Aliki Perroti and Seth Frank Lyceum Renovation & Addition
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Sustainable Campus Expansion: Historic Building Renovation and CLT Addition Enhance Academic Spaces

Amherst College, responding to a dire shortage of faculty office and academic space on campus, and supported by a generous gift from alumnus Seth Frank, created a new home for the Center for Humanistic Inquiry, the history department, and some additional faculty members.

The project is the complete gut renovation of an existing 4,200-square-foot building from the mid-1800s, along with a new 14,200-square-foot addition and hardscape. The existing brick building envelope was saved—through masonry repairs—but the interior floors, MEP systems are completely removed and replaced. The new three-story addition is a combination of wood and steel structure, with high-end curtainwall (Shuco) systems.

DOC provided self-perform work services for the restoration of window replacements within the existing building along with exterior siding install on the new addition.

Although boasting a modern style with increased natural light and open space, the intent of the design was to preserve and highlight elements of the house that form its core. Inspired by the Lyceum of ancient Athens, Greece, interior spaces are arranged to encourage collaboration, conversation and interaction for students, faculty and the Amherst community. The facility features a state-of-the-art environmental design to achieve operational sustainability and minimize the carbon emissions from construction.

The exterior hardscape is a combination of concrete, granite, and marble to form a patio space that can be used to host outside events.

Project Highlights
  • The project site is located in an active part of campus, in close proximity to the main campus walkway, student residences, and parking areas
  • Utilizing a cross-laminated timber (CLT) construction to support Amherst College’s commitment to carbon neutrality
  • The building includes a 31-kW roof-mounted solar array
  • The DOC team provided self-perform work for the window replacements along with exterior siding

Featured Video

Kevin Burns

Project Contact

The new Lyceum is a place where we’ll gather for dialogue and exchange and ask difficult questions about what it means to be human. This is the core of what we’ve been doing at Amherst College for over 200 years.

Michael A. Elliott
Amherst College President
Natick Center Commuter Rail Station Accessibility Improvements
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Enhancing Connectivity and Comfort through Comprehensive Upgrades and Strategic Phasing

This project will reconstruct the existing Natick Center Commuter Rail Station. This includes two elevators, three new stairways, two accessible ramps, new platforms, track work, signage, lighting systems, and electrical systems including emergency power, and communication systems. An existing pedestrian bridge will also be replaced.

In order to accommodate the requirement that the station remain operational throughout construction, the DOC team created a phased plan. In the first phase, the new station is constructed on the east side. Once complete, passenger loading will move to the newly constructed first phase of the project and the second phase of the station will be constructed on the west side.

Project Highlights
  • New high level platforms and canopies
  • Raising of the inbound track
  • Pedestrian Bridge Replacement
  • Earth support systems
  • Upgrades to drainage infrastructure
  • Accessibility improvements including elevators, ramps and stairs
  • Upgrades to lighting, electrical, and communications systems
Montgomery-Russell Bridge Rehabilitation
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Revitalizing Infrastructure: Montgomery-Russell Bridge Transformation Enhances Safety, Structure, and Highway Flow for Modern Travel Experience

The $46.9 million rehabilitation of the Montgomery-Russell Bridge located on Interstate 90 over US Route 20, Westfield River and the CSX Railroad in the towns of Montgomery and Russell focused on both the superstructure and the substructure of the existing bridge, lighting and drainage improvements. The rehabilitation of the bridge deck featured a major steel component replacement, and concrete deck work along the 1460ft long bridge. Upgrades included 2-foot left shoulders, 12-foot lanes, 8-foot right shoulders, a wider twin single-faced barrier, and more narrow bridge rails within the existing width of the bridge. Because the scope of work did not include roadway widening beyond the bridge, work took place in multiple stages to facilitate traffic flow at the full capacity of four total lanes, two in each direction.

Dry Bridge Road Water Treatment Plant
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Enhancing Water Infrastructure: Building a Modern 3.75 MGD Water Treatment Plant with Advanced Facilities and Upgraded Well Houses

This project consists of the new construction of a water treatment plant with the capacity to treat 3.75 million gallons per day (MGD), including four 40,000 lb granular activated carbon (GAC) contactors, three chemical storage and feed facilities, two administrative offices, a laboratory, and restrooms. In addition, the DOC provided all associated HVAC, plumbing and electrical equipment, appurtenances, site piping, and site work. The project also includes pump upgrades in two existing well houses. This system will remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the drinking water for the surrounding Westfield community. The system also has pH adjustment, corrosion control, and disinfection as well as continuous chlorine monitoring.

