. project in July, with contractors excavating a hole so crews could begin pouring the 96 cast-in-place shafts the building sits on. The new lab is connected by a multi story glass encased bridge to the existing optics building which features the U of A red brick.

"It's not a big project, but it has a lot of pizazz," said Tim Shute, the Lloyd Construction superintendent. "I have done a lot of work at the U of A, but nothing like this. It's one of kind."

The 32-oz. copper cladding is being treated with a special solution to prevent the cladding from turning green over time. The all-concrete project also features a five-level, glass-walled bridge connecting the old optics research center to the new building.

"We wanted to do something that bought out the character of the red brick, but at the same time, we wanted something more of a statement because the U of A is one of the leaders in the world of optics, so they wanted a building with high design," said project architect Steve Kennedy of Richard & Bauer in Phoenix. "We are treating the copper so it won't turn green and it should last the university 100 years without maintenance."

Designers experimented with the possibility of using a mat pour, but eventually settled on the drilled and cast-in-place piers.

The drilled bell caissons are designed to limit vibration, which can interfere with delicate scientific work in the optics lab. The shafts range in diameter, with the largest a 30-in.-diameter pier drilled down 40- ft. The largest piers are located in the building's center core and the project is designed much like a skyscraper. The foundation system alone required more than 3,000 cu. yds. of concrete.

The floors cantilever out over the central core and feature a scalloped edge on the floor slabs on the northern part of the building.

The placement of the mechanical systems in the basement on isolated pads also limits vibration. The building will utilize a central university plant for heating and cooling.

"It's all been engineered to eliminate vibration," said Bill Lloyd of Lloyd Construction. "Everything that can be done to keep vibration out of that building has been done."

The 8,000-sq.-ft. floor plates sit on a 12-in.concrete slab floor with infill concrete block between concrete walls. The copper cladding will hang off the side, creating an airflow space between the building and the copper.

The jobsite is a tight 10,000 sq. ft. "From the day we stepped on this job, we have been working with cranes," Shute said. "We are either 40- ft. in the ground or 120 -ft. in the air."

The building is designed around the notion of optics. Its main entrance is located below grade, but a central light shaft, combined with the articulated glass curtain wall provides plenty of natural light on all floors.

The interiors will feature three types of clean-room facilities ranging from Class 100 to Class 10,000. The new optics center also has a chemistry lab and labs for experiments, as well as office space. Lab and office spaces feature 13-ft. ceilings with corridors heights at 9 -ft.

"The natural lighting is really going to be phenomenal," Lloyd said.

The project's floors cantilever out over the main entrance, giving students a place to gather before and after class. The area is cooled with the building's relief air through a 48-in. duct.

"We are taking all the building relief air and piping it outside into the hard scape and releasing it down on the plaza level," Kennedy said. "Rather than just dumping the air out on the roof and into the sky, we are dumping it where the people are to get some cooling effect on the lower level outside."