Best of 2005 Awards

University of Connecticut SS&C Technologies Financial Accelerator Building

Project of the Year: Higher Education

The technology involved in the construction of the SS&C Technologies Financial Accelerator for the University of Connecticut's School of Business helped it to stand out among higher education projects that the Best of 2005 jury considered.

The $20 million project, completed in February, involved turning the first four floors of an 18-story building in downtown Hartford into a state-of-the-art graduate learning center for the business school.

"It's a successful building," one judge said.

The heart of the 40,000-sq.-ft. center at 100 Constitution Plaza is a live trading floor that is a replica of the New York Stock Exchange, with real-time stock feeds. The stock information displays on two 130-ft.-wide tickers and two 12- by 16-ft. flat-screen monitors with streaming video of business news.

A glass wall divides the two-story trading space, which is on the bottom floors. On one side, students and faculty conduct research and study, and on the other students conduct live stock trades.

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The high-tech experience even greets students and other users at the door to the trading floor space, where they must undergo a retinal verification scan to authorize their entry. The federal Securities and Exchange Commission requires such security because of the live trading activities, but the system also aims to protect the millions of dollars worth of equipment contained in the trading floor.

"The way the educational technology has evolved just blows your mind," one judge said.

The project involved erection of a 16- by 24 ft. "Jumbotron," an electronic display board installed on the building's exterior to display financial news and live stock feeds. The team had to demolish a portion of the façade to accommodate the fixture.

Complicating that task was a delay in receiving municipal approval for the Jumbotron's height, weight, color, and relationship to the existing building. The approval came late in the design process, forcing the project team to incorporate structural, M-E-P, demolition, and other requirements into the design and shop drawings.

The upper two floors of the university space have several high-tech classrooms with wireless Internet capabilities and integrated communications systems that allow students to check e-mail by phone, as well as more than 200 desktop computers equipped with financial services software and communications technology. For ease of maintenance and support, the team built a 3-in. raised flooring system throughout the facility and installed miles of cable underneath it.

To maximize space in the classrooms, the design incorporates a tiered furniture system with rows of tables wired for power and data installed at four different heights - the first at 28.5 in. high and the others each built 3 in. higher than the row below.

The team also installed white boards equipped with "smart" lasers used for classroom presentations, enabling students to digitally save and later download handwritten notes. And on the wall outside each classroom, it installed Web-based schedulers, which can automatically record notes from a class session and deliver them via e-mail.

In addition to constructing the university's facilities, the project team handled the tenant fit-out for the building's remaining 14 floors. The work included renovation of the main lobby, elevators, and exterior, as well as asbestos abatement, base building infrastructure work, and new M-E-P systems for all 18 stories.

To complete the job in the busy downtown Hartford district, the team had to manage with a site offering limited staging areas, restricted materials delivery times, and limited parking.

In order to not disrupt normal city traffic when arranging deliveries, the team had to secure city approvals to rent the adjacent street and sidewalks, while scheduling large deliveries late in the evening or on Sundays. The team also installed lighting and pedestrian protection measures to ensure public and worker safety.

Amid the ongoing elevator upgrades, there were times that more than 30 subcontractors on the job shared one elevator to transport construction materials, equipment, and furniture - causing waits as long as 45 minutes. In response, the team began using a crane to load furniture through windows.

Key Players

Owner/Developer: Capital Properties

Construction Manager: Konover Construction

Architect: Schoenhardt Architecture + Interior Design

Structural-Mechanical-Electrical Engineer: BVH Integrated Services

AV Systems Integrator: University of Connecticut School of Business