BOND breaks ground on Bristol Community College's 50,000 s/f John J. Sbrega Health and Science Building

BOND celebrated the groundbreaking of Bristol Community College's (BCC) new John J. Sbrega, Ph.D. Health and Science Building, located at their main campus. BOND is working with BCC, the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), and designer Sasaki Associates to deliver the 50,000 s/f facility. Construction of the health and science building includes two full stories composed of teaching labs, offices, and community space. A central atrium will act as a common area, promoting informal group study and learning space for the entire campus. BOND will also construct new plazas and walkways around the facility to attract students to the building. Tracking LEED Platinum certification, the building is designed to achieve Zero Net Energy (ZNE), meaning that the facility will have zero net energy consumption annually. ZNE is a monumental achievement for any building, but especially for one that houses a large amount of energy-consuming laboratory space. To offset the facility's energy consumption, the team will install a combination of ground-source and air-source heat pumps to provide heating and cooling to the building. In addition, 14 of the building's 18 fume hoods will filter and return air to the space, rather than exhausting it out into the atmosphere. Lastly, a photovoltaic array, built adjacent to the facility, will provide power to the building and serve as a shading structure. "BOND is proud to manage the construction of such a sustainable and technologically-advanced facility for the Bristol Community College campus," said Robert Murray, BOND president. The Building adds to BOND's long history of constructing collegiate science and technology centers, including Dartmouth College's LEED Platinum Class of 1978 Life Sciences Center, Harvard's 500,000 s/f Northwest Laboratories facility, and several laboratory and research facilities for the Mass. Institute of Technology. The building is slated for completion in the summer of 2015. One of the fastest-growing community colleges in the northeast, BCC is constructing the John J. Sbrega, Ph.D Health and Science Building to provide learning and teaching spaces for its expanding student population. It will serve as a collaborative resource occupied by several disciplines, including biology, chemistry, clinical laboratory science, dental hygiene, medical technology and nursing. Housing multiple departments in this shared space will facilitate a cross-sharing of ideas between the college's science and health departments. Shown (from left) are: Ian Scherling, landscape architect, Sasaki; Peter Hedlund, landscape architect, Sasaki;Jim Moses, architect, Sasaki; Fiske Cromwell, primary project architect, Sasaki; John Sbrega, Ph.D, president, Bristol Community College; Robert Murray, president, BOND; Ted Nevelis, senior project manager, BOND; Robert Mischler, project executive; and Dan Palmer, project superintendent, BOND.