SOUTH TOWER - BUILDING DESCRIPTION

The South Tower is a ten-story, 443,387-gross-square-foot, structure constructed in phases between 1951 and 1965. It previously housed the UCLA Medical Center and Mattel Children’s Hospital, both of which moved to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in 2008.

The South Tower’s initial construction consisted of a sub-basement (Level B), a basement (Level A), and four stories (floors 1 through 4), followed by a later addition of five stories (floors 5 through 10), and a mechanical penthouse.

The South Tower has a double cross-shaped floor plan. The central wing, with an east-west orientation, is ten stories high plus a penthouse. Four lateral wings, with a north-south orientation, are seven stories high. It is located in the Center for the Health Sciences complex, and is connected to the Outpatient Wing to the east, the School of Medicine East and School of Medicine West to the north, and the Semel Institute to the west. Although connected, this building is structurally independent of the adjacent structures.

SOUTH TOWER - PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The project includes: (1) interior demolition and hazardous materials abatement; (2) seismic retrofit and building shell upgrades; (3) building infrastructure improvements; and (4) base level interior improvements.

The project is designed to address two areas of the building:

• The basement levels and the first floor that will have interior improvements
• Floors 2 through 10 that are to be completely demolished and receive full core, shell, and infrastructure upgrades.

A phased construction schedule allows the basement and first floors to be seismically upgraded so that they can be reoccupied at an early date, and allows time for the more extensive improvements on floors 2 through 10.

Construction in the basements and first floor involves selective abatement and demolition, construction of footings and shear walls, building utility retrofit work, and repairs to finish areas impacted by the project.

Construction on floors 2 through 10 involves a full abatement and demolition of interior improvements, construction of shear walls and shell upgrades, and installation of infrastructure improvements. Interior improvements on floors 2 through 10 will commence immediately after the seismic, shell, and infrastructure improvements are complete, with the work to be performed in two floor increments starting with floors 2 through 6, followed by floors 7-10.

SOUTH TOWER - MAJOR CATEGORIES OF WORK

The four major categories of work are as follows:

Interior Demolition and Hazardous Materials Abatement

The project will demolish non-structural elements obstructing the proposed work including room partitions, door assemblies, ceilings, lighting, fixtures, casework and finishes; building mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems components including piping, conduit, boxes, panels, transformers, ducting and controls, including roof-mounted equipment ductwork. Demolition will include abatement of hazardous materials including asbestos and lead, and hazardous waste accumulations in piping and traps. The scope of work will include installation of barricades to separate and protect occupants of adjacent structures, measures to ensure the continued operation of the adjacent structures, and repairs to the exterior building envelope impacted by the removal of building systems elements.

Seismic and Shell Upgrades

The project will construct continuous shear walls at select locations on all floors from the basement (B-Level) to the roof. The scope of work will involve removal and replacement of portions of the existing B-Level floor slab to construct foundations for the new shear walls, construction of new grade beams to tie the existing and new foundations together, and installation of sleeves to facilitate the routing of new utilities. Building shell upgrades include window replacement, enclosure of existing stairs, replacement of the roof, and site repairs.

Infrastructure Improvements

The project will install new mechanical systems that are energy-efficient and code-compliant, vertical distribution infrastructure to all floors, and new fire/life safety systems throughout the building. The building infrastructure improvements are designed to support a mix of academic wet and dry laboratory uses. Plumbing systems work will include installation of domestic and industrial hot and cold water systems; soft and purified water systems; natural gas lines; storm and sanitary waste water systems; and laboratory utilities including compressed air, vacuum and special gases. Electrical systems work will include installation of a new main emergency distribution board connected to the new 12 kV substation and installation of automatic transfer switches, lighting panels, transformers, and other control panels. Fire alarm systems work will involve installation of components necessary to protect the building until tenant improvements on individual floors are completed, including smoke detectors, heat detectors, pull stations, and audio and visual alarm signal devices. New fire sprinkler systems will be installed on each floor, and the new systems will be connected to the CHS fire suppression water loop and standpipes.

Base Interior Improvements

The scope of the base tenant improvement work will include installation of air handlers and lateral mechanical, electrical, plumbing system components; base telecommunications and security infrastructure, fire alarm and fire sprinkler installation with some base interior partitions, interior glazing and door assemblies; installation of floor, wall and ceiling finishes; some base casework and fixtures, as required by the final design.