
For the the second time since it began construction, the Global Innovation Exchange buildingโs completion date has been delayed.
Wilfrid Laurier University students will have to wait another year after extreme winter conditions pushed the GIE buildingโs schedule potentially back to January 2016. The building was originally set to be completed by May 2015, then was pushed to September 2015 before the latest delay.
โWe had originally wanted to be in there for the fall term, [but] thatโs not going to be possible unless we really sacrifice quality, which weโre not willing to do,โ said Mark Dettweiler, director of planning, design and construction at Laurierโs physical resources department.
Dettweiler explained while the main reason for the delay was the weather, other issues were involved with the contractor, Bondfield Construction.
โThey needed to apply a certain amount of resources, manpower and so on to maintain that schedule and they have not maintained that schedule so they are entitled to some extension due to weather,โ he continued. โThereโs also been what I would call โslippageโ in the schedule thatโs pushing back the completion date as well.โ
Laurierโs contract with Bondfield says workers have to maintain the same rate of production through harsh winter conditions that you would experience in a normal Canadian winter.
Dettweiler said the biggest issue at the moment is a skylight in the middle of the building that cannot be completed until signs of spring emerge.
โWe just havenโt been able to make any progress on it, so we have this huge hole in the middle of our building thatโs opened to the weather. So thatโs kind of then impacted other things,โ he said.
โThere are things that we are doing โ certainly all of the building systems โ the mechanical, electrical systems [and] so on are on track, but whatโs difficult is we canโt really work on any of the finishes until that skylight is done.โ
According to Dettweiler, Laurier chose to sacrifice their short time schedule in order to maintain low costs and high quality.
โTime is the one thing that sometimes we canโt afford to give.โ
Shane Lawrence, a third-year business student, said he wishes the GIE building could have been completed for its expected due date, and noted that business students donโt have a lot of space to study.
โItโs frustrating that Laurier continues to grow the program and take more and more students with nowhere for us to go. There is never any space to study โ everywhere is always packed,โ he said.
Despite having no confirmed completion date, Dettweiler said the university hopes to get professors teaching in the GIE building by January 2016.
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