Project:
Calgon Carbon Research Laboratory
Hightower Office Park

Architect:
Williams Trebilcock Whitehead
Pittsburgh, PA

Owner:
Mosites Development Company.

Calgon Carbon Corporation , a leader in carbon-filter technology, needed a new research center adjacent to their corporate headquarters.

The adjacent site presented a challenge from the start due to existing deep coal mines. Mosites Construction Company stabilized the site with mine grouting before beginning the foundation. The next major hurdle was the intricate coordination of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems both under ground and above the ceiling.

The first floor of the facility consists of carbon laboratories, wet equipment room; the second floor contains research laboratories surrounded by office along the perimeter. A central service corridor on each floor allows acess to each laboratory.

Approximately one-third of the cost of the facility was due to an elaborate computer controlled HVAC system that uses 100% outside return air. This was necessary to stabilize the laboratory environment and exhaust the high number o fume hoods located in each laboratory.

The project was complete after two months of laboratory casework installation. Total construction time: just ten months.