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Clinical Skills Lab receives top statewide design-build award

Dr. Bobbie Conner, left, demonstrates to two UF veterinary medical students how to perform CPR on a dog in the college’s clinical skills laboratory. (File photo)

The UF College of Veterinary Medicine’s Clinical Skills Laboratory building addition received the top overall state award in the Education category of the Florida Chapter of the Design-Build Institute’s annual awards competition.

The award was presented during the Institute’s annual conference on Oct. 12.

The competition evaluates design and building quality, safety, cost, sustainability, teaming performance and the project’s success from development to procurement to execution, according to the competition’s call for entries.

“This project was an example of design-build at its best and it wasn’t because everything went smoothly without a hitch,” said David Wood, a project manager with UF’s Planning, Design and Construction Division.  “There were many challenges related to the ongoing operation of the college and issues with laboratory equipment, as an example. It was the way the team worked together and committed to the client’s needs that made this complex project a success.”

The completed Clinical Skills Lab addition to the UF CVM’s Veterinary Academic Building. (Photo courtesy of Oelrich Construction)

The $4.8 million three-story addition, designed and built by locally based firms Oelrich Construction, Walker Architects, Affiliated Engineers and Structural Engineers Group, includes an immersive teaching laboratory, infectious diseases/pathology research laboratory and a mechanical penthouse. Integrated sustainability concepts include: reduced energy consumption through energy-efficient lighting and mechanical systems, sourcing of regional and low-impact construction materials with recycled content, and providing outdoor views to over 90 percent of the office/clinic spaces.

Completed in August 2015, the lab is equipped with advanced simulation technologies used to teach veterinary students and faculty best practices for techniques such as tying sutures, inserting IV catheters, drawing blood samples and identifying parasites. The additional research and mechanical space was completed about a year later.

Earlier this year, the space received a LEED gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, which rates building sustainability on categories such as indoor environmental air quality, design innovation and energy efficiency.

“Our new LEED gold clinical skills lab building addition artfully balances form and function,” said UF College of Veterinary Medicine Executive Director John Haven. “The facility provides a high-quality research space worthy of UF’s first National Academy of Sciences member Dr. Roy Curtiss, and an extraordinary teaching and simulation lab, which has already been visited by several colleges as a model for teaching students veterinary skills prior to interaction with live animals.”

Conceived as part of UF’s Preeminence program, the three-story Clinical Skills Laboratory addition reflects the university’s commitment to pioneering the next generation of veterinary medicine education, research and clinical treatment.