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May 8, 2003
SMPS Presents 3rd Annual Collaboration Award
 Lee
Kennedy Company, Inc. (LKCo), Harvard University, and Einhorn
Yaffee Prescott Architecture & Engineering P.C. have been
awarded the SMPS (Society for Marketing
Professional Services) Award for Collaboration,
which honors a design, construction and owner team remarkable
for its cooperative efforts. The attainment of this award was
foreshadowed by the proud display of both Lee Kennedy and Widener
Library flags atop the 185-foot Liebherr tower crane that stood
over the library throughout its renovation. Whereas some project
teams would have resorted to divisiveness when faced with the
immense challenge of renovating a historic, 300,000 square foot
library in a constrained area while maintaining access to its
3.5 million volumes, the team in question acted with unwavering
unity to make the job a success.
The keystone of this joint success was the
determined and deliberate fostering of communication by all
parties. A team including representatives of the owner, contractor
and architect/engineer met weekly to discuss the challenges
involved in moving, protecting and cleaning millions of books
while dramatically overhauling their environment in order
to facilitate their long-term survival. All involved understood
the importance of these meetings: they were the prime means
of gathering and conveying information between five-hundred
construction personnel, sixty designers, five-hundred university
staff members and over fifteen-hundred daily library users.
A thoughtful methodology of exchange was developed: librarians
educated design/construction team members on the importance
and sensitivity of the collections, design/construction team
members educated librarians on construction sequencing and
methodologies, and joint efforts were made to keep all staff
and patrons informed as to the progress of the work and the
changing locations of books.
Additional factors contributing to the smooth
execution of the library renovations were the fact that LKCo
hired the major subcontractors (HVAC and electrical) early
in the schematic design stages of the project, and the fact
that Harvard provided its own library project manager, who
took a proactive role in research and programming. The early
immersion of the two major subcontractors in the project enabled
them to add their voices to the roundtable discussion, providing
insights that were extremely helpful in resolving design and
field coordination issues. The involvement of the library
project manager was a crucial element in the maintenance of
library operations, and the continuous honoring of the library's
concerns.
Mutual respect and cooperation between
owners, designers and contractors are vital to the completion
of any construction job. In the case of the challenging renovations
to Widener Library, the respect and cooperation demonstrated
by Harvard University, Einhorn Yaffee Prescott and Lee Kennedy
Company made for an award-winning collaboration.
The three parties will receive their award on Thursday, June
5.
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