Boston, MA—September 19, 2008—Shawmut Design and Construction (www.shawmut.com), a leading national construction management firm, with architect Rhinebeck Architecture & Planning PC, recently completed the renovation of the historic West Middle House on the Moses Brown School campus in Providence, RI. Today, the building is home to state-of-the-art teaching spaces, including smart classrooms, breakout spaces, and faculty advisor offices, and a dining hall.
Beginning in June of 2007, the eight month renovation of the 15,000 square foot West Middle House advanced the school’s ten-year campus development plan with the renewal of a central campus building. Construction centered on the shoring of the exterior walls with steel bracing and rebuilding the steel frame inside of the historic building after a structural engineering survey revealed that the building’s existing wood frame was rapidly deteriorating. The steel reinforcing protects the integrity of the structure over a longer time period without compromising the historical features of the 1872 building, an important consideration for the school. In order to achieve this, the building underwent a complete structural retrofit with the removal of the core, leaving nothing but the shell of the structure throughout the integration of the new steel supports.
The total structural retrofit of the building required that the team develop a plan to convert a brick and beam building to a steel frame with slab on metal deck. In order to do this, the team engaged a structural engineer and determined that erecting a new building inside the existing structure was the best option to ensure the longevity of the structure. Utilizing massive steel braces supported by the masonry walls, window locations were used to support the braces, thereby preventing the need to drill into the brick. The wood-framed Mansard roof, covered in slate shingles, required a smaller separate steel brace. To further complicate the project, Middle House and the two additional wings were occupied with administrators throughout construction and with students introduced to the mix during the school year. “The Shawmut staff worked swiftly, skillfully, and respectfully while our classes were in session,” said Joanne Hoffman, Head of School at Moses Brown School. “We are thrilled with the attention the team from Shawmut gave to ensure that this project was completed in such a spectacular way. Most importantly, the team was most responsive to the fact that they were working within a school environment.”
The remarkable structure also marks a new wave between the interface of historic buildings and sustainability, with the preservation of historically significant architectural pieces. New custom aluminum Marvin windows were designed to match the historic character of the other windows on campus, but have a low-E, Argon filled glazing. An energy efficient HVAC system include a new heating and A/C ventilation system, meeting code standards while integrating occupancy sensors to automatically adjust the temperature depending on the fluctuating occupancy of the rooms.
Shawmut specializes in academic construction all over New England and has long-standing working relationships with other academic institutions in Rhode Island including St. George’s School, RISD, Brown University, and Roger Williams University.
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.
About Moses Brown School
Founded in 1784, the highly-regarded Moses Brown School is one of the oldest independent schools in the country. The college-preparatory, Quaker school enrolls 796 girls and boys, in nursery through grade 12. For more information, visit Moses Brown at www.mosesbrown.org.
