(l-r) Jeffrey Cataldo, Kent School; Eugene Torone, S/L/A/M Construction Services, Ned Chernyha, S/L/A/M Construction Services, Geoffrey Gaunt, The S/L/A/M Collaborative
Glastonbury, CT – S/L/A/M Construction Services (SLAM) was recently awarded a 2015 Project Team Award from the Connecticut Building Congress (CBC) for construction services with Music Department and Mattison Auditorium at Kent School in Kent, Connecticut. The team took home the first place award in the Small Projects Category for renovated or new buildings under $10M. This is the team’s second award for this project. Associated Builders and Contractors of Connecticut (ABC) honored the team with an Excellence in Construction Award Best in Show earlier this year.
S/L/A/M Construction Services along with The S/L/A/M Collaborative were hired by Kent School to design and build the expansion of the music department and the complete renovation of the existing auditorium. SLAM managed a tight budget, strict schedule and a complex phasing strategy requiring the existing programs to remain operational during construction.
“This project presented many construction and sequencing challenges. We took on the task of managing an extremely invasive project while maintaining uninterruptible service to the school,” said Eugene Torone, project executive for S/L/A/M Construction Services, who accepted the award for the SLAM project team. “Our design-build team was able to incorporate design and phasing solutions in the bid documents that addressed these constraints and provided a plan to manage them.”
The renovation included expanding the stage area, opening the existing ceiling to the truss work and upgrades to the walls, floors and seating in the house. The final auditorium space, which seats 350 people, is multi-functional and used for music, theater, lectures and movies. Additionally, a new gallery space and lobby create an interior link between the dining hall and auditorium. An elevator tower was constructed between the buildings and the third floor was transformed and repurposed into the music department which created teaching, practice, rehearsal, and recording facilities.
The winners were announced at the CBC’s 19th Annual Project Team Awards Banquet in Hartford on Tuesday, June 9, 2015.
