Genomics New Construction: George E. Whalen VA Medical Center, Salt Lake City, UT

Genomics Medicine Addition

Client: George E. Whalen VA Medical Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

Paradigm provided design and construction period services for this Genomics project. It involved the new construction of an approximately 16,850 SF addition to Salt Lake City’s VAMC‘s Building 2. This specialized environmental control space accommodates Salt Lake City’s VAMC Genomic Medicine Center with accompanying support functions, including mechanical and electrical.

This new wing is attached to the existing Building 2’s west end. It consists of space for bio-storage ultra-low temperature robotic freezers, associated informatics support offices, support laboratories, and telemedicine service. The new wing is designed so that it has the ability to vertically expand by two or three floors in future phases. This addition was constructed in accordance with the sustainability, energy, security, seismic and research requirements applied to VA Medical Center construction.

This Genomics project replaced and expanded the utility systems necessary to make the remodeled space energy-efficient by current VA standards. Paradigm’s project design included analysis for the site preparation for a state-of-the-art bio bank and genomic medicine technology. Paradigm ensured that the most viable building service systems were constructed to support the robotics, low temperature equipment, and sophisticated research equipment that fill this new space. This addition also provides storage and recovery of up to 6,000,000 samples critical to ongoing research.

Paradigm’s services included:

• Laser survey measurements
• Physical security
• Traffic studies
• Structural studies
• Geotechnical studies