RUDOLPH AND SLETTEN COMPLETES STRUCTURAL STEEL FOR THE MOLECULAR FOUNDRY, BEGINS PAINSTAKING WORK OF FINISHING A STATE-OF-THE-ART NANOTECH RESEARCH LABORATORY

FOSTER CITY, CA (February 21, 2005)—Rudolph and Sletten General Contractors announced today that it has completed the "topping off" of structural steel for the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and will finish construction of the nanotech research facility by the end of the year.  The Molecular Foundry is being constructed on the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Campus in Berkeley, California, adjacent to the campus of UC Berkeley. 

The $85 million state-of-the-art project is one of just five Nanoscale Science Research Centers established by the U.S. Department of Energy, and the only one being built on the west coast.  The six-story, 94,500 square foot laboratory will be devoted to multidisciplinary nanotechnology research, involving researchers from private industry as well as universities throughout the world.  Berkeley Lab will operate the Foundry, which is being funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Design Architect is SmithGroup, San Francisco. Rudolph and Sletten joined the project during its initial design phase, and partnered with SmithGroup and Berkeley Lab to address the unusual construction requirements of the facility and to originate a set of standards for building the nanotech structure.  Only a handful of nanotech research facilities have been constructed across the country, most within the last five years, and standards for construction are still evolving.

The facility presents many unique construction challenges because of its nanoscale science application, which permits researchers to work at a molecular level.  A nanometer is measured as a billionth of a meter, the size of 8-10 atoms.  Matter at this scale, far too small for the eye to see, often behaves very differently, requiring a unique environment built by special construction methods.

The Molecular Foundry will allow nanotechnology researchers to investigate new possibilities inherent in thousands of existing materials. Nanoscience offers promise for many new products and medicines, from silicon chips to drug delivery methods to health-care testing tools. (A recent nanotech innovation, for example, is a nanotech-engineered insulation used in electric motors that saves energy).

"The environment we are trying to create will allow the researchers to work at a molecular level," said Joe Harkins, project manager for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. "Researchers need to image and sometimes even manipulate individual atoms.  This requires an environment that is quiet from a vibrational and air movement standpoint, as well as free of airborne and electromagnetic interferences.  We've taken care to achieve these environments within the facility."

Rudolph and Sletten is qualified to build this type of project because of its safety culture and innovative construction of highly technical and complex facilities, including its expertise in building state-of-the-art biotech manufacturing and research facilities.  Recently completed projects include The J. David Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, Cell Genesys in South San Francisco, and the Broad Center for Biological Sciences at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Another challenge in constructing the Molecular Foundry is that the building melds several different kinds of scientific facilities into a single structure.  "In nanotechnology, the sciences start to merge," said Albert Lee, Project Executive for Rudolph and Sletten.  "The various areas that we are constructing within the facility include the disciplines of biology, chemistry, physics, and electronics.  We must be able to construct across those boundaries and create a novel hybrid facility.  In many ways, this project is a model. 

"This building combines clean room construction typically associated with the semiconductor industry with laboratory construction that is typical in the construction of biotech research facilities."

Special Construction Methods
Because nanotech researchers must manipulate or image individual atoms, normal noise, vibrations, or electromagnetic emissions must be carefully regulated and controlled.  The miniature scale of nanoscience research mandated that Rudolph and Sletten implement special building techniques, including:

• Minimizing the vibration threshold through the slab
• Controlling noise and vibration that is airborne
• Reducing electro-magnetic interference

Vibration Through the Slab
The vibration threshold, which refers to noise movement through the slab, is a low 125 micro-inches per second.  To control the vibration threshold from a structural point of view, Rudolph and Sletten paid special attention to the composition of sub-base materials and the location of the sources of slab vibration.  An adjacent building houses the utility equipment that could cause vibration.  The utility building is separated from the research facilities by foam board that is placed between two 12-inch concrete walls to help isolate the vibration.

Controlling Air Vibration and Electromagnetic Interference
Air vibration (audible or inaudible noise that is airborne) is minimized through slotted diffusers and acoustic baffles.  Electromagnetic interference also needed to be reduced. Electrical utilities, both interior and exterior, have been located to make sure that their electromagnetic emissions do not affect research.

