In the News

Shawmut Design and Construction’s flexible and creative approach allow for successful execution and completion of the Jeffrey Modell Immunology Center despite tight confines.

Boston, MA – March 6, 2008– Tucked into the densely populated Longwood Medical Area of Boston, the Jeffrey Modell Immunology Center was recently completed on the Harvard Medical School campus after 11 months of construction. Under the guidance of Shawmut Design and Construction (www.shawmut.com), a leading national construction management firm, and Miller Dyer Spears, the Immunology Center was erected inside a courtyard surrounded by continuously occupied buildings. In the midst of world-renowned hospitals, the project required structural precision, careful planning, and scheduling.

The two-story, 7,000 square foot Immunology Center includes lecture halls, offices, meeting rooms, and a library. The delicate surroundings required extreme sensitivity and heightened awareness of those impacted by the project. Integrated into the historic façade on the Harvard Medical School campus, the glass envelope allows natural light to continue to infiltrate the surrounding buildings. The contrast of the jewel-like Immunology Center and the historic nature of the existing, surrounding buildings required flawless execution of the building’s details.

The constricted site presented challenges for the team with delivery of materials. Given that there was no vehicular access to the courtyard, a lightweight, self-erecting Potain crane was utilized to hoist materials approximately 60 feet over the neighboring Armenise Building and onto the site. Minimization of noise, utilization of a small staging area, and ease of installation (leading to significant financial savings) made the crane an ideal and unique solution to a complicated problem. The crane itself arrived as closely as possible to the site after driving over the Harvard Medical School Quadrangle off of Longwood Avenue and remained there for approximately seven months. The arrival of materials to the storage area via the Quadrangle and then over the Armenise Building via the crane, required careful procurement and delivery schedules in the highly trafficked area.

Harvard Medical School research facilities, which are occupied 24 hours a day, year round, surround the work site. There were serious considerations with sensitivity to the construction activity, noise, and vibration, as laboratory equipment and research being conducted in the adjacent spaces are extremely sensitive. Shawmut worked closely and proactively with the project architects and engineers in order to carefully review all details and offered solutions that would meet the design criteria while reducing the impacts to the surrounding labs.

About Shawmut Design and Construction
Shawmut Design and Construction is a 100% employee-owned company headquartered in Boston with offices in New York, Providence, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and New Haven. Shawmut is a leading ENR top 100-ranked national construction management firm providing client-oriented services in the following markets: Academic, Commercial, Corporate Interiors, Cultural and Historic Preservation, Healthcare and Science, Gaming, Restaurants, Retail, Spas and Health Clubs. For more information, visit Shawmut’s website at www.shawmut.com.