Not many companies put their hand up to make exterior and interior repairs to the Manchester Community College (MCC) Arts, Sciences, and Technology Center and the iconic AST Tower.
General contractors typically don’t get very excited about repair work. Builders don’t want to take on the responsibility of managing different trades.
That’s understandable. It was a very complex project with three different areas needing repairs because of issues with the building envelope system failing which led to water damage in the AST Center’s roof and interior.
For Adform Interiors, complex projects like this are in our wheelhouse! We excel at coordinating multiple trades and different timelines. On the MCC project, more than six contractors were responsible for curtainwall, concrete, roofing, drywall, flooring, and painting while making exterior and interior repairs.
Interior repairs included sheetrock, in-wall insulation, carpeting, and painting for offices on the third, fourth, and fifth floors. Damaged ceilings in the main atrium (first and second floor) were replaced, too.
Exterior repairs beyond the roof corners included the canopy on the first floor of the AST Center near the Art Gallery. The cement canopy needed to be ripped out and rebuilt with a drain which involved an architect and roof engineer. Timing was another challenge, with cold winter weather coming.
So, it was a complex project. The point of mentioning all this is not to earn your sympathy. It’s to highlight how a project with three distinct sections and six different trades ran smoothly:
Communication.
“Communication is at the core of any successful project,” says Bill Macdonald, Adform Interiors Project Director. Adform Interiors and MCC had weekly meetings to stay on top of the project and its complexities. “Open communication is critical, especially on a project with so many moving parts.”
The weekly meetings provided frequent opportunities to review issues, discuss options, and allow MCC to make decisions about their project. Most importantly, it allowed MCC to approve change-orders and pricing before work began.
“We were on site overseeing all aspects of the project, so MCC didn’t have to,” adds Macdonald. “For MCC, that was a relief in itself.” More importantly, regular and proactive updates fostered trust and a sense of partnership on the project. “After all, Adform Interiors is only successful if the project is successful.”
