Boston, MA – Suffolk University and Suffolk Construction Company recently started construction on the Suffolk University Modern Theatre and Residence Hall project located in Downtown Crossing in Boston. Suffolk Education, Suffolk Construction’s specialized education construction group, will manage the project, which will add a new 185-seat theater with a proscenium to the Downtown Crossing district. The team will also create suite-style dormitory units to accommodate 197 student beds. The theater space will occupy the first two levels of the building. This area will include the theater, a balcony area, gallery space and the main lobby. The main lobby will be decorated with select stone flooring, architectural woodwork and custom draperies. The upper balcony area will be accessed by a curved grand stair with decorative metal plating and an elevator. The theatre walls will be finished with a hand-painted theatrical scenic wall covering. The project is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010.
The Modern Theatre project will be complicated and challenging for a number of reasons, including the constrained footprint of the site and the building’s location, within a bustling urban neighborhood. The most complex portion of the work, however, involves the preservation of the building’s historic façade. This component of the project will require heightened levels of attention to detail and workmanship.
The masonry contractor, NER Construction Management, Inc., is carefully documenting and dismantling the cracking stone and marble façade, one piece at a time, and transporting all pieces to its facility in Wilmington, Massachusetts, for restoration. Restoration includes cleaning, crack repairs and patching. NER will also fabricate a number of new stones to replace missing pieces or stones that are not salvageable. Once the marble and stone are completely restored, NER will transport all of the pieces (approximately 900) back to the site and carefully install them in their exact original locations, using precise dimensions, to reconstruct the historic façade and return it to its original grandeur.
Suffolk Education, NER and the design team are also using state-of-the-art BIM (Building Information Model) technology, which is already adding significant value to the project. The team is using BIM for design visualization, trade coordination, laser scanning, and scheduling and logistics on the Suffolk University project.
The Suffolk Education team is leveraging laser scanning to create accurate models of existing conditions in the building for the purpose of model creation. The teams are then overlaying various models from architects and subcontractors as part of a collaborative trade coordination process, which allows the team to identify potential design and engineering conflicts and clashes so they can be addressed early in the project. The Suffolk Education team is also integrating the project schedule into BIM applications for animated sequencing and schedule analysis.
The Modern Theatre project is being designed and constructed to meet green building and LEED certification standards. The project team will use environmentally friendly construction methods and materials during construction. The architect, Childs Bertman Tseckares, Inc., and the engineers have designed the building to ensure its clean and efficient operation once construction is completed and the facility is fully functional.
Suffolk University and Suffolk Construction have both demonstrated strong leadership in sustainable building practices. Suffolk University has a history of working diligently to find creative solutions to environmental challenges. This prestigious institution consistently instills the values of sustainability through education and practice.
Suffolk Construction also has a strong reputation as an environmentally responsible contractor. As a major contributor to the advances of sustainable building practices, Suffolk supports owners, architects, subcontractors and employees who share its commitment to green building and the positive impact it has on our natural environment, regional economies, and health and productivity of building occupants. Suffolk’s collaborative approach to managing sustainable building construction projects, proven documentation procedures, sustainable building experience, and company wide commitment to sustainable and green business practices will add significant value to this project as decisions are being made about its sustainable features and LEED certification requirements.
The Modern Theatre building has a storied history. The building was included on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 as part of the Washington Street Theater District, and in 1995 it was designated a Boston Landmark. The building was initially constructed as retail and warehouse space in 1876. In 1913, it was converted into the Modern Theatre, the first Boston theater designed specifically to show films. Admission was 15 cents, and musical accompaniment was provided on an organ designed specifically for use in the theater. In 1928, the Modern Theatre premiered the first Boston showing of a “talkie”—The Jazz Singer. The theater also introduced the double feature in an effort to compete with newer theaters showing movies and vaudeville together. By the 1980s, the building fell out of use and was considered beyond repair until Suffolk University became directly involved in the restoration of the building.
