Project Background
While South San Francisco claims the origin of the biotechnology industry, FibroGen identified the Mission Bay neighborhood as the location of its new office building, becoming the first major biotech company to be located within the city.

Project Requirements
Working with Hathaway Dinwiddie and Flad Architects, ACCO was responsible for the HVAC, Plumbing, and Process Piping portions of this Design Build project.

With 15’ floor-to-floor spacing (tight spacing for laboratories planned with a high density for fume hoods), 3-D coordination was the only way to be successful and meet the very tight construction schedule.

What ACCO Delivered
Design began in June 2007 and was completed in September 2007. That month, ACCO started 3-D coordination. The 3-D coordination allowed the majority of the job to be pre-fabbed in the ACCO shops, allowing ACCO to meet an aggressive installation schedule efficiently. ACCO fabricated the ductwork risers, then delivered them to the job site in 30 to 50 foot lengths to be dropped vertically by crane into the shaft through the top of the building. ACCO Sheet Metal sectioned all roof ducting and a majority of the floor mains. The sectioned duct came to the job site on a flat bed and was lifted into place. Approximately 225 terminal box reheat coil control valve assemblies were pre-fabricated in the piping shop.

FibroGen also selected some energy savings options. One choice involved implementing variable air volume control on 40 fume hoods on one floor. The second option, using Fulton 9.5 HP boilers for the steam system, mitigated the Title 8 requirement of FibroGen to have 24/7 watch on the boilers. FibroGen estimates that they will save approximately $500,000 per year in labor and burden costs with these boilers.
An 18 Mega-ohm, Reverse Osmosis De-Ionized (RODI) laboratory purified water system provides analytical-grade water through the labs. Laboratory gases include Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Clean Compressed Air and Nitrogen. A central laboratory vacuum system provides vacuum throughout the building. A PVDF laboratory waste and vent system is completely segregated within the building from the sanitary system.