Texas A&M University System National Center for Therapeutic Manufacturing

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Andy Tandon, project manager at Turner says the construction team began the project in Apr. 2010 and finished one month early in July.  He says the facility is essentially two buildings under one roof - 48,000sf of academic space and 104,000sf of manufacturing.

He says the academic space will be used to educate students in biological and pharmaceutical sciences and the manufacturing space will be leased to commercial pharmaceutical manufacturers.

  “Turner built the Texas A&M University System’s “first-in-class” multi-product, multi-technology, pharmaceuticals manufacturing facility that will be the cornerstone for revolutionary strategic, commercial, research and education based programs,” he said.

“The facility will provide a cost efficient alternative to single product facilities, and will serve as the hub for research into small scale therapeutics manufacturing and process optimization.  More importantly, the facility will be the operational prototype for phase one trials in the development of personalized affordable cancer vaccines.”

According to Tandon, the facility encompasses all features necessary to comply with FDA current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) standards and consists of multiple portable lab spaces utilizing the latest single use, disposable product technologies.   It is designed for maximum flexibility while maintaining consistent FDA compliance, allowing multiple technologies, often requiring separation, to be employed simultaneously, he said.

  “In addition, to these attributes, the facilities will accommodate non-cGMP academic research and lab process and protocol training, through the use of large wet labs, mock training rooms, classroom/auditorium spaces, client and academic office suites and a computer lab,” Tandon said.  “The facility incorporates principles of sustainable design and energy efficiency.”

  Tandon says the primary construction materials used on the Academic side were curtainwall, metal paneling and Alucobond and on the cGMP side the materials used were tiltwall panel and metal paneling.

“As a bio-pharmaceutical research and manufacturing facility, maintaining a clean site and facility from start to finish was of critical importance,” he said.  “By implementing LEAN construction principals, Turner and the project subcontractors were able to meet this challenge and mitigate any unnecessary waste or and site conditions affecting the project’s cleanliness.

  “A significant aspect of the LEAN construction approach incorporates efficiency management in the coordination of trade work and materials on the jobsite. All subcontractors contributed to a “Continuous Clean” approach by utilizing offsite pre-fabrication, just-in-time deliveries and efficient jobsite materials storage and management procedures.

  “Additionally, Turner and the architect constructed the building in the virtual world first, before turning the first stone, by using Building Information Modeling (BIM). This digital method of designing a building enabled Turner and its partners to detect where potential construction conflicts (clashes) would occur.  The team (owner, architects, engineers and subcontractors) then developed solutions for eliminating all conflicts before they developed into costly surprises in the field.

“By allowing subcontractors to become an active part of managing and coordinating their work with others, Turner was able to streamline the construction process and promote quality and project cleanliness.”

   Henry C. Turner founded Turner, a general contracting and construction management company, in 1902.   Turner’s Texas offices employ over 300 full-time employees, and oversee approximately $400 million in construction projects each year.  In Texas, the company has offices in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.  –ab

Professional Team
Superintendent: Aubrey Harrell, Turner
Project Engineer:  David Cramer, Turner
Assistant Superintendent:  Carter Charanza, Turner
Assistant Superintendent:  Chris Washburn, Turner
Architect – Academic Side: Harrison Kornberg of Houston, TX
Architect – cGMP Side: Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects of San Diego, CA

©2011 Construction News, Ltd.