Pfizer R&D and Process Development Facility
Chesterfield, MO
| Owner | Pfizer |
|---|---|
| Architect | Forum Studio |
| Construction Manager | Clayco |
| Design Build Mechanical | icon Mechanical |
icon Mechanical is proud to have been a part of the $200 million Pfizer BioPlace office / laboratory facility, which is now home to over 600 scientists and researchers. The work housed in this facility includes the development of vaccines and drug treatments using proteins and peptides known as biotherapeutics. The laboratories here served as ground-zero for the development of the Pfizer vaccine as featured in this New York Times article: How Pfizer Makes Its Covid-19 Vaccine – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
The facility is a three-story structure, with 294,000 SF of developmental lab space and a mechanical penthouse. The building’s first level includes a pilot plant, solution prep, warehouse, support areas and loading dock. Levels 2, 3, and 4 include the laboratories, office areas, and interaction spaces as well as a Cell Bank Clean Room ISO 7 and OEB 5 Lab space.
The central utility plant includes a chilled water/cooling tower plant with N+1 redundancy. A steam boiler system with N+1 redundancy generates steam for process demand and humidification. Additionally, there are high efficiency condensing boilers to support heating in the building.
Eleven air handling units supply HVAC for heating and cooling. Lab spaces are pressure controlled through the use of Phoenix Valves. Various process systems were also included to provide clean steam, high-purity water, biokill of waste and CIP for process systems. All high-purity water systems were validated and constructed to ASME BPE standards.
Our ability to develop accurate preconstruction estimates that could be easily understood was just one of the keys in building a strong working relationship with the entire team of owners, developers and trade partners. It was through modeling and planning that we were able to develop the most cost-effective and energy-efficient systems.
The owner and general contractor engaged icon early in the process allowing for greater collaboration from the outset. This allowed for increased opportunity to evaluate first cost versus life cost, and ultimately, determine the best system for the Pfizer facility. The value-engineering process enabled icon to shave months off the construction schedule and save Pfizer over $1 million.