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In the News
Shawmut Completes First Phase of Historic Brown University Restoration
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After beautifully restoring Lyman Hall's exterior, Shawmut now set to renovate interior Providence, RI—February 23, 2009—Shawmut Design and Construction, a leading national construction management firm, recently completed Phase I renovations to historic Lyman Hall at Brown University in collaboration with CBI Consulting, Inc. and Signer Harris Architects. The project returns a prominent campus building to its original historic character and continues Shawmut's relationship with Brown University as a trusted partner in academic construction and historic restoration. The scope included cleaning and repointing of all exterior masonry in the more than 100-year-old building, the replacement of sandstone features and window columns, and the restoration of the historic slate roof. A key challenge was the restoration of the building's original red slate roof. Through extensive archival research of original drawings and old photographs, Shawmut's Director of Historic Preservation Carl Jay was able to match the rare red slate used in the building's original design. To ensure the project schedule was not impacted, Shawmut closely managed the procurement of the delicate slate, which can only be obtained from one area in upstate New York, to ensure the team received the material on-site before they began to strip the existing asphalt shingle roof, which was added in the 1970s. Paint colors were matched to the local historic society's style standards, and the team meticulously recreated the original slate pattern including around the building's conical turrets. Another challenge included meticulous restoration of the Amherst grey sandstone details. The work involved a sophisticated process of templates custom-matched to the existing columns while artisans restored striations and ridges in the stone. 15 large, decorative columns were not only replaced, but new trim material expertly matched and hand-carved to fit the elaborate existing column surface and capitals. Additionally, a beautiful but deteriorated porch railing as well as three decorative radius windows was carefully replaced. Brand new storm windows were added along with surrounding wood trim restoration. "The measure of this project's success, in my eyes, is the seamless way in which the restorations blend with the existing historic building," said Jay. "Brown and the project team did an outstanding job in returning Lyman Hall's exterior to its beautiful original aesthetic." The project team's presence on campus was nearly invisible, despite congested spatial resources. The team took great care to limit disruptions to the occupied summer campus, which was in use by the university for the summer academic term as well as camp groups. A logistics plan took occupation as well as limited staging space into consideration, routing load-in paths through discreet side alleys. The exterior restoration is just the first part of an on-going rehabilitation of this historic building on Brown University's Lincoln Field. Following the Phase I summer work, portions of the interior, including the lobby, were updated during the fall of 2008. Shawmut has recently been selected to continue the work at Lyman Hall by being awarded Phase II of the renovation, a full interior renovation with upgrades to the building's mechanical and electrical systems that must be completed over the summer of 2009. A sampling of other historic projects completed by Shawmut include Sayles Hall at Brown University; Touro Synagogue in Newport; Trinity Church in the City of Boston; Memorial Hall Tower Spire Restoration, Sever Hall, University Hall and Byerly Hall at Harvard University; Thompson Hall and James Hall at the University of New Hampshire; and the Charles Pratt Dormitory at Amherst College. About Shawmut Design and Construction |
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