Gilbane, Lend Lease and Skanska Partner to Celebrate Safety Week 2015

DURHAM, N.C. — Gilbane Building Company, Lend Lease and Skanska, joined forces on the Duke University Campus as industry leaders to bring awareness to the importance of safety on the jobsite and in the workplace. Each of the firms is constructing various projects for Duke University and committed to promoting a strong safety culture through daily activities, training sessions and sharing best practices.

“Safety Week is an opportunity for our employees, suppliers and contractors we work with to come together and celebrate their progress toward an Incident and Injury-Free workplace and reinforce their commitment to make safety the priority every day, both on the job and at home,” said Robert Crowder, vice president, Gilbane Building Company.

On Tuesday, May 5, the three firms came together starting with a group stretch and flex at the Chapel Grounds and continued with a four-hour IIF Orientation for the firm’s campus leadership. Other activities that took place during Safety Week were trenching/excavation toolbox discussions, hosting Duke Police and Emergency Response teams onsite with construction worker mock evacuation and fall protection training.

Gilbane is providing construction management at-risk services for the new three-story Health and Wellness Center. The site is located on the heaviest traveled cross campus connector and directly across the road from the Duke Basketball Venue, Cameron Indoor Stadium. The 70,000-square-foot building will integrate facilities and services for the advancing of the physical, emotional and spiritual health of the university community members, specifically the services and programs offered by the Student Health Center, Counseling and Psychological Services and the Student Wellness Center, as well as other related programs that may be included in the new facility.

Lend Lease is serving as the construction manager for Duke University’s David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. This project will renovate the original West Campus Library building and consists of an 115,000-square-foot demolition and upfit of the cornerstone building of Duke’s gothic campus. The challenging portions of the project include removal of the interior stack system and subsequent structure pour back, very tight logistics planning and high-end finishes. The adjacent facilities are also occupied, adding to the complexity of the project. Two major legacy spaces — the Gothic Reading Room and the Mary Duke Biddle Rare Book Room — are receiving complete renovations while maintaining their historic character. Upon completion, the facility will be a state-of-the-art research facility.

Skanska is serving as the construction manager for Duke University’s West Campus Union renovation. The 115,000-square-foot renovation will encompass student dining by providing 11 food venues including a pub, café, bakery and sushi bar, along with other unique venues, casual common spaces, faculty common areas, meeting rooms, food preparation facilities and kitchens, storage and mechanical rooms. The work also includes two new elevated concrete walkways and connector bridges with glass railings and decorative glass inserts in the walkway, and an outdoor seating and eating area with new outdoor social spaces. In addition, the building will house the precinct steam-to-hot-water conversion plant that will provide hot water to adjacent buildings. The building updates will create a more vibrant and energetic campus union that will greatly enhance the student and faculty experience.

Source: Gilbane Building Company.