October 15, 1999

Historical Renovation Projects--Beyond the Technical Issues

You can't reinvent history, but you can bring it back to life. A proper historical renovation not only revitalizes an aging building into the luster of its former days, but can also enhance a building with amenities beyond its original design. Historical renovations are a sedulous undertaking that require attention to a magnitude of technical details. Yet beyond the technical issues, several other elements contribute to the success of a historical renovation. Communication, quality control and site security, for example, are all issues that a general contractor (GC) must consider to be as important as demolition techniques or material selection.

A historical renovation involves the interaction of several individuals-architects, subcontractors, project managers-hence, it is critical that your GC develops a project culture that is "over communicative." Communication on a historical renovation project takes place on multiple levels. Clearly defined roles and lines of communication need to be established between architect, owner and contractor, as well as between construction crew and site supervisors. A good GC will develop a written communication system to keep building owners and occupants informed of construction as it progresses throughout the project. Likewise, a GC should institute a forum that encourages input and exchange from all team members. Furthermore, communication needs to be established between "the project and the public." Because historical renovations often take place while a facility must remain open and operational, intelligible signs to re-route foot traffic, for example, are essential. Identifying potential areas of conflict in regards to public access and providing information forewarning the public of changes before they occur, can also help alleviate disgruntled patrons.

A GC should work together with the owner and architect to develop a quality control program and identify the distinct roles of the quality control manager. The quality control manager must ensure that the best quality materials are used and the highest level of workmanship is performed. All subcontractors, vendors and management personnel should be pre-qualified as to make sure the most competent individuals are on the job. It is crucial that the quality control manager identifies problems at the earliest stages of construction. A GC can further ensure quality control by establishing ongoing site-awareness training sessions for the construction crew with input from the owner.

Identifying the specific issues that are relevant to a project is imperative. For example, on the Harvard Widener Library project for which Lee Kennedy Company is the GC, air filtration in the work area is an important issue because of the delicacy of the books inside the library. Along these same lines, written criteria have been established for the level of cleanliness required during the construction phase.

Over the years, the existing mechanical and electrical systems in historic buildings become outdated. Plus, many historical facilities, such as the Widener Library, experience a tremendous increase in visitors-beyond that for which a building was originally designed. As technology changes, so do building codes, and the needs of patrons and staff as well. All these demands require the retrofit and installation of new MEP systems. The difference between this scope on a historical building, as opposed to a newer building, is the intense coordination and detail work put in place to avoid interference with the architectural integrity of the building, and in the case of Widener, the book collection housed within. Therefore, all construction methods and materials have been extensively researched as not to negatively impact the collection.

Finally, security is always a consideration on any job, however, the necessary level of security must be evaluated. At the Widener project, the construction crew wears access badges and temporary security systems have been installed in highly sensitive areas.

A carefully planned historical renovation will yield spectacular results. When good communication is established between all players and no detail is considered too insignificant, quality control becomes paramount and a project is destined to produce excellence.

<< back

questions or comments?
e-mail us.