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Andover, MA – BW Kennedy & Co., in partnership with architect DiMella Shaffer, recently completed a comprehensive renovation of the South Church sanctuary in Andover.
The project was designed to transform the historic space into a flexible and inclusive environment that honors its architectural character while supporting modern worship, programming, and technology. The project included renovations to the sanctuary and pulpit area, as well as the parish fellowship hall, parsonage, kitchen, and restrooms. Representatives of BW Kennedy say the firm’ s construction plan seamlessly accommodated the unique needs of an
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on-site daycare, an active church building, and a significant and historic structure without losing sight of the aggressive schedule and tight budget.
Elizabeth Davis, chair of the South Church Building Committee, said,“ The BW Kennedy team truly felt like partners who were just as committed to a great outcome as we were. BW Kennedy provided exceptional preconstruction management, organized and thorough project management, and effective and thoughtful construction oversight.”
Originally constructed in 1860 on the site of the church’ s 1788 meeting house, South Church is a Romanesque Revival landmark designed by John Stevens.
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South Church – before construction
As part of the renovation, the sanctuary chancel was reconfigured with an expanded platform to better accommodate
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program needs and improve accessibility, to ensure full participation in worship and musical performances. Updated lighting and acoustic systems were installed to support both in-person and remote services, alongside the restoration of key interior elements and finishes.
The project also modernized critical building systems, including structural, fire protection, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing, while incorporating energyefficient upgrades aligned with the church’ s environmental goals. Renovations began in April and were completed in time for the church’ s Homecoming celebration on Sept. 7.
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Boston – Abbot Building Restoration Company, Inc. was recently contracted to undertake a complex masonry restoration and repair project at the Museum of Science in Boston. Abbot had completed several smaller projects for the museum in the past, and had developed a strong relationship with their facilities team.
The museum initially hired a firm to provide an overall assessment of the building and to develop a schedule of essential work based on safety standards. The firm developed a timeline that identified items requiring immediate attention, and subsequent work to be completed within two to five years.
The first phase of the project focused on deterioration issues on the white marble tower situated over the main entrance to the building. Of immediate concern was
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Museum of Science, Boston |
the failure of the caulking within the joints between the marble panels. After initial inspection and considering the age of the existing caulking, Abbot suspected the presence of asbestos, had a sample tested, and confirmed its presence. This required hiring Alpine Environmental to perform an abatement to remove the hazardous material.
Before the repairs could begin, access to the work area needed to be established. This presented a unique challenge as the only way to reach the area was by erecting pipe staging from the sixth-floor roof and several adjacent roofs surrounding the tower, which itself consisted of multiple levels. Typical scaffolding ties could not be used because they would require anchoring into the marble facade. To secure
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access, the staging contractor, Lanco Scaffolding, Inc., built a fully wrapped scaffold system around all four sides of the tower and tied it together at the top along with the use of pressure-only ties against the marble without penetrating it. Transporting all of the staging materials to the roof added another layer of complexity, as all materials had to be moved through the building, up a freight elevator, and then up a stairwell.
Once the scaffolding was in place and the abatement was complete, Abbot was able to fully recaulk all of the joints, scrape and paint several large louvers, and complete additional repairs around the win the project’ s logistical challenges far exceeded the difficulty of the actual repairs.
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