Primary Control Center
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An Advanced Control Center that Safeguards Critical Operations while Providing Transparency to the Communities it Serves

The Primary Control Center (PCC) is the first of three buildings being constructed as part of the larger Training Facility project for Central Hudson Gas & Electric. These new buildings will not only maintain critical transmission and distribution services for gas and electric to clients, but be at the forefront of managing and controlling the energy that communities rely on.

The project involves new construction of a 43,000-square-foot facility comprised of a steel frame structure on concrete foundation, with cladding composed of ground face and terracotta masonry, CMU’s and sheet metal. The roofing system is a fully adhered EPDM. and aluminum and glass curtain wall make up the entries.

The PCC building will be a high security space complete with anti-tailgating security doors, switchable privacy glass, and various continuous construction assemblies to prevent access to critical operations spaces. Outside of the secure areas, there will be offices and meeting spaces offering versatility to the center’s use and functionality. There will also be a public viewing area to facilitate transparency into what they do.

At the completion of the building construction and infrastructure, DOC will manage the console and video display packages which includes the installation of data infrastructure and coordinated video display screens throughout two control rooms, used to monitor and troubleshoot Central Hudson’s utility grid throughout the Hudson Valley. The control spaces are 24/7-use-rooms and the video display system is fully redundant and seismically rated.

Project Highlights
  • New construction with program spaces including command centers, call centers, exercise rooms, office and conference room spaces, public viewing spaces, locker rooms
  • Integrated high level security system inclusive of anti-tailgate doors at the entrance points
  • Designed as an N+1 facility with a backup service to the main services that allow the building to fully function if one of the services is compromised
  • During site enabling, all the access roads and utilities were built to allow for the construction of the Primary Controls Center
  • Control Rooms have a tunable lighting technology design which is critical to the employees maintaining a healthy circadian rhythm
Mass State Police Lower Basin Barracks Modernization
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Barracks Transformation and Expansion Balances Efficiency, Sustainability, and Enhanced Community Engagement for a Progressive Future

This project involved the modernization and expansion of the existing 14,000-square-foot state police barracks and constructing a 4,500-square-foot main entrance addition. Program changes included a community room, as well as a garage and sally port for the receiving of detainees. The building remained partially occupied throughout the project.

The project also consisted of a complete redesign of the site work for the Barracks use, pedestrian circulation and landscaped recreational open spaces. Demolition of adjacent buildings was also included in the scope of work.

Certified LEED Gold, sustainable design features include a new insulated roof, improved energy efficiency of the building envelope by exceeding code minimum insulation requirements, mechanical ventilation systems to utilize energy recovery ventilators for all supply and exhaust air, water conservation measures, and green infrastructure to reduce heat islands and address site drainage.

Planning and executing the project involved close coordination not only with DCAMM and the design team but also the Massachusetts State Police, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), Boston Water and Sewer Commission, and the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA).

Project Highlights
  • Renovation and new construction in a partially occupied building
  • Close coordination with multiple state agencies
  • Extensive use of BIM throughout all project phases
York Street Pump Station & Connecticut River Crossing
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Revolutionizing Wastewater Infrastructure: Project Bolsters Resilience and Economic Growth, Innovating Pipe Crossings, Treatment Facilities, and Climate Adaptation for a Thriving Region

This $106 million project, once completed, will serve 70 percent of this region’s population. The goal is to upgrade the city’s wastewater infrastructure and increase capacity to accommodate economic growth and impacts of climate change.

The project’s scope of work includes new pipe crossings of the Connecticut River, construction of a new Springfield Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility (SRWTF) Influent Structure on Bondi’s Island, and a new sanitary pump station and screening facility on York Street.

The York Street Project is being built on the former site of the York Street jail, and will connect to the SRWTF on Bondi’s Island through three new 1,200-foot river crossing pipes. The installation was achieved through micro-tunneling of 3 combined sewer pipelines across the active rail lines between the project site and Connecticut River.

The pipelines consist of a 72″ prestressed concrete cylinder pipe, within a 96″ diameter reinforced concrete casing along with two 36″ HDPE force mains each within a 48″ steel casing.