Rudolph and Sletten used epoxy coated rebar to help break the continuity from bar to bar and reduce electromagnetic interference. Fiberglass reinforcement in the concrete slabs are installed below critical pieces of equipment to further reduce the chance of emissions. Rigid steel conduits are also used to shield emissions.  Transformers and electrical panel boards are located far away form the critical spaces.

Constructing a Multi-hybrid Building
Because nanoscience crosses many disciplines, several kinds of specialized scientific facilities are incorporated into the Molecular Foundry, each with its own construction challenges, including:

• An electron microscopy suite within the imaging and manipulation area on the first floor
• A nanofabrication suite, similar to a semi-conductor clean room, on the second floor, built to class 100 clean room standards
• A heavy computing area, used for theory, on the third floor
• Inorganic labs on the fourth floor
• Biology labs on the fifth floor
• Organic labs on the sixth floor

Other Challenges in Building the Structure
In addition to the nanotech constraints and requirements, other construction challenges include:

• Building the structure within a long and narrow constricted site cut into a hillside above Memorial Stadium between two adjacent buildings. The site offered limited access and required close coordination to complete the excavation process and installation of the shoring system.  Excavation for the building required cutting 70 feet into the hillside.  The first three floors were constructed into the hillside, and offices on floors three, four and five are cantilevered and extend over a frontage road.
• Carrying out construction while maintaining sensitivity to two adjacent buildings.  One neighboring facility houses electron microscopes that are highly sensitive to moving and vibration.
• Constructing the space to meet LEED's (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) prestigious Silver Rating. LEED standards are set to develop high performance sustainable buildings.  The Molecular Foundry will be the first LEED certified building at Berkeley Lab.  The LEED certification incorporates a number of sustainable elements within the construction process, including energy efficient materials, as well as other non-toxic and renewable materials. (75% of the construction waste will be recycled, and energy consumption will be 30% below Title 24 requirements).
• Constructing spaces on each floor that serve as a basis for collaborative scientific interaction, including meeting rooms, coffee rooms, and spaces in the stairwell.
• Building a detached utility structure that provides the main support for the HVAC systems, switchgear, and emergency generator.

The building is structural steel and cast concrete with a skin of metal and aluminum panels and energy-efficient glass.

About Rudolph and Sletten
Rudolph and Sletten (www.rsconstruction.com) is one of the leading general contracting firms on the West Coast and maintains offices in Foster City, Roseville, Irvine, and San Diego, California. As a pace setter in the construction industry, Rudolph and Sletten has provided quality-oriented general contracting and construction management services for over four decades. Rudolph and Sletten's expert professionals manage each job comprehensively, from site selection and preconstruction services through project completion.

Rudolph and Sletten's building expertise includes virtually all types of projects with an emphasis on those markets where their technical expertise and quality excel: corporate campuses and office buildings, biotechnology and pharmaceutical research and manufacturing, wineries, data centers, health care, electronics, and high-tech research. Other areas of expertise include parking structures, educational institutions, housing, public attraction, and retail facilities.  Rudolph and Sletten is committed to building responsibly and with more than 125 LEED Accredited Professionals in-house, can demonstrate the economic advantages and ease of incorporating sustainable aspects into projects of any size.  Rudolph and Sletten's current clients include Hewlett-Packard, Genentech, Kaiser, Stanford University, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Chiron, eBay, and the University of California.

About Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been a leader in science and engineering research for more than 70 years, and is the oldest of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Laboratories.  Berkeley Lab is managed by the University of California, operating with an annual budget of more than $500 million.  It has a staff of about 3,800 employees, plus more than 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral employees.  Berkeley Lab is educating about 500 students through the Molecular Foundry who are studying with the University of California (mainly Berkeley).

Berkeley Lab conducts unclassified research across a wide range of scientific disciplines, with key efforts in fundamental studies of the universe; quantitative biology; nanoscience; new energy systems and environmental solutions; and the use of integrated computing as a tool of discovery. The researchers at Berkeley Lab have received ten Nobel Prizes, six in physics and four in chemistry.

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