Special Olympics of Massachusetts 2
April 15th, 2010 | Project Showcase | Award Winning ICF, CMU construction, cold weather, ICFA, MA, Special Olympics
This wonderful ICF project won a 2009 ICFA Excellence Award for Large Commercial, along with Carleton College (Gold/Sustainability) and Dunkin’ Donuts (Gold/Small Commercial)
Life-cycle costs and more efficient heating/cooling costs to maintain the Special Olympics Yawkey Sports Training Facility were a result of Columbia Construction providing value engineering- essentially by making the decision to deviate from original CMU plans and use insulating concrete forms they were able to improve the function of the building with an opportunity to lower costs.
Energy conservation and being able to build during the winter months were initially the main reasons for using Insulating Concrete Forms. Significant savings were realized due to the fact the project did not suffer any winter conditions penalties. The added benefits of strength and safety were greatly appreciated as well, due to the nature of the users of the building.
The principal architect, since discovering the ICFs, is now specifying it for several new national drug facilities he has underway. His reasons for using this product are:
- Energy conservation and the LEED benefits associated with this product, which increases the R-value to R-32.
- Constructability: utilizing ICFs allows construction during winter months and decreases the cost of winter conditions.
- Labor: utilizing ICFs allows for one trade to construct from the frame footing to the top of the parapet wall. That fact also saves up to two (2) months of overall construction, which for a retail client, is a major benefit.
This isn’t just a facility, it’s a facility for a cause, that everyone was happy to be apart of. It was able to be built with safety in mind, and will reap the benefits of energy efficiency, for all users of the site. The SOMA Yawkey Sports Training Facility will serve as a baseline and as inspirations for ICF growth in the Northeast. This project brought a new architect on board, in a region that will benefit immensely from ICFs and a community program that will enjoy the building for generations to come.
