Remix for free
Sterling Distribution Center
Client
David Chen
Budget
$76 Million
Completion Date
Mar 2025
System Type
London, UK
Project Size
900,000 sq. ft.
Category
Industrial
Complex biocontainment conversion executed within tight floor-to-ceiling tolerances.
A 14-story core-and-shell conversion into certified BSL-3 laboratory cleanrooms, vivarium facilities, and dry computational research suites. The facility required complex air handling systems capable of 100% single-pass outside air, redundant emergency backup power, and vibration-isolated structural floor slabs for electron microscopy equipment.
Tight floor-to-ceiling clearances left minimal tolerance for mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and medical gas infrastructure. Every square inch of the overhead plenum required rigorous coordination to satisfy stringent biocontainment airflow differentials and decontamination requirements.
Modular multi-trade corridor racks pre-assembled and validated with LiDAR scanning.
Employed multi-trade off-site modular prefabrication for multi-service overhead utility corridor racks, air-handling valve manifolds, and skid-mounted central plant pumps. Cleanroom ceiling grids and specialized stainless steel exhaust ductwork routing were validated using high-density terrestrial LiDAR point clouds before field hoisting.
Field installations were executed under controlled clean-build protocols with progressive HEPA filtration zones established during rough-in. Commissioning agents were integrated into the daily site schedule from day one, validating individual system components in staged functional performance tests rather than backloading verification to the end of the build.
First-pass BSL-3 environmental certification with significant labor savings.
Prefabricated corridor utility racks reduced on-site overhead labor hours and congested hot work, allowing clean air balancing and environmental validation to pass on the initial commissioning attempt.
Reduction in on-site overhead labor hours through modular pre-assembly. Air exchange validation failures during final BSL-3 compliance testing. Direct cost savings realized through proactive constructability audits.
1,000%
Concrete certified
1,000in
Maximum deflection
1,000$
Direct cost savings
Sarah Jenkins
PE Program Director
