Story

The 1401 Massachusetts Avenue 3rd Floor Tenant fit-out transformed an empty shell of an office space into a productive and collaborative area for all to use. The office renovation consisted of a new pantry, open work area, conference rooms, wellness room, reception, café, new VFR mechanical system, new plumbing system, and new electrical with Lutron light and shade daylight controls. This fit-out project faced several unexpected obstacles, one such obstacle being the installation of end grain wood flooring and resilient flooring. The end grain required a repeated finishing process, during which no one could walk on the floors. To make the installation possible, the subcontractor worked longer hours on Saturdays so as not to impede the upcoming furniture move-in. In addition, the resilient flooring required special tools to cut the seams correctly, to give the visual effect of the seams disappearing entirely. The owner’s internal design team was able to provide the project team and the subcontractor with installation videos and a list of specific tools required to install the flooring correctly. There were also some delays with core and shell final inspection for the overall 1401 Massachusetts Ave project, which in turn affected the final inspection of the 3rd floor tenant space. To overcome these delays, the team worked off hours, redirected attention to sequence the trade work in tandem with each other and collaborated on important tasks without compromising workmanship. This was done daily, with clear and concise communication with the trades, to complete the most important tasks. Overall, the project goals were met and exceeded. Despite the delays, the project was completed thanks to the responsiveness from the Owner, Designer, Engineers, and Subcontractors. The team was able to collaborate and resolve problems when they arose, think outside of the box to provide alternative actions to move the project forward, and were committed to make it to the finish line with this project. They provided a beautifully finished and functional space, converting a shell of an empty office into a modern and open collaborative area for occupants, encouraging creativity, collaboration, and productivity for everyone.