Boston, MA - August 11, 2007 – Shawmut Design and Construction (www.shawmut.com), a $700 million national construction management firm specializing in academic construction, along with the Cambridge, MA architecture firm of Russell Scott Steedle & Capone Architects, Inc., has completed a 40,000 square foot of renovation to Walsh and Dever Halls at historic Boston College High School. For the first time in its 144 year history, BC High will enroll students in the 7th and 8th grades to attend classes in the renovated Walsh Hall. The entire student body (grades 7 – 12) will benefit from the addition of the performing arts center in Dever Hall. The much improved buildings were completed in just six months, one week ahead of schedule.
During the renovations, Walsh Hall, which had not been fully utilized in several years, was converted into classroom, office, and laboratory space for the 7th and 8th graders. New M/E/P and fire safety systems were added, a new elevator was installed, and, on the building’s east side, a new entrance was carved from the existing wall.
Formerly a gymnasium, Dever Hall was transformed into a state-of-the-art performing arts center. The theater was designed with tiered seating, a sound booth, cat walks, complex stage lighting, and a bi-level backstage area. The new space also features six custom-designed Peach Tree chandeliers and a mobile lighting platform. A new entrance was added to the second level, required the incorporation of new structural steel beams to support the building’s existing concrete shell.
Since the campus was occupied for the duration of the work, Shawmut worked with the BC High community to lessen the disruptions to the campus throughout the construction – careful mitigation of noise and debris was essential, and extreme care was exercised when coordinating deliveries. Shawmut produced and published three week look-ahead schedules, and held regular meetings, emails, and phone calls to best communicate the project schedule with staff and students.
Shawmut has worked on many other leading independent school campuses in New England including the Noble & Greenough School, The Fessenden School, Milton Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, Phillips Academy Andover, and The Winsor School.
About Shawmut
Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts with offices in Providence, RI, New York, NY, and Atlantic City, NJ, Shawmut Design and Construction is a $700 million national construction management firm providing client-oriented services for academic, cultural and historic preservation, retail, restaurant, banking, corporate interiors, and science and healthcare markets. Visit Shawmut at www.shawmut.com.
