Stanley Consultants is providing architectural-engineering services for the completion of a new hydrological instrumentation facility on the University of Alabama's Tuscaloosa campus. The new facility will support world-class hydrological equipment for near-real time water monitoring and research essential to the US Geological Survey’s mission of providing actionable information in water-resource management. The two story 95,000 square feet facility will include hydraulics and water quality labs, field testing facilities, environmental chambers, sensor innovation space and training labs. Provided services span pre-design through construction administration, including specialized laboratory programming/planning and design, cost estimating and bid phase services.
The pre-design phase included a value engineering study for this $44.2 million project. One of the major challenges during the value engineering study was to bring the project back into budget alignment. Our subject matter experts were able to creatively configure the most efficient use of spaces to enhance training opportunities without sacrificing aesthetic appeal. The accepted value engineering proposals resulted in a savings of $9.8 million. This value engineering study succeeded in bringing the project back into budget and allowed USGS to avoid sacrificing aesthetic appeal of their state-of the-art training facilities.
In addition to providing value engineering, Stanley Consultants supported this project in meeting the Department of Interior policy on sustainability, along with all local and state requirements for sustainable buildings. Stanley Consultants provided guidance for energy-efficient systems such as renewable energy strategies, daylighting, MEP systems alternatives, sustainable site strategies for storm water management and aesthetic considerations related to sustainability in its designs.