GSA - Norris Cotton Building

Norris Cotton Federal Building

Manchester, NH

The Norris Cotton Federal Building in Manchester, NH was constructed in 1975 as an Energy Demonstration project. The building had a variety of HVAC systems installed as mechanical experiments. As general contractor, Harvey’s focus was on replacing the building’s systems that had become obsolete and difficult to maintain.

Harvey was responsible for coordinating and executing a sustainable construction plan throughout the planned renovations. Metal (steel and aluminum), rug, ceiling tile, wire, lighting fixtures, CMU, cement, gypsum, insulation, wood framing, engineered wood products and R-22 refrigerant are or will be recycled in this project.

Harvey delivered superior results in construction and waste management. To broaden the project team’s commitment to sustainable practices a partnership was developed between GSA, the Architect and Harvey. The partnering plan called for a minimum of 50% of demolition waste and 60% of construction waste to be diverted from landfills. Two transfer stations were used in Salem, NH and Haverhill, MA. Recycling of R-22 was managed by the mechanical contractor. Ceiling tiles were sent to Armstrong for remanufacturing and a firm in Westford, MA received the CMU and cement.

Over 3,300 cubic yards were diverted from landfills at a cost avoidance of $115,000; recycling included: 900 cu/yds gypsum; 500 cu/yds metal (ductwork, frame studs, ceiling track, etc.;75 cu/yds insulation; 140 cu/yds wood; 50 cu/yds ceiling tiles; 1100 cu/yds CMU; and more than 400 cu/yds carpet tiles and 205 lbs of R-22 was reused. Approximately $115,000 was generated in savings by recycling construction materials. Project construction costs totaled $13.4 million; demolition costs totaled $725,000; total savings resulting from recycling construction materials equated to 16% of the demolition cost and 1% of the total project cost.

The building was originally constructed with very small windows; installation of new, larger windows created an amount of CMU and concrete debris for which a readily available market did not exist. Through the efforts of Harvey, a construction firm in Westford, MA was identified as a recipient of this debris. The firm used the cement and CMU as aggregate for road work. Consequently, the reuse the CMU and cement increased our demolition debris reuse to 60%, giving the entire project a 60% diversion rate.

PROJECT INFO

Design Team: Oak Point Associates

Completion Date: March 2008