Scripps Biomedical Research Institute

Fluor provided comprehensive program management services for the new $187 million Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, Florida, enabling Scripps to effectively manage the project from their home office in La Jolla, California. Fluor acted as an extension of the owner, representing Scripps in meetings with local officials, designers, and construction contractors.

Client's Challenge

The Scripps Research Institute, headquartered in La Jolla, California, created an East Coast campus in Jupiter, Florida primarily for biomedical research.

The new facility contains 250,000 square feet of research and development laboratories, 70,000 square feet of vivarium, and 40,000 square feet of administrative space. The research facility includes chemistry and biology laboratories and specialized laboratory support such as an NMR facility, BSL-3 facilities, X-ray crystallography, electron microscopes, and facilities for automation and robotics.

Fluor's Solution

Scripps engaged Fluor early for program management services at the programming and conceptual design stage. Representing the owner, Fluor solicited architectural proposals, analyzed the 23 responses, participated in interviews with the finalists, and presented its recommendation to Scripps for final selection. The winning design team was a joint venture between Zeidler Partnership (Montreal) and Bohlin, Cywinski, Jackson (Pittsburgh). A vital part of Fluor's design management activity was to maintain coordination between the multiple consultants and to communicate a consistent message on behalf of Scripps.

Fluor played a critical role in managing the design development to meet the fixed budget while achieving the minimum square footage, both requirements stipulated by the Palm Beach County grant agreement. These requirements necessitated a careful balance of quality and cost, as well as a clear set of project priorities. To meet the objectives, Fluor implemented a value engineering process through all stages of design, during which competing design concepts and alternatives were evaluated from a cost / benefit perspective.

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Conclusion

Fluor completed the 30-acre Scripps campus in February 2009, securing the certificates of occupancy weeks ahead of schedule. The new research facility is expected to spur creation of 6,500 new jobs over the next 15 years, and generate $1.6 billion in additional income to Floridians, boosting the state's gross domestic product by $3.2 billion over the same period.