A renovation salutes a legacy of craftsmanship and looks to the future
Paul Deffenbaugh, Editorial Director,
Posted
07/06/2011
The New England Council of Carpenters in Boston
required an update to a tired brick building and the project got
the recognition of our judges. Mark Dewalt says, "This was a
stunning rescue of an aging building." Andrew Cottrell adds,
"Through the use of metal, the form, the colors and pattern create
a symbol and statement for carpenters everything about what can be
done with basic elements in unique ways."
One side of the building fronts a fastpaced highway, while the
other side faces a community. Boston-based architects ADD Inc. used
that duality to capture the history and the future of the
carpenters union. Principal in charge Jeff Wade, AIA, explains on
the more people-oriented side, "We used warmer colors, using the
pewter finish on the Alucobond. We brought in cedar and glass and
made it feel more neighborly, warm and traditional-kind of like
carpenters are."
But on the highway side, the firm designed an elevation that
represents the carpenters looking ahead and being more modern.
"Long panels of different colors show that off and give a sleeker,
more horizontal structure. That's what gave a shape to the
building. We actually played with the shape, making it higher on
one end to accentuate the length and even made it look like it was
moving."
Mooresville, N.C.-based 3A Composites USA Inc. supplied 43,000
square feet of 4-mm Alucobond aluminum composite panels for the
project. Of that, 22,000 square feet was finished in Pewter Creek,
while Copper Metallic and Carpenter Mica each comprised 10,500
square feet.
The building also includes a huge media screen, showcasing the
carpenters as modern and vital. The installation of the screen
required flashing, of course, as the structure penetrated the skin
of the building. "That was tricky," says Wade, "but metal panel is
pretty easy to work with. It's very forgiving and very easy to make
it do what you want."
"We're
a traditional organization that has been around for over a hundred
years, but we are also a modern, innovative organization," says
Mark Erlich, NERCC executive secretary-treasurer. "We're a group
with an enormous sense of pride and we want people to see what we
do."
The use of glass along the bottom of the building on the highway
side was done to allow outsiders to see into the building, to show
there are no secrets, and to show the members going through
training and keeping current. The renovation-which Cottrell says
"surpasses the idea of renovation"-took an aging building and made
it essential and modern, while offering the carpenters a stage to
showcase their own consequence and substance.
New England Council of Carpenters and Boston Carpenters
Training Center, Boston
Completed: February 2010
Total square feet: 74,000 square feet
Building owner: New England Council of Carpenters
Architect: ADD Inc., Boston, www.addinc.com
General contractor: Suffolk Construction Co., Boston
Installer: Sunrise Erectors Inc., Canton, Mass.
Smooth metal wall panels: 3A Composites USA Inc., Mooresville,
N.C., www.alucobondusa.com