Situation:
Bentley University’s Student Center is the campus’ home for student life. More than a decade after its opening, the amount of space needed for student organizations and services exceeded the building size. BOND was employed to provide preconstruction and construction services for an 18,000 SF expansion and 20,000 SF renovation of the existing facility to accommodate the need for additional gathering, work, and collaboration space. Dubbed the “Bentley Bubble,” the facility includes collaboration space, study rooms, team project rooms, new concessions, student activity offices and a pub.
Challenges:
- All construction completed within an occupied building
- Lack of accurate as-built documentation for existing spaces and building systems
- Facility located on a challenging, sloped site
- Management of Bentley’s budget and schedule requirements
Solutions:
- Completion of a rigorous value engineering process with Perkins + Will design team to identify and resolve constructability and budget issues
- Utilization of in-house laser scanning services to develop accurate as-built documentation of existing conditions
- Coordination of addition and renovation work through extensive use of Building Information Modeling
Results:
- Delivery of a Student Center that reflects Bentley’s commitment to embedding teamwork and collaboration into the campus’ fabric
- Development of existing conditions as-builts 50% faster than traditional survey methods
- All work safely completed without disruption to the building’s occupants
- Delivered on time and within budget, hitting all major milestone dates