Boston, MA – July 24, 2008 – Shawmut Design and Construction (www.shawmut.com), a leading national construction management firm, in partnership with William Rawn Associates, Inc., recently marked the topping- off of the construction of the new Campus Center and Student Residence (CCSR) on Wheelock College’s campus in Boston. The last steel beam was ceremoniously lifted into place at the event attended by Wheelock’s president, trustees, staff, and students as well as members of the project team. The topping-off marked the end of the structural work.
The 60,000 square foot building is located in the heart of the picturesque urban campus in the Fenway neighborhood. Featuring a bold curved glass curtain wall design that is intended to serve as the College’s new entrance to the Riverway, the CCSR will feature a dining area and café, multi-function student center, and four floors of student housing designed to promote togetherness and campus community. Through enhanced commissioning, recycling of construction materials, maximization of natural light into interior spaces, and a green roof, the building is targeting LEED® certification. With the steel construction complete, the team will next work on the exterior shell and interior finishes, with an expected project completion of December 31, 2008.
A ground-up building, CCSR has presented many logistical challenges for the project team, however an extensive pre-construction phase allowed the team to address the extremely complex logistics of the compact, urban site. With the college’s library 25 feet away on the east side of the building and a dorm 20 feet away on the west side, there is limited space for delivery and storage of equipment and materials. Through phasing and sequencing of the project, the team has successfully mitigated the space constraints with minimal impact to the campus community. The buildings are in such close proximity to the footprint of CCSR that the foundation for the building goes down 17 feet with steel piles driven down for earth support. The excavation support was designed in this way due to a lack of space for the typical stepped down excavation. To protect the safety of the campus community, as the college has been in session for the majority of construction, Shawmut has constructed covered walkways and provided a project website complete with a webcam tracking progress and construction updates.
“Shawmut has been an integral part of the success of this project thus far,” comments Wheelock College’s Vice President of Administration and Student Life Roy Schifilliti. “On a campus of this size it’s easy for a construction project like this to consume the physical space. But with Shawmut’s management, our campus community hasn’t been negatively impacted by the construction, a true testament to how Shawmut manages the process.”
Shawmut has a rich history working on projects on academic campuses across New England, including urban projects such as Harvard University’s New College Theatre, Harvard Law School’s Wood Framed Houses at North Hall Site, Brown University’s Friedman Study Center, Yale University’s Sculpture Building, Tufts University’s Dame School conversion, and Rhode Island School of Design’s Fleet Library.
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.
