Case Studies
With the complicated systems and high level of finishes a museum requires, having to complete the project in nine months — while the facility was occupied — proved to be a difficult task. The project involved a gallery and meeting space addition and renovation to a premier museum housing collections of priceless art.
The Jacobsen Gallery project consisted of demolition and renovation of 2,400 square feet of space. The new facility, Central Gallery, consists of a two-story, 16,000-square-foot addition to the existing museum campus and includes a large exhibition space of 5,000 square feet, a loading dock, catering kitchen, restrooms, and art and frame storage. This project was particularly sensitive because of the public traffic through the museum and the extreme care that had to be taken with the priceless works of art. Specific site utilization and safety plans were specially designed for this project.
About the Building
Elkins was hired to construct this space to provide the first new gallery in the museum in more than a decade. The space was designed with four primary objectives: maximize ceiling height, provide a neutral setting for a variety of artwork, create an inviting entrance from the main circulation corridor, and provide a beautiful yet functional ceiling design that allows for maximum flexibility of lighting. This was accomplished by creating a unique architectural steel assembly with stainless steel mesh panels and custom gallery light fixtures.
New glass doors were installed in the new doorway, cased with travertine, and the existing doorways adjacent to the gallery were refitted with the new design. Oak flooring was installed throughout the gallery to create a neutral walking surface and to continue the material palette from the adjacent Cummer galleries.
The new building was the first of seven that are included in The Cummer Museum’s masterplan. High-end finishes, including walnut and oak, were used throughout the building. Precast limestone was used for both the interior and exterior of the building. Other features of the museum include 11-foot-high glass doors and super-clear glass that provides spectacular views of the St. Johns River.
"We are very excited and proud to have been part of the new expansion at The Cummer Museum," Tom Hurst said. “The new gallery space, due to its size, careful lighting design, and the way that natural daylight is introduced into the exhibition space, should create opportunities for the museum to expand it’s curatorial offerings and bring exhibits to Jacksonville that might not have been otherwise possible. We look forward to the grand opening and to the continued success of the museum’s expansion plans.” -Tom Hurst, Principal, Rink Design Partnership
Personnel Management
Personnel management was an extremely important part of this complicated project. The museum had to remain open and maintain normal operation during the course of construction. This required exhaustive coordination with all subcontractors and laborers because up to 150 workers were onsite at any given time. Another reason for careful coordination was the fact that the construction area was surrounded on three sides by the existing museum; there was only 20 feet of space on the unoccupied side of the site. The situation of the facilities left the project team with one way in and one way out. Project Superintendent Steve Sandiford, coordinated delivery times with vendors and subcontractors to prevent a logjam in this tight space.
Quality Control
When possible, we drew on the experience of our dependable, well-known subcontractors to provide the quality product that was expected of a museum. We also prequalified all of our subcontractors to make sure they had the experience and financial capacity to perform their scope of work.
Anticipation, attention to detail, experience and careful inspections are the elements of success for quality control. Once the quality-assurance standards were set, we implemented the process throughout the project on a constant and very visible basis. Through the purchasing, shop drawings, fabrication, construction and start-up phases of the project, we scrutinized submittals, materials and workmanship to ensure acceptable work and rejected work that was deemed unacceptable.
During the bidding phase and pre-award subcontractor meetings, we implemented quality-control measures to assure compliance with scope, pricing, craftsmanship and safety expectations. During construction, we visited fabricators as required to check compliance with the contract documents, including desired fit and finishes, and to ensure furniture, custom millwork and mechanical/electrical equipment, among other building components were on schedule.
During construction, our quality-control program represented a proactive pursuit to identify and prevent potential problems regarding workmanship and inferior materials.
We performed constructability reviews in order to eliminate gaps, overlaps and omissions in scopes of work. The reviews also assured that notes, details and specifications were clear and accurate. Utilizing this process reduced unnecessary expense and provided the owner with the best value for the project.
Scheduling
Jacksonville was one of five cities receiving The British Museum’s Egyptian art collection. The exhibit is made of up of 85 masterpieces, spanning four dynasties of ancient Egypt, and is heralded as one of the foremost collections of Egyptian artifacts in the world. The exhibition ran from December 22, 2006, through March 18, 2007.
This project had a deadline that could not move. Construction had to be completed within nine months. The Cummer inaugurated its new Central Gallery with the exhibition “Temples and Tombs: Treasures of Egyptian Art from The British Museum.” It had been nearly 20 years since an exhibition of Egyptian art was presented in Jacksonville. That exhibition drew more than 400,000 visitors, and “Temples and Tombs” was expected to draw at least that many.
