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The University of Colorado added a new Health Sciences facility to the Anschutz Medical Campus with the goal of serving multiple purposes: event space, classrooms, patient care clinics, medical research laboratory, and flagship data center that is a hub for campus-wide data. The end result is a state-of-the-art building that is as high tech as it is multi-functional.
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is a world-class destination for education, research, and health care. It is the site of two top-ranked hospitals, six leading health professional schools, and it is where scientists are conducting life-changing research to solve health problems, from heart disease to cancer, to Alzheimer’s disease and Covid-19. When CU Anschutz added a new Health Sciences building to its campus, the university’s goal was to create a space that could serve multiple purposes…classrooms, patient rooms, offices, a campus data center, vivarium laboratory, and a place to gather for events and collaboration.
What made this project both rewarding and challenging was that the multi-functional goals also created more complex technology needs. It was not enough for the building to feature the bells and whistles of the latest high-tech systems; every one of the many systems also needed to connect centrally to the campus network and be fully functional and efficient on day one.
Aptitude designed and delivered five systems for the new building: audio-visual, distributed antennae system, structured cabling, access control, and nurse call. Yet, equally if not more important was the leadership and project management the Aptitude team provided by acting as the overall technology coordinator before, during, and after construction. This included managing and planning for each technology system with ongoing design review and as the go-to liaison between every party involved – owner, facilities, IT, trade partners, and construction team.
“Where we really add value is our ability to communicate and collaborate with owners, IT, and construction crew,” said Andrew Gates, Aptitude Senior Project Manager. We have IT backgrounds and construction expertise, so we know what is required and give clear direction to everyone involved. If someone like us is not owning technology as a whole, nobody leads it, and it does not come to fruition the way it’s supposed to.”
Today, the Anschutz Health Sciences building is a bustling center of activity for the campus and larger surrounding community. With gleaming windows throughout that give a glimpse of the learning and research taking place within the beautiful building as well as the top-of-the-line technology features, the space is truly an example of science on display.
