Skanska USA has completed work on a parking garage for the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, N.C. The four-story, 132,870-square-foot structure provides 386 parking spaces and is designed to accommodate the growing number of visitors to one of the state’s leading attractions for students and families.
“This project provides a much-needed improvement in parking at one of the state’s most popular family destinations,” said Greg Peele, general manager/executive vice president responsible for Skanska’s North Carolina/Virginia building operations. “Through effective use of existing space, visitors now have greater access to the Museum, even in peak periods.”
Skanska cleared, graded, shored and constructed the parking structure, which consists of precast double tees with precast lights walls. The foundation and retaining walls are cast-in-place concrete. Within the structure are two elevators, LED lighting and parking controls equipment. The exterior façade is a mixture of metal screenings and metal panels, with a curtain wall surrounding the elevator shafts.
Located less than five miles from downtown Durham, the Museum of Life and Science is situated on 84-acres. It is an interactive science park featuring a two-story science center, one of the largest butterfly conservatories on the East Coast and beautifully landscaped outdoor exhibits which are safe havens for rescued black bears, lemurs and endangered red wolves.
Other popular Museum attractions include:
• More than 60 species of live animals;
• The Dinosaur Trail, where visitors can get a close-up look at more than a dozen life-sized dinosaurs and play in the Fossil Dig site, filled with dirt trucked in from an area in eastern North Carolina rich with marine fossils;
• The Ellerbe Creek Railway, an old-time train ride through the Museum grounds; and
• Into the Mist, an outdoor exhibit with push button-activated mist fields covering a large dome, tunnels and rock formations that teach lessons about water, wind and topography.
About Skanska
Skanska USA is one of the largest, most financially sound construction and development companies in the U.S., serving a broad range of clients including those in transportation, power, industrial, water/wastewater, healthcare, education, sports, data centers, government, aviation, life sciences and commercial. Headquartered in New York with offices in 31 metro areas, we have nearly 11,000 employees committed to being leaders in safety, project execution, sustainability, ethics and people development. In 2017, our work in building construction, civil and power/industrial construction, commercial development and infrastructure development (public-private partnerships) generated $7.3 billion in revenue. Global revenue of parent company Skanska AB, headquartered in Stockholm and listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, totaled $18.8 billion in 2017. Skanska shares are publicly traded in the U.S. on the OTC market under the symbol SKBSY through a Level I American Depository Receipt program.