Situation:
Boston College engaged BOND to provide preconstruction and construction management services for its new 490-bed residence hall located at 2150 Commonwealth Avenue. The building opened in Fall 2016 as the Thomas More Apartments residence hall. The facility strengthens the College’s residential community by providing student living space in a mix of apartment-style suites. The residence hall blends seamlessly with the surrounding campus buildings, fostering student collaboration and creating a welcoming entry point from the major Commonwealth Avenue thoroughfare. The project achieved LEED Silver accreditation and utilized Lean building practices to streamline schedule.
Challenges:
- Maintain an aggressive schedule to deliver building for the start of the 2016 academic year
- Located on a tight, urban site along Boston’s busy Commonwealth Avenue
- Procurement and installation of Ashlar granite, a long lead item and one of BC’s signature building elements
- Required demolition of the former St. Thomas More Hall, while mitigating disruption to an operable boiler in the facility
- BC’s first project completed under the Construction Manager at Risk delivery method
Solutions:
- Implementation of Lean practices, including pull planning and small batch execution, to streamline schedule
- Development of a procurement plan under a GMP format that allowed for demolition and abatement of the existing building on site in early Spring 2014
- Utilization of the tablet-based BIM360 QA/QC platform to ensure that the mining, blending, and installation of the Ashlar granite pattern is consistent and high-quality
- Creation of detailed mitigation plans and protocols to ensure safe conditions
Results:
- Lean strategies resulted in maintaining and improving the schedule
- Laser scanning services improved quality and documentation of as-builts
- Project completed on track, within budget