Bowdoin College, The John and Lile Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies, and Barry Mills Hall
Brunswick, Maine
Best Higher Education/Research
Presented by: Consigli Construction Co.
Region: ENR New England
Owner: Bowdoin College
Leading design company | Structural Engineer and MEP: HGA Architecture and Engineers
General contractor: Consigli Construction Co.
Civil engineer: Sebago Technics Inc.
Landscape architect: Stimson study
Subcontractors: South County Post & Beam Inc.; ES Boulos Co.; Johnson & Jordan Inc.; Dean & Allyn Inc.; Maine Masonry Company Inc.; Ace Corp.; Windham Millwork Inc.
Matt Tonello, director of operations and project executive for Consigli, says Maine’s first commercial solid wood structure is also the first to use a solid wood siding system to resist wind and seismic loads.
The $28.5 million, 46,000-square-foot project, completed on schedule in 21 months, includes two buildings: the three-story Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies with six offices, several classrooms, an archeology lab and two galleries which house the Peary- MacMillan Arctic Museum Collection; and the two-story solid wood Mills Hall academic building with classrooms and academic, research, and event spaces.
“Construction of these buildings during a global pandemic presented extraordinary supply chain and scheduling challenges” with the massive pre-cut timber shipped in over 30 containers from Europe and “delivered sequentially for assembly on time” , says Matthew Orlando, senior vice president at Bowdoin. for finance and administration.
Photo by Michael Moran courtesy of HGA
To protect the sensitive artifacts housed at the Peary MacMillan Arctic Museum, “our team designed an efficient all-electric system maintaining critical temperature and humidity control for the collections,” says Rebecca Celis, director and leader in the arts, community and education sector in Boston. HGA architecture office.
The cross-laminated timber floors and roofs are supported by laminated timber beams and columns and by laminated roofs secured with steel ties, says Lauren Piephho, the company’s structural engineer.
Photo by Michael Moran courtesy of HGA
“Bowdoin is committed to eliminating fossil fuel emissions on campus by 2042 through decarbonization strategies and the adoption of renewable energy sources,” Orlando says. The team chose 100 percent electric power for Mills Hall and the Gibbons Center to offset the electrical load with new and existing solar contracts, making those buildings the first net-zero facilities on campus, he adds.
