Project:
Carnegie Mellon Research Institute
Pittsburgh Technology Center

Architect:
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Pittsburgh, PA

Owner:
Carnegie Mellon University

Over the past decades, Carnegie Mellon Univeristy has been leading Pittsburgh from its steelmaking heritage into the high-tech future of computer service and related industries. Mosites Construction Company is participating as a major builder in this transition.

On the site of the old J&L Steel Mill by the Monongahela River, Mosites began construction of a research laboratory. Due to contaminated subsurface soils, the existing mill foundations could not be removed. Therefore, Mosites used ramming, core drilling and special demolition techniques to provide access through the remains of the old mill for pile driving. Piles were drilled and driven under strict environmental controls that permitted the removal and disposal of underlying contaminated soils.

Construction proceeded throughout the winter, after Mosites enclosed the building to maintain temporary heat and provide climate control for the construction of the concrete floor slabs.

In the spring, the new Carnegie Mellon research Institute emerged with a gleaming glass and aluminum exterior accented by dark gray sandblasted concrete surfaces and stainless steel. This award-winning nationally recognized structure joined the University of Pittsburgh's biomedical facility and Union Switch and Signal as the third major building at the Pittsburgh Technology Center.