September, 2009
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High-Profile Feature: Residential Village at Montserrat College of Art Continued from previous page
lar construction project to date. The eight pre-fabricated pieces were constructed in Concord, N.H. last winter. Burke noted that prefabricating the building in modular sections allowed Windover to build more efficiently without the need for temporary weather enclosures and inefficient temporary heating systems. In addition, he said it went along perfectly with the green theme, because modular construction promotes a more efficient use of materials with less generation of waste. Burke added another benefit: “Considering the density of the neighborhood, the modular construction allowed us to get the job done without a lot of noise disturbance to the surrounding homes and businesses.” Windover faced a tight construction deadline, as they had 13 months to have the project ready for this fall’s arrival of students. “We kept up a good pace. We did hit some ledge when excavating the site,” said Burke. “But we were able to do some chipping and also changed the shape of the foundation so we didn’t lose any time.” Burke also said lining up the modular pieces presented some minor challenges, but that Windover’s “intense quality monitoring” at the factory prevented any major delays from happening. Recycling is another green theme at the Sturnick Village. Windover re-used material from the former buildings, and much of the new flooring contains pre-consumer recycled and rapidly renewable content. Student suites are also outfitted with recycling bins – assuring that the green trend will continue beyond construction.
negated any savings. Switching to the Mitsubishi system also saved $200,000 in up-front construction costs by not drilling the wells,” Burke noted. “In addition, the long-term effect on groundwater quality and the effect of changing the thermal characteristics of the groundwater from the use of geothermal are still unknown.” In addition to its sustainability components, the building, located in the heart of the campus, is unique in many aspects of its design. It was very important to make it attractive, inviting, and comfortable both for the students living there and for the college community surrounding it. Thad Seimasko, the project’s architect, studied how the students live, interact, and create. The results are that the complex has many small gathering areas, both inside and out, and contains student artist studio space in the basement. Visually the building is very pleasing. With its series of large and small colonial structures, connected with a modern steel and glass core, the building has settled well into the surrounding neighborhood, yet has the funky and creative feel you would expect at an art college. When asked about challenges they faced during construction, Burke said site constraints were the biggest problem. Surrounded by a public library, an active college, a dense neighborhood of residential homes and the community common, Burke said, “We literally had no open space in the area for staging. That was among the reasons we chose to use modular construction for the buildings.” This was Windover’s biggest modu-
Civil Consultant & Landscape Architect Green power: Newburyport, MA
Project Team for Montserrat College of Art Architect - Siemasko + Verbridge General Contractor - Windover, LLC HVAC / Plumbing / Electrical Engineer - Crossfield Engineering, Inc. Structural Engineer - McBrie, LLC Civil Consultant & Landscape Architectural - Meridian Associates, Inc. Structural Steel
McBrie, LLC Structural Design & Sales
Green design: Montserrat College
Congratulations to the students, faculty, and staff at Montserrat for this wonderful achievement!
Responsible leadership for a sustainable future.
Michael Perham, PE www.meridianassoc.com
160 Sylvan Street Danvers, MA 01923 Tel: 978-646-0097 Fax: 978-646-0087
Mobile: 978-804-8682 mperham@mcbrie.com Managing Member
water efficiency - sustainable development open space preservation - conservation energy efficiency - renewable energy
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