By Stuart Meurer

Construction for the 32,000-square-foot Watkins Field House at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Mass., began in March 2015 and was completed by April 2016.

ASHBURNHAM, Mass. — Cushing Academy in Ashburnham opened the doors to its new athletic facility, the Watkins Field House, in April 2016.

From the outside, the building displays a traditional brick façade with steel construction and an expansive glass curtainwall on the north side, all cut into a hillside. After entering through the front doors, students have access to three levels with locker rooms situated on the first floor, a gymnasium on the second, and fitness areas and wellness sites throughout. The gymnasium features a unique curved steel truss system, raised maple flooring and clerestory windows that add natural light and visual interest to the space.

Windover Construction, located in Beverly, Mass., was hired to execute the preconstruction and construction of the new facility while school was in session. This required careful planning, collaboration and budgeting around the needs of the academic community as well as the ability to problem-solve when unexpected challenges arose.

Planning

The Windover Construction team worked closely with the school’s administration to ensure there would be no disturbance to the school community during the construction process. Careful planning by the Windover team to meet the needs of the school community included:

• Modifying the construction schedule to accommodate Cushing Academy’s needs and academic calendar
• Ensuring proper safety standards were in place around the construction site
• Creating a logistics plan to route traffic or deliveries and eliminating any disruption to Cushing Academy and its community

Early Collaboration

Construction for the 32,000-square-foot Watkins Field House began in March 2015. However, the team began working on a comprehensive preconstruction plan in March of 2014 and assisted the school with programming, feasibility studies, drawing reviews, site planning, subcontractor procurement and permitting. During this phase, it was essential to the success of the project that Windover collaborate early on with subcontractor partners on key design scopes.

Students have access to three levels with locker rooms situated on the first floor, a gymnasium on the second, and fitness areas and wellness sites throughout.
Photo Credit (all): Shelly Harrison

Partnering with subcontractors early in the process allowed Windover to leverage its expertise to fine-tune some of the project’s more complex design components to help generate cost savings for Cushing Academy and stay on schedule without sacrificing signature elements of the building. For example, the design required that Windover construct a specially curved steel truss system for the gymnasium ceiling. Understanding that this would be one of the more challenging aspects of the project, the company began working with a trusted steel subcontractor early in the process to define the ceiling design, materials and approach. Through collaboration, the team successfully reduced the overall steel tonnage by 15 percent, allowing for speedier procurement of materials while staying true to the unique design element.

Partnering with subcontractors early on in the project also enabled Windover to refine its approach to building the facility on a hillside. The original approach required the company to use sheet piling to shore up the foundation. After further consultation with the site-work contractor, the team decided that an open cut method — or sloping the soil to adequately shore up the foundation — could be safely used. This adjusted approach resulted in a significant cost savings for the school.

Problem Solving

The construction of the athletic center experienced extraordinary weather-related delays due to the winter of 2015’s heavy snowstorms. These delays were further compounded by unforeseen site-work delays caused by existing soil conditions. Windover’s team implemented lean pull planning, or a collaborative method used to define the phasing of the project, through identifying project milestones and the necessary trade handoffs to synchronize and create efficiencies in the schedule. This orchestrated sequencing allowed the team to recapture lost time on the schedule. The lean pull planning method also clarified accountability and streamlined collaboration across the subcontractor partners, making it possible to complete the project on time.

Stuart Meurer is executive vice president and chief operating officer of Windover Construction, a full-service construction management firm in New England, focused on academic, nonprofit & commercial and residential projects. For additional information, call 978-526-9410, visit www.windover.com or email info@windover.com.