The next phase
Academic Health Sciences E Wing headed to tender

January 23, 2009

By Colleen MacPherson

With construction underway on D Wing, the university is moving toward a call for bids on the next phase of the Academic Health Sciences project, a building that will connect to the College of Dentistry and Royal University Hospital.

The Board of Governors gave approval to proceed with tenders on E Wing at its December meeting. The 17,821 square metre structure, which will extend out to College Drive along Wiggins Avenue, will house a two-storey library, a 500-seat and 125-seat lecture theatre, four floors of offices, graduate student space, clinical teaching space, labs and meeting rooms, all above a 97-stall underground parkade.

Tennent

Colin Tennent, associate vice-president of facilities management, said initial plans were to call for tenders on the project in February with construction to begin in May "but that target is not likely to be achieved." A backlog of work with the consultants hired by the university to prepare the construction documents has pushed the timeline later into the spring. The Saskatoon Health Region has also asked that tentative date for moving its MRI suite be extended. The unit must be relocated as it is currently situated at the point where E Wing will join the hospital, he said.

"Nonetheless, we're feeling confident we're still in good shape with regard to the schedule." Typically, tenders close 60 days after the issue date with the contract awarded following careful analysis of the bids, he said.

As with D Wing, the university has the authority to award the tender if the construction costs do not exceed the project budget by more than five per cent. If that limit is exceeded, the university is required to consult with the provincial government on how to proceed. Tennent said the budget is being kept under wraps for now to ensure bids on the tender reflect true construction costs.

Brett Fairbairn, provost, vice-president academic and executive sponsor of the Academic Health Sciences project, said the university and the province, which is providing funding for the project, are fully committed to developing a resource that supports interprofessional and research-based education for the benefit of the entire province. "This is not just a Saskatoon facility," he pointed out. "In fact, the library and the electronic systems of the building are designed to interact with the health system across Saskatchewan, further enhancing the distributive model of education and clinical training for both learners and practioners."

According to Tennent, several components of E Wing are critical to maintaining accreditation status for various colleges. These include the library and the clinical learning resource centre with its skills lab, examination rooms, procedure lab and simulation lab. The wing will also house the Canadian Centre for Health and Safety in Agriculture as well as provide office space for the College of Nursing, the Saskatchewan Drug Information Service, the School of Public Health and the Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit.

Construction of E Wing will require demolition of the existing Medical Research Building. Tennent said a large quantity of the material from that building will be recycled rather than discarded.

Tennent said the existing dental building will remain intact but will be joined to E Wing's atrium with a result "that should be really quite stunning. Their building will open onto the atrium because we recognized early on that, particularly in a winter city such as Saskatoon, it is really a necessity to create spaces like the geology atrium and the atrium in the Agriculture Building. These large volumes of space with greenery and often a water source provide relief for building occupants. They also serve as very functional spaces for things like public announcements."

Although completion of the physical components of the Academic Health Sciences project is still some years off, Tennent said the health science colleges and units involved are already developing processes to address issues like space allocation. With its focus on interdisciplinary education and research, "the goal is to achieve a new kind of (health) practitioner for Saskatchewan and this puts us in a marvelous position for attracting students, faculty and staff."

Once building is well underway, the view of the University of Saskatchewan campus will include three tower cranes, one each at the construction sites of D Wing, E Wing and InterVac.