A topping-off ceremony was recently held to celebrate the completion of the structural steel frame for the Albert Sherman Center, a nine-story, 500,000-square-foot medical research facility at the University of Massachusetts’ medical school campus in Worcester.

Once complete, the new facility will feature a 300,000-square-foot wet lab research building in addition to clean rooms, administrative space, a 300-seat auditorium, library, conference center and cafeteria, according to a statement.

Architectural Resources Cambridge is overseeing all aspects of the project from design services, including programming, through construction, commissioning and closeout. The project is scheduled for completion in late 2012.

"The topping off is a great milestone for this project and marks the mid-construction point," said Arthur Cohen, principal, Architectural Resources Cambridge and principal-in-charge of the project. "Our design incorporates the campus master plan principles and is architecturally compatible with the surrounding and existing structures and buildings."