Thornton Tomasetti named structural engineer of record for $215 million University of Chicago project

CHICAGO — Thornton Tomasetti has been named structural engineer of record for the new William Eckhardt Research Center (WERC) at The University of Chicago, a $215 million, 265,000-square-foot project located at the existing Research Institutes Building at 5630 – 5650 South Ellis Avenue.

Thornton Tomasetti Principal Carol Post, Project Manager Helen Torres, and Project Engineer Lauren DiPalma of the Chicago office of Thornton Tomasetti, are heading up the assignment for the firm.

• The existing Research Institutes Building, Low Temp Building, and the Astronomy and Astrophysics Center will be demolished for the construction of this project.
• The project consists of five stories above grade with an enclosed mechanical space on the sixth floor, and two stories below grade. The roof over the mechanical space is approximately 120 feet above grade.
• The project is a cast-in-place concrete structure. The two-story, 45-foot deep basement will utilize slurry wall construction for the basement wall.
• Facilities will include laboratories, offices, and conference rooms. The project also will house the new Institute of Molecular Engineering with a 9,200-square-foot clean room and an imaging suite below grade.
• The project extends to the face of the existing Bio-Psych Building and is approximately 18 feet from the existing Accelerator Building. A Level 2 bridge will provide a link between the new project and the Accelerator Building.