KU Central District Development Integrated Sciences Building
Educational hub for cutting-edge exploration
Project Facts
| Location | Lawrence, Kansas |
| Owner | University of Kansas |
| Size | 310,000 SF |
| Cost | $350 million |
| Status | Completed 2018 |
Overview
Found within the Central District of the University of Kansas main campus is the Integrated Sciences Building (IBS), a focal point for teaching, learning, and research. The unique design allowed for a blurring of lab and social space, providing a perfect recipe for collaboration and research. The steel-construction facility was integral to the once-in-a-lifetime project redeveloping the 55-acre site, which included a new Student Union, student housing, dining, and 600-car parking garage in addition to the IBS.
Services
About the project
In 2015, the University of Kansas embarked on a major construction program to replace and add buildings to their main Lawrence campus. The project redeveloped an under-utilized 55-acre central campus site, adding a 280,000 SF Integrated Science Building (ISB), a new satellite Student Union, a 600-space parking structure, and a 4,000-amp Central Utility Plant capable of supporting both new and future infrastructure. Rather than wait to obtain traditional state funding for the project—which would have extended the project schedule by over a decade or more—the university took advantage of a new financing model for state universities, the public-private partnership (P3). By teaming with a design-build-finance team led by developer Edgemoor, the $350M project was completed in just 36 months, propelling KU toward achieving its mission of becoming a flagship research university.
To meet the university’s need for this project to be completed quickly, the Walter P Moore team tackled the accelerated schedule by providing early construction packages, reducing the conventional lab research facility design schedule from 12 months to 6 months while still producing the high-quality work clients anticipate. As a testament to the team’s focus and delivery, the topping out of the primary structure for the four-story Integrated Science Building was celebrated ten months after producing design development documents, four months faster than a conventional project timeline.
The efficiency and collaboration of Walter P Moore and its partners were critical for the University of Kansas to meet its goal of reinvigorating the campus environment by the end of 2018. The redeveloped KU Central District offers new dormitories and classrooms, providing an environment for education, research, and excellence, renewing the university’s reputation as a cutting-edge research and science teaching institution.
