We started the Federal Courthouse project in 2009 and completed work in 2011. The scope of work included a full plumbing and HVAC package. The HVAC system was a four-pipe system which included three chillers, two boilers and a cooling tower. This project was very unique in that it required construction to be done in metric dimensions. All new metric tape measures had to be purchased for every worker.

Another challenge in constructing the courthouse was the amount of woodwork that went into the courtrooms. For the woodwork to be installed properly, the building had to be precisely conditioned for the wood to acclimate to the building. This required the entire HVAC system to be up and running one year before the project was to be completed. This pushed us, our subcontractors and the electrician to have work completed well ahead of the normal pace on a project.

The biggest challenge was that this was our first ever 3D BIM project. The entire project was built in 3D and coordinated ahead of time. By using this process, we were able to keep on pace with construction and 3D design throughout the entire job.