Master planner

General Article
December 18, 2003

Visionary campus builder Guy Ott looks back on career that laid groundwork for new era of collaborative science at Fred Hutchinson

Guy Ott stands in the atrium of the new Public Health Sciences building, the completion of which unites the center's scientific divisions on one campus. photo by todd McNaught

By BARBARA BERG

You might expect someone who has overseen five major construction projects in a 16-year span would have a knack for organization. Only a true master of planning and coordination could complete each venture on schedule and within budget-garnering local and national kudos along the way.

So it's hardly mere coincidence that today's retirement party for Guy Ott, vice president of Facilities and Operations, falls on his 62nd birthday, the 19th anniversary of his first day of work at Fred Hutchinson and the day the center takes ownership of Ott's crowning achievement, the new five-story Public Health Sciences building. Ott's last official day at the center will be Friday, Jan. 2.

Few have had as visible an impact on Fred Hutchinson's campus during the last two decades as Ott, whose snowy hair and beard and booming chuckle are well-known around campus. Like the internationally recognized scientists who inhabit the innovative labs he has helped to create, Ott has distinguished himself as a world leader in the construction of ingenious research space where breakthroughs abound. Yet he is the first to admit that his career trajectory at the center was not exactly what he had anticipated on his first day at the office in 1984.

"I had just left a position in which I did cradle-to-grave development of new facilities for a large corporation," he said. "I had intentionally chosen to work at Fred Hutchinson because I was ready to do hands-on daily management of existing structures, not build new buildings.

"But it was only a few years after I began my new job that we knew our space on First Hill couldn't accommodate our growth-and that we would begin our 16-year odyssey of campus development."

That winding journey, which would accomplish the vision put forth by director emeritus Dr. Robert Day to physically unite the scientific divisions, began at the center's original seven-story Columbia Street building with miscellaneous office space nearby. It has culminated in today's 14-acre Day Campus in the South Lake Union neighborhood, which boasts more than 1 million square feet of laboratory, clinic and office space.

Ott has overseen nearly every aspect of the $420 million project, from the hiring of the architectural firm to the placement of the cornerstones in the brick and glass edifices. The laboratory buildings, which sport interstitial floors that house the mechanical and electrical systems, have won more than 20 awards for energy and water efficiency. The design was featured as a "Laboratory for the 21st Century" by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy.

Peggy Means, senior vice president for strategic development, described Ott as both a superb leader and team member throughout what would prove to be a challenging venture.

"When we started the campus relocation project, we had a vision, a timeline and barely enough money for the first phase of construction," she said. "Our scientists are amazingly productive and we were able to capitalize on this growth to finance future phases. However, there was no room for error in any phase; we were stretched to the limit of our ingenuity and debt capacity each time. Guy was able to marshal incredible commitment, energy and creativity from his team and from our contractors."

Means also praised Randy Main, chief financial officer, and his staff for developing state-of-the-art-financing mechanisms for each phase of construction, as well as the keen support of the board of trustees.

"Without any aspect of this team effort, the construction would have dragged on for years," she said. "Guy was not only inspirational and driven, but also a superb team member throughout this process."

The team's challenge began in the mid-1980s, when Ott said that the center's need for additional space had reached a crisis level.

"It began to be a real problem for faculty recruitment," he said. "The center would want to hire someone, and we'd have to scramble to come up with laboratory space for them. I remember we had to turn a shower room into a frog room and close off a whole corridor to make a new lab."

Expansion in the First Hill area proved to be impossible, Ott said. "We were essentially an institution located within the master plan boundary of Swedish Hospital. There was no hope that we'd be able to meet our space needs because Swedish would have had to give up their own development rights for us."

Ott hired a consultant to assist in analyzing potential campus locations. Suburban sites, though plentiful, were quickly rejected because few faculty or staff were willing relocate out of the city. A major contender was property at the north end of the Fremont Bridge-now occupied by Adobe Systems-but zoning rules restricted the amount of space needed to accommodate future growth of the center.

"At about that time, a real estate agent and potential developer had begun to assemble enough properties in South Lake Union to make it look as though this location was worth a gamble," he said. "But we had to start putting money down on some parcels or the temporary agreements would soon expire."

In July of 1988, the board of trustees voted formally to approve the new campus site in South Lake Union. "That was a milestone, because we could start buying property," he said. "Then Randy Main got us what was essentially a $30 million credit card, which allowed us to secure enough land to get started with the Phase I construction."

Main, who was hired four weeks before Ott, said that the excitement surrounding the board's decision was quickly tempered by financial realities.

"I remember Guy saying to me, 'Randy, this is going to start a project that will have a profound effect on our careers,'" he said. "I thought, no kidding-if I don't figure out some creative financing fast, it will be very profound how quickly my career comes to an end."

The venture would require the purchase of 40 real estate parcels and myriad negotiations with local and federal agencies to resolve financing approvals, permits and street vacations. The property acquisition was to be the largest land assembly in the city since the 1962 World's Fair, a venture that was undertaken through the power of eminent domain.

"This was not an easy project," Main said, with some understatement. "But what I came appreciate about Guy is that he just gets things done. His no-nonsense approach, common sense and ability to make decisions made it happen-and certainly made my job a lot easier."

Scott Rusch, director of facilities, also praised Ott's can-do approach.

"Guy's style is to be actively involved in many of the details of the project to fully understand the options so he can quickly make decisions that are in the best interest of the center," he said. "He always looks at the long-term implications of the options and has had tremendous vision about how the campus should be developed, which will be a legacy of his tenure at Fred Hutchinson."

Final puzzle piece

Groundbreaking for Phase I, which was to become the Weintraub and Hutchinson Buildings that house the Basic Sciences and Human Biology divisions, began in September, 1990. Phase II-the Thomas Building-began in 1996, followed by construction of the Alliance outpatient clinic and the new Yale administration building in 1999 and 2000. Groundbreaking for the final piece of the puzzle that would unite the scientific divisions-the PHS building-began in July 2001.

"After more than 15 years, we've accomplished what we set out to do," Ott said. "The project has taken a lot of resources, but it's done."

The next era, he said, will be devoted to growth. As resources become available, the center intends to construct additional laboratory facilities, a campus commons to house conference space and a new wing for the Alliance outpatient clinic. Ott is particularly excited about plans for new research space, a project for which he hopes to come back as a consultant.

"We'll be doing things we've never done before," he said. "The National Institutes of Health is pushing science toward a more interdisciplinary approach, and part of accomplishing that will be to overcome the physical and psychological obstacles that prevent scientists from different fields from working in proximity. Institutions will need to figure out how to create interdisciplinary teams in common buildings on common floors-and we are going to be challenged as to how to build the kind of facilities that enable this research to take place as efficiently and economically as possible."

Next steps

In his next career as a consultant, Ott will work with Fred Hutchinson and institutions around the country to develop strategies for designing research space that fosters and inspires these new approaches to science. His immersion in the center's scientific community has prepared him well for the task.

"One of the most rewarding things for me has been being around here long enough to learn the culture of the center and how we communicate with one another and how we make our scientific advances," he said. "I'm not a scientist, but it's been fun and educational to listen and learn, which has helped me understand how the physical environment can foster the science. Very few people in my field have an opportunity to do what I've been able to do."

Looking back on 19 years, Ott expressed great pride in the accomplishments he has helped to lead.

"We in Facilities talk about the need to have world-class facilities because it's a factor in recruiting and retaining the very best scientists," he said. "I've seen and heard enough from the scientists to know that there is a difference here at Fred Hutchinson, and I'm proud of that. It's made doing what I do mean something."

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