Standard Builders has been employing sustainable construction practices long before “green” projects were main stream within the industry. It has been their firm’s policy to use sustainable methods to significantly reduce, and often eliminate the negative impacts of renovation construction.
The recently completed Ophthalmology Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center (UMMMC) is one example of the firm’s typical sustainability practices. Construction Manager at Risk, Standard Builders assisted UMMMC to minimize environmental risks by adhering to LEED® guidelines for sustainable construction through all phases of this renovation project.
Completed early in 2010, the new Ophthalmology Clinic received LEED® Silver certification by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
As part of UMMMC’s Growing Green sustainability plan, the new Ophthalmology Clinic encompassed a complete fit out of 14,500sf of space within an occupied 1950’s building on the Hahnemann Campus. The existing space was renovated to support state-of-the-art diagnostic technology and a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic services.
Standard Builders’ early involvement included material selection, system performance, decreasing construction waste and improving indoor air quality. Construction methods, value engineering methods and constructability reviews were streamlined to assist the team in achieving UMMMC’s green project goals.
Indoor air quality was the most significant area impacted during construction. For this project methods implemented included
· Return air register/grilles that remained in use were covered with filter media to clean the air prior to returning it back into the hospital system. The air within the space was kept clean with nine 2000 CFM air scrubbers with HEPA filters that re-circulated the air at a change of 6 per hour. This system remained in operation 24 hours per day for the duration of the project.
· All adhesive and sealants products including construction adhesives, caulking and compound were in compliance with the Volatile Organic Components (VOC) limits of the referenced standards.
· Shot blasting of the existing floors, floor leveling and flooring installation was scheduled during the second shift which allowed dust (from the blasting and the initial off gassing of the leveling compounds) to occur only when the installers occupied the building.
. Painting was scheduled to occur in each room at least 24 hours prior to carpet and acoustical ceiling installation. This ensured that the initial gassing of the paint occurred prior to installation, minimizing the opportunity for the carpet and ceiling tiles to absorb the odors.
· All waste was removed from the site in covered dumpster buggies which protected dust from the waste to become airborne within the building.
· An anteroom was constructed at the entrance/exit to the site, equipped with two doors each with an automatic door closer to prevent dust migration into the adjoining space. Tacky mats were also used at the exit from the space to clean bottoms of shoes and carts prior to exiting.
· At the time of very limited occupancy, the fresh air flush out was over twice the required amount.
Indoor air quality post-construction and before building occupancy was tested and documented by an outside consultant, and all contaminates were below the LEED Max Concentration. “It is important for us to have an authority that validates the standards we have had in place for many years,” states Robert J. Sullivan, P.E., President of Standard Builders.