To further complicate the scheduling matters, the team had to provide The British Museum with two weeks worth of temperature and humidity readings before it would allow the “Temples and Tombs” exhibit to be delivered to The Cummer Museum. The readings were required to prove that the temperature and humidity were kept at levels consistent with what is necessary to preserve these priceless works of art. This process meant the team would actually have to finish the building two weeks earlier than expected. W.W. Gay did an excellent job of ensuring success in this matter.
Because the museum remained operational throughout the construction process, Elkins occasionally had to put construction on hold to prevent disrupting museum activities.
Despite the scheduling challenges, Elkins was able to complete construction and provide necessary temperature and humidity readings in time for the museum to receive the highly anticipated exhibition.
Value Engineering
Because a museum is a place to showcase works of art, the level of finishes in the facility are appropriately high-end. There was little opportunity to value engineer any finishes or systems contained within the museum.
But one item on which we were able to save the owner some money was the precast limestone. Precast limestone was chosen for its versatility of form and ability to be molded into an unlimited amount of architectural trim and details. It was favored over natural-cut stone because it was less expensive to make and install and because it better simulates the appearance of natural limestone.
Another VE option was substituting stucco for fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) panels on the second floor of the building. The finish of the stucco matched the precast limestone.
These options allowed the project to stay within budget while providing the same function and appearance.
Challenges
The museum is home to thousands of works of art. One of our main responsibilities was to protect that art during construction. Priceless works of art hung on the walls where construction was taking place. The use of a vibratory compactor was necessary and could have caused pictures or other items to fall and be damaged. To prevent this, we had the museum remove and relocate the items during this process. Because of our careful planning we were able to complete this entire project without damaging a single work of art.
Included in the Egyptian exhibition were sculptures, reliefs, papyri, ostraca, jewelry, cosmetic objects, and funerary items in a variety of media — stone, wood, terra cotta, gold, glass, and papyrus — that reflect the richness and scope of Egyptian society and culture. These ancient artifacts required extreme care, including temperature and humidity regulation. This was a grueling process and required extra attention to get it exactly right.
Another item that proved difficult to install was an architectural steel ceiling assembly with a special lighting grid. All the fixtures in the museum were custom made to provide the owner’s desired look. Because this was an unusual fixture, it took a little longer to complete the design. Once the design was complete, the shop drawings had to be created, submitted and approved. This was a lengthy process and required the items to be flown in overnight to keep the project on schedule. Installing the suspended ceiling provided the most difficult challenge for the team. We had to make sure the appropriate materials were selected and the structure was installed properly. Material selection and installation were important to prevent the ceiling from looking industrial; The Cummer and Rink Design Partnership wanted a very contemporary look. Elkins and Rink worked closely together to achieve the desired look and constructability.
Elkins was responsible for building a second story on top of the existing Barnett concourse. The logistics of this task were planned very carefully to ensure a quality product and the safety of museum patrons and employees, as well as construction crews. When crews were lifting materials, the surrounding areas were closed down and museum traffic was re-routed. The closures typically only affected museum employees.
When excavating next to existing buildings, Elkins was concerned about what the conditions of those buildings might be. To ensure stability, the team had to perform a structural underpinning. Grout was injected under the existing foundations before any work was performed. This protected the structural integrity of the existing buildings and allowed the team to proceed with the new construction.
A well that is no longer used or maintained can become a direct pipeline for surface water or run-off to reach the aquifer. Unused and unmaintained wells threaten the groundwater that supplies operational wells, and possibly neighboring wells. Great care was taken when abandoning a well that was located 12 feet under the existing building to avoid contaminating the groundwater supply.
There is a beautiful live oak tree, more than 100 years old, on The Cummer’s property that had to be preserved. Construction crews protected that and other trees by putting up barriers and generally avoiding the area when possible. The museum’s arborist assisted the team when we were positioning the crane for precast and structural steel erection. We did have to trim a portion of one tree limb to prevent breaking any other limbs in the process. The arborist said this limb should probably have been removed a long time ago, so there was no disappointment in having to remove that portion of the limb. The methods we used proved successful and the tree did not suffer any damage throughout the process.
Despite all the challenges the team faced, everyone pulled together to deliver the product we promised in time for delivery of the Egyptian exhibit. The result was a beautiful project in which The Cummer, Elkins and Rink Design Partnership all could take great pride.