Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter hosted two special meetings for nearly 200 students and residents from the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) regarding the upcoming Addition and Renovation Construction Project. Students and residents filled the 670 Albany Street auditorium during the evenings of January 22 – 23. 2018 to hear from various speakers from SmithGroupJJR Architectural Firm, Shawmut Design & Construction Inc., Compass Project Management, Inc. and GSDM. The meeting covered a wide variety of project-specific topics, including: safety, design planning, preconstruction planning, phased construction, start dates, construction timeline, and the logistics of the construction.
Dean Hutter opened the meeting by updating the students on the various legal and permitting benchmarks that GSDM had recently completed, opening the way for construction to begin. He then introduced two executives in attendance, saying, “I would now like to recognize the following special guests that are with us this evening, each of whom has provided unyielding support and guidance for our project. Mr. Walt Meissner, BU Associate Vice President for Operations, and the University’s Project Executive for our GSDM Construction Project; and Mr. Gregg Snyder, BU Director for Special Projects & Strategic Initiatives, and the University’s Project Manager for our GSDM Construction Project. Thank you both for taking the time from your very busy schedules to be with us as we hold this Special Meeting for our Students and Residents.”
Dean Hutter then showed photos of the evolution of the Lawrence J. and Anne Cable Rubenstein building, before moving onto the showing of still images and a video of what the exterior and interior of the school will look like following construction.
Following Dean Hutter’s presentation, Mr. Chris Purdy, Vice President & Higher Education Practice Director and Mr. Darin Daguanno, Principal Architect at SmithGroup JJR walked the audience through each floor as to the final design aspect of the project. They also highlighted how each of the seven floors of the building would be renovated and utilized once construction is complete. SmithGroup JJR has been part of the Addition and Renovation Construction Project for nearly eight years, as they participated in the planning process of a new facility during the GSDM Applied Strategic Planning project.
The next speakers were all representatives of the GSDM Project Team, and informed the students of the impact on administrative, clinical, and instructional spaces due to construction. Mr. Tim McDonough, Executive Director of Finance & Operations, discussed the relocation of many faculty and staff offices in new spaces such as the Robinson and the Fuller buildings. He then handed it over to Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, Dr. John Guarente, who assured students that despite construction, their time spent in preclinical training and patient oral healthcare will not be impacted. Dr. Cataldo Leone, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, then updated everyone on the movement of instructional spaces and classrooms during the four phases of construction.
Dean Hutter next introduced Ms. Christy Murphy, Senior Project Manager at Compass Project Management, Inc. and most importantly the Project Manager for the GSDM Addition & Renovation Construction Project. Upon being introduced and sharing what her role will be during the project, she introduced Mr. Mark Malmquist of Shawmut Design & Construction, Inc. and again most importantly the Construction Manager for the GSDM Addition & Renovation Construction project. Mr. Malmquist informed the audience of the nuts and bolts of the project in terms of construction schedule, the four phases of construction and logistics of the project itself. He also explained that some operations may have to migrate throughout the building depending on the phase.
Phase 1 & 1A will cover the new basement that will contain a brand new Central Sterilization Room and Central Supply Store; the first-floor addition and renovations will include Offices of Admissions, Student Affairs and Finance, the Main Patient Waiting Area, the Student/Resident Lounge, and Collaborative Space including a Café for students, residents, faculty, and staff, and the new Patient Entrance on Albany Street. Phase 2 will see the construction of the seven-story addition, and the completion of the two-story addition that will house a new state-of-the-art 140-seat Auditorium on the first floor and the Administrative and Instructional space on the second floor that will support the Advanced Specialty Education Programs located on that same floor. The exterior façade (recladding) will also be completed at this time. Phase 3 calls for all bathroom and elevator upgrades, as well as the renovation of the fifth floor. The fourth and final phase will complete the elevator upgrades and complete the renovation of the sixth floor. The new Predoctoral Patient Treatment Center will be comprised of 10 Group Practices each containing 10 Patient Treatment Spaces along with spaces designed to support each of the Group Practices; two Group Practices on the fourth floor, and 4 Group Practices located on the fifth and sixth floors, respectively. In addition, the existing two elevators will be completely renovated and designated for patient use only, while a bank of two brand new elevators will be added at the rear of the building for student, resident, faculty and staff use. The building will also have two addresses; 635 Albany Street for the brand new Patient Entrance, while the completely renovated existing ‘Academic Entrance’ for students, residents, faculty, and staff will continue to use the 100 E. Newton Street address.
The final speaker before the question and answer session was Ms. Christy Murphy, who as Project Manager, informed the students and residents that she and her team have been, and will continue to be on the construction site to monitor the project and make sure all operations continue to run smoothly. She will also help in the facilitation of communications and updates regarding the project with the entire GSDM community.
Dean Hutter, Christy Murphy, and all of the speakers then took questions from the students during the Open Forum portion of the meeting. Many inquired about the effect on clinical time, impacts on getting to the building, and the layout of the collaborative spaces. All seemed quite pleased with the second set of elevator banks and the new student/resident and faculty/staff lounge. One humorous moment was when a student asked Dean Hutter why the design plan didn’t add space on top of the building. He replied that while they explored that idea, the building would’ve remained seven stories as it would have sunk due to it being too heavy for the ground to support. Dean Hutter, however, then reassured the student that a great deal of effort has taken place to make sure that the bedrock below the layers of soil and ground substances is more than adequate to support our new facility.
Dean Hutter closed out the evening thanking all of the presenters for their outstanding presentations and everyone for their attendance and continued support and patience with the Addition and Renovation Construction Project. “I do hope this evening’s presentations have demonstrated to you that we are well underway in achieving our, and I emphasize, our vision for our School to be the premier academic dental institution promoting excellence in dental education, research, oral health care, and community service to improve the overall health of the global population. “Although there will be disruptions along the way, we have and will continue doing everything possible as we work on a daily basis with our Project Team in making sure our Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine remains open during construction in order for us to continue providing our students and residents didactic instruction and learning, pre-clinical instruction & training, and oral healthcare for the patients we have the privilege of caring for.”
“We must never settle for anything less than excellence in all of our programs and now our new facility. In all aspects, it has truly been a wonderful year for our School, and it is because of all of your dedication, hard work and support that we have been able to accomplish so much.” said Dean Hutter.
As work begins, the entire Project team will ensure that communications are consistent to keep everyone informed about the status of the work.