Fifty-one construction projects totaling more than more than $620 million are under way across the A&M System. Here, Tim Donathen, executive director of Facilities Planning and Construction, discusses the A&M System’s changing landscape.
Tim
Donathen
Systemwide: How many new buildings are under way for 2006? What is their total cost?
Donathen: Facilities Planning and Construction currently has 51 active projects. Seven are in the initial planning and programming phase, 25 are under design, and 16 are under construction. The total value of this combined facilities program is $620,539,764.
The number of projects completed in a year varies as does the combined value of those projects. Typically FP&C annually completes 10 to 12 projects having a combined value of $140 to $160 million.
Has the amount of construction increased in recent years? If so, do you think this trend will continue?
The number of construction projects has increased and remained constant since the 2001 Legislative Session. At that time we received a sudden increase of 17 projects resulting from Tuition Revenue Bond authorized projects occurring at each System university and the Health Science Center.
This created an immediate jump in program value by approximately $277 million. Many of these projects have recently been completed; however, the faculty reinvestment program initiated by Texas A&M President Robert Gates, which will bring nearly 500 new faculty members to Texas A&M in five years, as well as new projects at other System campuses, have sustained this record volume of projects and total program value being managed by FP&C.
Is the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building at Texas A&M one of the most ambitious projects you’ve worked on? Do you see a trend for buildings to be bigger and more inclusive, or smaller and more specialized?
This project as planned will provide 218,000 gross square feet of space for Texas A&M. This is the System’s largest teaching and research building project, second only to the George Bush Presidential Library Center, which contains approximately 320,000 gross square feet of space.
The value of the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building at $95 million does exceed the Presidential Library Center cost of $83 million. It should be noted that while the Presidential Library Center involved a larger total development of building space, the difference in cost is due to a 10-year rise in construction costs since the Library project was bid and constructed. Another difference is the extensive number of high cost research labs that will be in the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building.
This is clearly one of the most ambitious projects for my staff and me based on its size and complexity. However, projects like the Bush Presidential Library Center and the new campuses for Texas A&M International University and A&M-Texarkana present equally challenging design and construction opportunities.
It is likely that we will continue to see these large projects at Texas A&M. Current planning by the university includes a couple of projects that could each cost $100 million or more.
What is difficult to know is when these projects will be ready to proceed with design and construction. The variety of programs at each of the campuses and agencies assures that challenges of meeting increasingly complex facility needs will remain high regardless of the overall cost of these individual projects.
Total program value is further expected to remain high as the universities respond to the State of Texas Closing the Gaps program to increase the number of students enrolled in colleges and universities in Texas by an additional 500,000 students by 2015.
What is the process for taking a building from the idea stage to completion?
This is a very complex question to answer because the overall process is quite extensive. Briefly, each project is evaluated based on the System member’s internal review and determination that a major new facility or renovation of an existing facility is needed to meet their goal of teaching, research and service.
FP&C works with the university’s assigned users to develop a Program of Requirements (POR) description of facility needs. The decision to initiate a new project also requires that the institution include the project in their campus or agency capital plan with a priority ranking established. Funding for the project must also be identified.
During the POR development phase, architect/engineer teams or design-build teams will be invited to present their qualifications to be selected to design the project.
After project approval by the Board of Regents, the selected design firm will develop a design and construction bid package for general contractors to compete for the contract to construct the renovation or new facility. Another critical requirement before most projects can proceed into construction is to be reviewed and approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
There are several methods a state agency may use to obtain construction services on a project. These include traditional competitive bids, competitive sealed proposals, design-build, and construction manager at risk.
The method of delivery is determined during the planning and programming phase of the project and is chosen based on construction industry conditions and the ability for the project to be delivered within established funding and time constraints.
As a project nears the end of construction, our in-house Interior Design Group coordinates the purchase and installation of new furnishings along with the relocation by the user of existing furnishings and equipment so the completed facility can be placed into service.
What are some of the issues you must consider because of a building’s location? For example, do you plan for hurricanes when designing buildings for Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi?
There are design and construction considerations related to the location of the campus in the state and also the project location on the campus.
In each case, regional and state building codes can be enhanced by location specific requirements such as those for facilities constructed along the coast. Standard building codes require that structures be designed to resist higher winds within a band along the Gulf Coast due to severe tropical storm and hurricane risk.
In addition, the insurance industry has enacted a requirement that all structures built within 50 miles of the coast to be designed and constructed and certified that they satisfy additional windstorm criteria. This is necessary for a building owner to receive a more favorable insurance premium rate for severe weather policy coverage.
While the academic facilities are covered under a State of Texas self insurance program, auxiliary facilities such as residence halls, food service and other non-academic facilities require separate insurance coverage.
Considerations when selecting a building site on a campus must take into account the impact the new facility will have on existing campus infrastructure such as utility service and street and parking access. Project sites without readily available heating and chilled water thermal service, electrical power, water or sanitary sewer service will incur the cost of extending these utilities to provide a reliable level of service to the new facility.
Condition and capacity of existing streets must be evaluated for their ability to accommodate the increase in vehicular traffic, delivery vehicles, university shuttle or bus service, as well as providing safe routes for bicyclists and pedestrians. Roadways must also be capable of accommodating the heaver loading of emergency rescue and fire protection vehicles with adequate turns and radiuses to provide safe access.
Do you work with major donors to ensure their preferences are included when designing the buildings that will bear their name?
The decision to work with a major building donor on their preferences for a building that will bear their name is typically left up to the university administration. In most cases, the donors do not become involved in the actual design. In a very limited number of cases we have met with and received input about a building design from a donor.
Your office provides interior design services as well. How do designers determine color schemes and furniture?
The interior furnishings used on a project are the result of collaboration between our interior designer and the building architect and their choices in building materials and finishes. In all cases, both the building exterior and interior finishes and the interior furnishings scheme are presented to the building users and the university administration for their input and approval.
How is the architectural style of a new building chosen?
Each campus has a base set of exterior materials with range of color and textures that establishes a unifying guideline for all campus buildings. These include standards of brick, natural or cast stone, cast–in-place concrete or precast concrete, window frames, and roofing materials.
Recently, Texas A&M adopted architectural style guidelines to better regulate the overall appearance of building exteriors. On most campuses we strive to maintain a consistent use of these core materials with the architectural style based on the established architectural elements used on the most prominent campus buildings.
On occasion, due to a special building type, or a strong preference to design a distinctively different building image, the campus architectural standards may not be strictly followed.
What is your favorite part of your job?
A favorite part of my job is having the opportunity to work closely with administrators and users on very diverse and specialized facility projects that occur in a major teaching and research university and agency organization such as the A&M System.
The diversity of projects such as classrooms and teaching labs with changing technology applications, specialized research facilities, large- and small-scale recreational and varsity athletic facilities, residence halls, student development centers, food service facilities, bookstores, parking and utility and roads infrastructure all provide a very rewarding personal experience.
What is the most interesting project you have worked on so far?
There is no single project that I have been involved with that stands out in my 26 years of working for the A&M System. But, if I were to choose, I would have to include the two projects to establish completely new campuses for Texas A&M International University in Laredo and Texas A&M-Texarkana.
These two totally new campuses are among only a handful of new university campuses throughout the United States to be planned and established in more than 25 years.
Coupled with these would have to be the once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in the planning, design and construction of the George Bush Presidential Library complex.
