On April 5, Shawmut Design and Construction broke ground on a 41,900-sf expansion and 53,100-sf renovation of Boston University’s Goldman School of Dental Medicine.
The building team that includes Smith Group JJR (design architect, SE, MEP), Compass Project Management (project manager), and Haley Aldrich (geotech engineer), expects to be onsite for 32 months, during which the school—an active building with over 200 students, plus faculty, staff, and thousands of patients per year—will remain open.
This is a common challenge for rehab projects, complicated in this case by a tight urban site and a building with only a 13,000-sf floor plate—“a postage stamp,” says Shawmut’s Vice President Kevin Sullivan—the building team has to work within.
To keep the school open during work, Sullivan says his firm started by “overcommunicating” with shareholders who included the school’s dean, and its directors of facilities and operations.
The Building Team came up with a multi-phase schedule that will work on the basement, first floor, and part of the second floor first; the two additions next; and then renovate the upper floors. Sullivan explains that this schedule allows for floors and utilities to be isolated, which will sometimes require installing temporary systems to avoid operational disruptions. It will also minimize the need to move students and patients around.
A link to download a virtual reality walkthrough video of this project, posted by Shawmut, can be accessed here.
A rendering of an operatory inside Boston University's renovated and expanded dental school. Image: SmithGroupjjr
The isolations will also allow the team to minimize vibration on occupants caused by drilling into concrete to install new façade that lets in more light into the building and blends in with the facades of other buildings in the neighborhood. Because of the tight site space, the Building Team had to close two traffic lanes and move a bus stop.
The expansion will include office, instructional, clinical, and student collaborative spaces on seven existing levels, plus support spaces and a new 140-seat auditorium on the first floor.
The renovation will reconfigure the layout of the patient and student/faculty entry, as well as its clinical, classroom, and student spaces.
All told, the project will increase clinical space by more than 60%, make treatment areas more comfortable and flexible, and provide a student and resident lounge, a café, and collaborative study area on the first floor. With the addition, the school’s floor plate will increase to 18,000 sf.
The project’s completion data is slated for December 2020.
Related Stories
| Nov 10, 2010
$700 million plan to restore the National Mall
The National Mall—known as America’s front yard—is being targeted for a massive rehab and restoration that could cost as much as $700 million (it’s estimated that the Mall has $400 million in deferred maintenance alone). A few of the proposed projects: refurbishing the Grant Memorial, replacing the Capitol Reflecting Pool with a smaller pool or fountain, reconstructing the Constitution Gardens lake and constructing a multipurpose visitor center, and replacing the Sylvan Theater near the Washington Monument with a new multipurpose facility.
| Nov 9, 2010
Just how green is that college campus?
The College Sustainability Report Card 2011 evaluated colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada with the 300 largest endowments—plus 22 others that asked to be included in the GreenReportCard.org study—on nine categories, including climate change, energy use, green building, and investment priorities. More than half (56%) earned a B or better, but 6% got a D. Can you guess which is the greenest of these: UC San Diego, Dickinson College, University of Calgary, and Dartmouth? Hint: The Red Devil has turned green.
| Nov 9, 2010
12 incredible objects being made with 3D printers today
BD+C has reported on how 3D printers are attracting the attention of AEC firms. Now you can see how other creative types are utilizing this fascinating printing technology. Among the printed items: King Tut’s remains, designer shoes, and the world’s smallest Rubik’s Cube.
| Nov 9, 2010
U.S. Army steps up requirements for greening building
Cool roofs, solar water heating, and advanced metering are among energy-efficiency elements that will have to be used in new permanent Army buildings in the U.S. and abroad starting in FY 2013. Designs for new construction and major renovations will incorporate sustainable design and development principles contained in ASHRAE 189.1.
| Nov 9, 2010
Designing a library? Don’t focus on books
How do you design a library when print books are no longer its core business? Turn them into massive study halls. That’s what designers did at the University of Amsterdam, where they transformed the existing 27,000-sf library into a study center—without any visible books. About 2,000 students visit the facility daily and encounter workspaces instead of stacks.
| Nov 9, 2010
Turner Construction report: Green buildings still on the agenda
Green buildings continue to be on the agenda for real estate owners, developers, and corporate owner-occupants, according to the Turner 2010 Green Building Market Barometer. Key findings: Almost 90% of respondents said it was extremely or very likely they would incorporate energy-efficiency improvements in their new construction or renovation project, and 60% expected to incorporate improvements to water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and green materials.
| Nov 5, 2010
New Millennium’s Gary Heasley on BIM, LEED, and the nonresidential market
Gary Heasley, president of New Millennium Building Systems, Fort Wayne, Ind., and EVP of its parent company, Steel Dynamics, Inc., tells BD+C’s Robert Cassidy about the Steel Joist Manufacturer’s westward expansion, its push to create BIM tools for its products, LEED, and the outlook for the nonresidential construction market.
| Nov 3, 2010
First of three green labs opens at Iowa State University
Designed by ZGF Architects, in association with OPN Architects, the Biorenewable Research Laboratory on the Ames campus of Iowa State University is the first of three projects completed as part of the school’s Biorenewables Complex. The 71,800-sf LEED Gold project is one of three wings that will make up the 210,000-sf complex.
| Nov 3, 2010
Park’s green education center a lesson in sustainability
The new Cantigny Outdoor Education Center, located within the 500-acre Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Ill., earned LEED Silver. Designed by DLA Architects, the 3,100-sf multipurpose center will serve patrons of the park’s golf courses, museums, and display garden, one of the largest such gardens in the Midwest.
| Nov 3, 2010
Public works complex gets eco-friendly addition
The renovation and expansion of the public works operations facility in Wilmette, Ill., including a 5,000-sf addition that houses administrative and engineering offices, locker rooms, and a lunch room/meeting room, is seeking LEED Gold certification.