Project Highlights
  • Being delivered Public CM-at-Risk with GMP (Chp. 149-A).
  • The work is being done next to an active rail line.
  • The new plant is designed to pump 62 MGD (million gallons per day).
  • This system will reduce combined sewage overflows by an estimated 100 million gallons per year with 100 fewer discharge events.
  • The pump station excavation extends 50’ below grade and 35’ below the groundwater table through overburden consisting primarily of silty clay. The proximity to the railroad and an US Army Corp. Flood Damage Reduction System Flood wall demanded a support of excavation system that would be rigid enough to limit deflection and watertight enough to prevent groundwater infiltration that could lead to settlement. A slurry wall support of excavation system was selected as it’s commonly used in clay soils in urban settings around existing structures due to the rigidity and water cutoff that is provided when the walls are extended into the underlying rock. In this instance, the project was also able to realize a time savings based on the speed in which this system can be constructed.
North District WWTP Disinfection Facility Improvements
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Advanced Plant with Cutting-Edge Technologies and Infrastructure Enhancements Shape a Future of Quality and Efficiency

This $12 million+ project results in a newly constructed 2,600 GPM water treatment plant, including four GAC contactors, three chemical storage and feed facilities, two offices, a laboratory, restrooms, and more. It also involved associated HVAC, MEP, site piping, and site work. Additionally, it comprised pump upgrades in two existing well houses.

DOC modified the interiors of the on-site chlorine building to make room for the bulk storage tanks and metering equipment as well as constructing a new electrical room. The new electrical room will have a new concrete structure connected to the existing chlorine building. The project also includes the new chemical conveyance yard piping within pre-cast chemical trenches and vaults. Control of this system will be provided through RTU Control Panels and will be connected to and monitored by the Owner’s SCADA system.

Project Highlights
  • Enabling Work: Demolition of existing electrical equipment, existing facilities and existing chlorine tanks
  • HazMat Abatement: Asbestos abatement at the existing roof at Disinfection Building before DOC replaced the roof
  • Self-Perform Work: Piping, Concrete, Carpentry
Brightwood-Lincoln Elementary School
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Innovative Consolidation: Springfield’s New Elementary School Unites Learning and Community

DOC provided preconstruction and construction management services to the City of Springfield for the new 150,500-square-foot K-5 elementary school. The project consolidates two existing schools into a single building with each school occupying one wing of the building and sharing the center common area, including a gymnasium, cafetorium and media center. The new school can accommodate 800 K-5 students and 120 Pre-K students.

Located on Plainfield Street adjacent to the Chestnut Accelerated Middle School, the 10-acre site is adjacent to active train tracks on the east, residential housing to the west, and a separate MassDOT construction project built by DOC—the North End Pedestrian Underpass—on the south. This adjacent project created a pedestrian tunnel to allow the surrounding residents to safely get from Plainfield Street to Bernie Avenue without being exposed to train traffic.

The Brightwood-Lincoln School project scope included access roads around the building for bus and parent drop-off and pick-up, ample parking lots, playgrounds for each school and a large soccer field that could be shared by the community.

The building is a three-story structure with multiple types of exterior veneer masonry, metal panels, windows and glass curtain wall. The interior includes classrooms, offices, a gymnasium, cafeteria with a stage (also known as a cafetorium), a media center, and mechanical and electrical spaces. There are two elevators and four stairwells.

Project Highlights
  • New construction, consolidation of two existing schools into one, with common areas
  • Logistically complex site located in a dense urban area, bordered by heavily traveled sidewalks and roadways.
  • Successful collaboration with the City of Springfield, MSBA, and local agencies
  • Logistical considerations for an active school setting: parking, increased traffic for material deliveries, and pedestrian routes
Interim Behavioral Health Unit Renovations
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Constructing Advanced Cardiac and Behavioral Units While Maintaining Active Medical Operations

This project involved the fast-track renovation of existing administration space into a 2,425-square-foot cardiac testing unit and the conversion of the existing cardiac testing area into a 16-bed adult and 18-bed geriatric behavioral unit.

The interior work included abatement, selective demolition, new walls, finishes, and MEP installation. Exterior work included the creation of two outdoor spaces which included 1 new adult behavioral patio area/enclosure and 1 new geriatric behavioral patio area/enclosure.

The work was completed in 5.5 months within an active hospital setting. To keep the construction activities isolated from the active areas, we installed temporary wall structures, zip walls and negative air machines. Shiftwork was done when the demolition work was judged to be too loud for the adjacent occupied areas.

Project Highlights
  • Work was completed on a fast-track schedule within an active hospital setting
  • Extensive investigative work by DOC’s in-house MEP staff to determine existing conditions
  • Several mitigation measures were put in place to adhere to Holyoke Medical Center’s Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) plan