BY RUSSELL PEARSON, Guest Contributor
ULI Mentorship Forum take an exclusive hard-hat tour of the new Cerner campus. Photo courtesy of Russell Pearson.
Last week a few lucky participants in the Urban Land Institute's 2015-2016 Mentorship Forum had the opportunity to take an exclusive hard-hat tour of the new Cerner Three Trails campus currently being built on the former Bannister Mall site in Kansas City, Mo.
Dan Musser, a developer with Newmark Grubb Zimmer, coordinated the tour with Cerner Facilities Development Director Mike Gillaspie, and invited all current participants in the ULI Mentorship Forum to join.
The group started by donning PPE (personal protective equipment) and followed Mike to the job site, parking in a dirt lot where the future guest parking will be installed. After a brief overview of the various building components, the group got into what appeared to be a totally safe metal box attached to the side of the building and rode the elevator to the 11th floor to experience an amazing view of the surrounding area.
Nick Christopher, an architect at Gould Evans working on the Cerner project and a current mentee in the Mentorship Forum, was able to explain some key design features – including how the saw-tooth design of part of the building exterior would allow for private dining booths for future hungry Cerner associates, and the difference between ‘linen’ and ‘bead-blasted’ finishes on metal.
Mike explained that the contractors were just beginning to install the exterior LIC wall panels, so the mentee group got to see the exterior before and after the panels were attached; and the effect was breathtaking.
Inside, the project oozed with technology, from exposed ceilings and raised floors, to ‘nodes’ within the core where future employees could take a break. Daylight location and quantity was carefully considered given that the building is designed for a very specific type of highly-skilled employee function.
Interested in learning more about the ULI Mentorship Forum? Click here to view details; The deadline to apply is July 29. Applicants must be a current ULI member under 35 and employed in a real estate-related industry.
See more photos of the construction progress here.