Bedford, NH – North Branch Construction was recognized at the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) NH/VT Chapter Annual Excellence in Construction Awards ceremony held at the Manchester Country Club in Bedford on Oct. 25.
(l-r) Chris Johnson, Patrick O’Hern, Jim Schwartzkopf, Mark Lee, Sharon Ames / photo by North Branch Construction
The firm received a Merit Award for the reconstruction of the Morton Hall dormitory on the campus of Dartmouth College in the Institutional/Public $5-10M category.
Dartmouth College’s Patrick O’Hern and Chris Johnson, along with project architects Sharon Ames and Mark Lee of Harriman Associates, joined North Branch’s project manager Jim Schwartzkopf on stage as he accepted the award.
A fire at Dartmouth College’s Morton Hall caused extensive damage during the solicitation process for proposals from construction managers to perform minor renovations-in-kind and systems upgrades to several dormitories. The original systems upgrades and minor renovation scope of work was revised to include demolition of the destroyed portions of the building.
Completion of the initial demolition brought to light that the building was beyond repair to perform the originally planned 30% renovation-in-kind and systems upgrades. The entire building would have to be gutted and brought up to code.
Dartmouth College Morton Hall fire / photo by North Branch Construction
The college decided at this time that they wanted to take this opportunity to incorporate a new layout within the dormitory to allow for more social spaces and beds for students.
This new layout required a total redesign by Harriman Associates for the renovation of the entire building, including the removal of all existing mechanical and electrical systems and walls. This series of scope revisions and redesign turned what was originally estimated as a $1.5 million project into over $6 million in work.
Dartmouth College Morton Hall exterior post-reconstruction / photo by North Branch Construction
North Branch Construction and its team of subcontractors accomplished the work in five months, in time for students to move into the dormitory mid-August, before the start of the 2017-2018 academic year.
The team includes EnviroVantage, Hampshire Fire Protection, Longchamps Electric, Multi-Weld Services, Stanley Elevator Co., National Drywall, Northeast Flooring Solutions, Giguere Electric, Vermont Heating & Ventilation, Marchand Painting, and RG Gosselin Concrete.
