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Home > Articles By Issue > Showcase > June 2006

The Big Picture continued

Keeping An Eye On The Ball

Moore’s past experiences with construction projects, along with his knowledge of campus operations aided him in steering the NAB project to fruition. A combination of funding circumstances, site issues, and human considerations required him to coordinate many moving parts at once.

“As a state agency, we cannot start a project until we have all the funds in hand,” explains Moore. “We had $14 million to build both the NAB and an athletic complex, and the NAB was estimated to cost $18 million on its own. We needed to move ahead, so at the outset we ordered a lot of the building as a shell.”

Working in this manner, the cafeteria and auditorium were initially built as shells and would be appointed as the funding became available. “We bought back pieces of the project until we eventually bought back everything,” says Moore. “This approach enabled us to begin the project about two years earlier than if we had waited until we had all of the money.”

There was also a different approach to project management. Traditionally, GMC had deeded its capital projects to the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission (GSFIC), which meant that agency oversaw these undertakings. “In those scenarios,” says Moore, “we would hire a project manager and essentially divorce ourselves from the process. This caused problems.

“Following the Zell Miller Hall project, beginning with the renovation of the Old Capitol Building, we decided to hire a construction management firm,” he says. “So, instead of hiring a project manager, I took on the role of on-site engineer representing the state, and we took this approach again for the NAB.”

Moore’s familiarity with campus operations helped him in this multifaceted position. At the project’s inception, the site upon which NAB now stands was occupied by another building. The operations that the previous facility housed were crucial to campus life, including classrooms and some athletic facilities.

“As soon as we razed that building, we needed to get that classroom space and the athletic facilities in place somewhere else for the next school term,” explains Moore. A new athletic complex was already under construction to meet some of those needs in time for the next season.

However, once the NAB construction began in spring 2003, there was another factor that required attention. The football field is adjacent to the site, and the team would continue to play games there during construction. In addition to putting safety measures in place to protect people travelling through the area, the project team needed to address the close proximity of the new auditorium to the field.

As a solution, the construction team used an innovative shoring system to keep the field intact during construction activities. Greco explains, “The auditorium is burrowed in a hill adjacent to the football field. It is 35' below ground at its deepest point. Large steel rods were inserted horizontally into the ground to shore up the soil. These rods extended well beneath the football field.”

Continuity for students and faculty was another important concern. To minimize interruption, major moves were scheduled around school breaks throughout the year when fewer people would be on campus.

A milestone in the construction was realized at the end of the 2003-04 school year when the bookstore and snack bar were moved into temporary facilities, and those buildings were then demolished. When the new spaces for those operations were completed in August 2004, the equipment and inventory were moved just in time for the new school year to begin.

Since those areas were put into use before the entire building was complete, another issue was safety and security. “We worked closely with the fire marshal to ensure proper means of egress and access for those areas,” says Moore. “We also had to tie into Zell Miller Hall eventually. Keeping everyone informed was key to a successful transition.”

Positive Feedback

The team began to see the fruits of its labor coming together in early 2005. “In January, I accepted the classrooms, and in February, the cafeteria was done,” recalls Moore. “We served our first meal in the cafeteria on March 1.”

The faculty members who teach in the building are happy with their new surroundings, says Moore. He cites one example: “The art classroom has many windows, including a northern exposure. The teacher tell us that he loves all the natural light.”

Another point of satisfaction is the state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment in the classrooms and the auditorium. “We asked teachers what equipment would be useful to them, and we tried to accommodate their requests,” says Moore. “Then, we worked closely with the Dean and our IT department to ensure the equipment would be installed to run correctly. Recently, representatives from the U.S. Naval Academy visited us, and they were impressed with the capabilities of our equipment.”

While the construction management firm, The Beck Group’s Atlanta office, oversaw the purchasing for construction materials, furnishing the interior spaces of the NAB was a team effort. “Both the architect and GSFIC were involved in the FF&E [fixed furniture and equipment] purchases,” says Moore.

The exception was furniture purchasing for the Dean’s suite and faculty offices. “For the most part, our Academic Dean made those decisions, since this was going to be his facility,” Moore explains.

While occupant satisfaction was an important goal, financial savings have been a welcome result of the project. Moore has found that the NAB has garnered energy savings when compared to the previous building on the site.

“Prior to implementing our master plan,” he says, “there had been no significant campus renovations since the 1960s. A lot of the air conditioning and lighting equipment was outdated. We now specify energy efficient lighting and HVAC systems for our projects.”

Another Piece Of The Puzzle In Place

When the new building was dedicated on May 1, 2005, Moore was able to check one more thing off the master plan list. “I enjoy seeing the facility play a part in the continual improvement of our campus,” he says. “We keep moving ahead to make the campus better. Currently, we’re building barracks for our cadets along with a maintenance facility.”

Says Greco, “The building is right in the heart of the campus, and it’s a hub of activity. It’s nice to see how well it is being utilized.”

The larger community of Milledgeville is also benefitting from the new building, since GMC makes the atrium and auditorium available to citizens for various cultural and other area events. This is the continuation of a practice that had been in place in the previous GMC facilities as well.

In striving to meet the needs of its growing student body, GMC made the grade with the new building. With another piece of its master plan in place, this historic institution continues to thrive.

This article was based on interviews with Greco (jgreco@lasarchitect.com) and Moore (emoore@gmc.cc.ga.us).

To share your new construction and renovation stories, send an e-mail to avazquez@groupc.com. To read past Showcase features, visit the Web at www.todaysfacilitymanager.com/showcase.asp.

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