Gillam was awarded the construction management contract for this major $30M renovation, which is a total interior and exterior renovation of the original Life Science Building built in the 1960s. The facility remains in full operation in the basement and adjacent wings. This project required careful planning in all aspects, Gillam therefore incorporated many features from an “Integrated Project Delivery” or IPD model into the project-specific approach.

The renovation of the Farquharson Life Science Building is an opportunity to improve York University’s research and experiential learning and innovation productivity by addressing deficiencies and providing performance improvements in one of the original buildings on the campus. This 50-year-old building will benefit from a major overhaul with reconfigured lab space resulting in a modern, world-class research and academic building.

Key challenges include:

  1. Maintaining building services and operations of a vivarium and west wing, both areas remaining in use throughout construction.
  2. Delivering major construction works according to a fast-track schedule.
  3. Managing the client’s budget.

The project features a fully enabled BIM model for construction coordination which is linked to Gillam Group’s Primavera construction schedule.