MIT Music Building
Cambridge, Mass.
Merit Award
Presented by Component assembly systems
Owner: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Main design company: Perry Dean Rogers Partners Architect
General contractor: Lee in Leedy Co.
Structural engineers: Lochsa Engineering
Wall and ceiling subcontractor: Component assembly systems
The three-building complex includes a music technology suite, recording studios, rehearsal spaces, faculty offices, classrooms and the lobby. Acoustic clouds located 60 feet above the ground in the performance lab could not be built as designed.
As a result, the team choreographed their own strategy to safely redesign and install more than 3,800 square meters of acoustic panels while meeting demanding sound density requirements, all without interfering with other construction activities.
With the assistance and coordination of all trade partners in an effort that required access to the underside of the deck/roof area, a 50-foot-tall stepped platform of approximately 22 inches was constructed. from the perimeter walls.
The materials were craned up to a hole through the roof. As carpenters installed studs down from the underside of the roof deck, roofers framed, installed and plastered the acoustic panels.
The synchronized operation was completed safely, contributing to the overall project’s 49,660 accident- and accident-free work hours.
