Teams master mass timber building and academic center

Some projects step beyond construction norms and require project teams to fulfill extraordinary requirements.

The Under Armour Teammate Building 2 Corporate Headquarters stands out as probably the largest and most complex project Windsor Electric Company has completed in its 70-year history.

“Of all the work we’ve done, I think this is our crown jewel,” said Louis Westermeyer, Vice President-Director of Estimating Services, who has been with the firm for 27 years.

An iconic, mass timber, net zero building, the Under Armour project required BIM Level 450, “which means we had to BIM model everything — every pipe, every conduit, every hanger, every light, every outlet, everything,” Westermeyer said.

Responsible for the rough ins for multiple trades, Windsor Electric also had to model all branch lighting and power, light fixtures and controls, mechanical power, feeders, fire systems and conduits for security, AV, PV and Tele-Dat.

Windsor Electric’s crew would have to install 300,000 linear feet (57 miles) of conduit, 65 distinct types of light fixtures and 5,300 interior lights in total. And those installations had to be flawless.

“It’s a mass timber building made from timber brought over from Austria,” Westermeyer said. “The minute they set any of that wood, you are looking at finished product — the finished wooden deck that will be your ceiling.”

Installers needed to follow the BIM model exactly to avoid any errant holes and to achieve the high aesthetic requirements. So, Windsor Electric equipped its installers with Trimbles to complete layouts digitally. On every floor of the building, it also established data vaults – computers with large monitors where crews could check the project model and retrieve essential details.

The team also installed a dramatic exterior lighting package that included 260 site light fixtures, a massive exterior LED sign that required its own 400 panel, and exterior illumination of the entire front of the building which can change colors to celebrate sports teams, holidays or other events.

“The exterior illumination is the focal point of the building,” Westermeyer said. “You can see it as you drive up I-95. Every time I pass it, I’m just in awe.”

The new Martin Luther King Jr. Center at Bowie State University presented Snap-Wall with a different set of extraordinary requirements.

The building’s bold architectural vision included murals of King and Lieutenant Richard Collins that tower up to 30 feet tall.

Snap-Wall was responsible for obtaining and installing the murals which were etched into massive felt panels. The project schedule, however, meant that walls would not be complete by the time the murals had to be ordered. The team combined mid-construction field measurements with its deep expertise in panel installations to perfectly manage the creation and installation of the signature artworks.

An expansive and artistic plan for acoustical panels in the building’s large auditorium presented several more challenges.

“With a space that large, managing the work was tough, especially with height and weight limitations, a tight schedule, strict manufacturer requirements, and multiple trades all working in the same area,” said Drew Wilson, Estimator/Project Manager.

The Snap-Wall crew would need to bring in large scaffolding to complete installations on two wing walls on either side of the stage. The auditorium’s flooring and seating, however, would prohibit scaffolding in the area.

To complete the installation and meet the project schedule, Snap-Wall arranged to follow on the heels of the drywall crew so they could temporarily bring in a scaffold and complete the wing walls while drywalling and other finishes continued elsewhere around the auditorium. They took precautions to protect the finished paneling from construction dust, and then continued the difficult, exacting installation around the room by working from lifts.

“The panels come on rolls about 30 feet long and three feet wide. They are glued to the wall, so we had to spray the wall and spray the panel, wait a few minutes for everything to get tacky and then start adhering it to the wall,” Wilson said.

The process was cumbersome and made more complex by the fact that the walls were taller than 30 feet. The Snap-Wall team knew that having a horizontal seam running across the installed panels would not be attractive. So, they staggered the lengths of panels installed in order to create a seamless appearance and a beautiful arrangement of the panels’ bold, multi-colored stripes.