NEWTON, MA–Kaplan Construction, a WBE general contractor and construction management firm providing comprehensive building programs across Greater Boston, announced that the firm’s renovation of a historic building in Newton, Mass. for the Boston Psychoanalytic Society & Institute (BPSI) won three Excellence in Construction Awards (EICA) from the Massachusetts Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).
Kaplan received the Merit award for historical restoration over $1 million, the Green award, and the Safety award.
Kaplan was recognized during the Twenty-Second Annual ABC Massachusetts Chapter Awards banquet held on November 18 in Waltham, Mass. The Massachusetts Chapter of the ABC is the largest construction trade association in the Commonwealth, representing more than 400 local general contractor, subcontractor, supplier and associate companies. These companies employ more than 22,000 workers throughout Massachusetts.
“Our companies are committed to providing the highest quality of work in a safe and efficient manner. Tonight is a great night to recognize their achievements and celebrate the merit shop industry as a whole,” said ABC MA President Greg Beeman.
A long-time Boston institution for 80 years, BPSI relocated from the Back Bay to Newton in November 2014. Its new Educational Center will support more than 500 members and 150 volunteer faculty, providing space for seminars, the largest psychoanalytical library and archives in the country, and educational programs for members, students and the public. Kaplan provided interior and exterior renovations to the three-story, 12,540 SF Colby Hall located at 141 Herrick Road in Newton Centre and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“The BPSI project embodied one of our biggest passions – restoring an older structure to its former greatness while adapting it for current needs,” said Nate Peck, president of Kaplan Construction. “We are honored to have been recognized by ABC for our team’s work creating a new home for BPSI.”
In addition to construction management, Kaplan provided pre-construction services including exploratory work, budget review estimates, preparation of deduct alternates, and preliminary schedules.
ABC Merit Award for Historical Restoration greater than $1 million
The Merit Award recognizes the overall excellence in project execution, craftsmanship, safety, innovative elements and challenges, and client satisfaction.
Built in 1866, Colby Hall is a Romanesque Revival, Second Empire stone masonry building with wood framed floors, roof, and stud partitions. Kaplan renovated and reconfigured the building’s three floors to accommodate BPSI’s program spaces, and converted the attached vaulted chapel to a library and multi-purpose room used to host lectures, dinners, and functions. Off the entrance is a casually furnished Community Room with an attached kitchenette that is being used as communal gathering space for students, members and faculty.
Challenging aspects of this historic restoration project include the following:
• Much of the basement was excavated to create additional square footage, requiring Kaplan to underpin 70% of the exterior masonry load-bearing façade.
• Slate and copper roof details were photographed, measured, and drawn prior to demolition to ensure that the new slate and copper would capture the original grandeur of the mansard roof.
• Wood trim and moldings, mahogany window sashes, and solid oak stair treads and risers were all hand-replicated by a Kaplan carpenter or restored from salvaged materials.
• The stones of the chapel entrance were carefully numbered and catalogued before dismantling to ensure that they were all returned to their correct location upon reassembly.
ABC Green Building Award
This award recognizes significant achievements in green construction that, as a result, enhance the sustainability of the built environment and society at large. The BPSI renovation included the complete restoration of existing windows utilizing new energy efficient glazing; repurposing two arched stile and rail oak doors and hardware in the community and meeting rooms; and using salvaged wood and flooring materials wherever possible for patching and blending new to old. In addition, Kaplan installed a Direct Digital Control (DDC) HVAC system to allow BPSI to manage its energy usage more efficiently, and utilized low VOC paints and adhesives.
ABC Safety Award
Kaplan successfully took measures to ensure zero lost time and a safe job site environment, implementing a custom-built interior staging tower, full exterior staging, and utilizing HEPA fans and air scrubbers to minimize dust and raise air quality levels.
Project team members
• Schwartz/Silver Architects of Boston: programming, design and furnishings
• Design Technique, Inc. of Newburyport, Mass.: owner’s representative
• Cosentini Associates of Cambridge, Mass.: mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection engineering
• Nitsch Engineering of Boston: civil engineering
• John Born Associates of Cambridge, Mass.: structural engineering
