{"id":227,"date":"2012-11-09T17:15:43","date_gmt":"2012-11-09T17:15:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/?p=227"},"modified":"2025-09-05T14:45:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T14:45:31","slug":"nercc-the-boston-carpenters-training-center-and-the-unions-vision-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/nercc-the-boston-carpenters-training-center-and-the-unions-vision-center\/","title":{"rendered":"NERCC, the Boston Carpenters Training Center and the Union\u2019s Vision Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Project Name:<\/th>\nBoston Carpenters Training Center<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Project Location:<\/th>\nBoston, Massachusetts<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ALUCOBOND\u00ae Materials:<\/th>\n10,500 sq ft 4mm Custom Copper Metallic
\n10,500 sq ft 4mm Carpenters Mica
\n22,000 sq ft 4mm Custom Pewter Creek<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Year of Installation:<\/th>\n2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Architect:<\/th>\nADD INC, Boston<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fabricator\/Installer:<\/th>\nSunrise Erectors, Inc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
General Contractor:<\/th>\nSuffolk Construction Co., Inc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Images:<\/th>\nRobert Umenhofer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The New England Council of Carpenters (NERCC) has represented the interests of its members for more than 130 years.\u00a0 While a long-standing regional presence, this traditional organization based in Boston also embraces modern goals for its membership of 22,000 carpenters in six New England states.\u00a0 So, when the new home of NERCC and the Boston Carpenters Training Center was designed, it was important to organization leaders that it be comprised of both traditional and modern architectural influences.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a traditional organization that has been around for over a hundred years, but we are also a modern, innovative organization,\u201d said Mark Erlich, NERCC executive secretary-treasurer.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re a group with an enormous sense of pride and we want people to see what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n

To achieve this goal, the new $20-million 74,000-square-foot three-story Carpenters Center \u2013 which opened in February 2010 \u2013 features a mix of materials, including traditional wood and glass as well as modern ALUCOBOND\u00ae aluminum composite material (ACM). The ALUCOBOND\u00ae ACM was ordered in bold custom colors and installed as exterior cladding.<\/p>\n

Located on Boston\u2019s Dorchester Avenue adjacent to Interstate 93 (the Southeast Expressway), the facility is home to NERCC, the Boston Carpenters Training Center and the union\u2019s Vision Center.\u00a0 The long frame building \u2013\u2013 retrofitted from a former two-story laundry facility \u2013 was designed not only to draw attention from the more than 280,000 commuters who pass by it on I-93 each day but to blend with the neighborhood located on its side opposite the expressway.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to create a fa\u00e7ade that would grab attention,\u201d said David Dow, NERCC Special Projects.\u00a0 \u201cWe wanted it to be contemporary on the highway side and feature a more traditional wood design on the side facing the neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

A total of 43,000 square feet of ALUCOBOND\u00ae ACM in the 4mm thickness was fabricated and installed on the Carpenters Center by Sunrise Erectors, Inc., of Canton, Mass., including 10,500 square feet of the custom Copper Metallic color, 10,500 square feet of custom Carpenter Mica and 22,000 square feet of custom Pewter Creek.<\/p>\n

The building\u2019s side facing the Southeast Expressway is clad solely in contemporary ALUCOBOND\u00ae ACM and features glass windows.\u00a0 The top two floors are clad in the custom Copper Metallic and the custom Carpenter Mica colors in an alternating pattern, while the first floor features ALUCOBOND\u00ae in the custom Pewter Creek color.\u00a0 ALUCOBOND\u00ae in the Pewter Creek color also is installed along with cedar wood accents on the building\u2019s neighborhood side.\u00a0 ALUCOBOND\u00ae installation was completed with the Sunrise Erectors, Inc., Single-Spline Rainscreen System, including peel-and-stick membrane, custom furring, 3-inch insulation and single-spline ALUCOBOND\u00ae rainscreen.<\/p>\n

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n

Suffolk Construction Co., Inc., of Boston, served as general contractor on the project. The ability to match colors in early design sketches with ALUCOBOND\u00ae custom colors was important in the selection of 3A Composites\u2019 aluminum composite material, according to Rich Peake, project architect, ADD INC, of Boston.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal was to create a contemporary design that would incorporate metal panels and the systems of the carpenters,\u201d said Peake.\u00a0 \u201cThis building also has two faces.\u00a0 On the highway side, we used all metal panels in an effort to simulate movement along with the passing cars.\u00a0 The community side features metal panels and wood.\u201d<\/p>\n

NERCC offices had been leased in a South Boston warehouse for years.\u00a0 When it was time to construct their own headquarters, NERCC executives chose to retrofit an existing building because its location offered easy access to union members as well as high visibility to Boston commuters, according to Dow.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur building is located on the side of a major federal highway and is equally distant from two public train stops,\u201d said Dow.\u00a0 \u201cThe building had an existing floor slab that is rated at 240 psi with a 14-foot clear high ceiling.\u00a0 All of these elements made the location perfect for our training center.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former laundry facility was torn down to its structural columns \u2013 with the brick fa\u00e7ade removed \u2013 and a third floor was added, according to Peake.<\/p>\n

The Boston Carpenters Apprenticeship and Training Fund moved from a location in Brighton, Mass., to occupy the new building\u2019s first floor as well as classroom space and a state-of- the-art training facility located on the second floor. \u00a0The First Trade Union Bank Business Solutions Center and ATM and the union\u2019s Vision Center \u2013 the latter of which relocated from Allston, Mass. \u2013 also occupy space on the second floor.<\/p>\n

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n

Offices for NERCC, the New England Carpenters Labor Management Program, and Local Nos. 51, 56 and 723 \u2013 as well as multiple conference rooms \u2013 are located on the building\u2019s third floor.\u00a0\u00a0 One of those conference rooms is situated directly behind the Carpenters Center 32.5-foot by 22.5-foot LED \u201ctransparent\u201d display.\u00a0 The horizontal orientation and spacing of the LED sticks afford conference room occupants a 53 percent transparent view outdoors through the sign.\u00a0 This display is the highest-resolution transparent LED sign in the United States, as reported in the \u201cNew England Carpenter\u201d magazine.\u00a0 The New England Carpenters Labor Management Program purchased the display to promote the carpentry trade and the hiring of union carpenters and contractors.\u00a0 Local public service announcements also are displayed on the sign.<\/p>\n

In addition to incorporating state-of-the art elements such as the LED sign, the Carpenters Center was built to not only meet but to exceed regulations of the Boston Redevelopment Authority to ensure that all new construction projects in the city incorporate green building features.\u00a0 The Carpenters Center will qualify for LEED Certifiable status, according to Dow.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the Carpenters Center has been recognized by the New England Chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers for \u201cattaining comprehensive energy efficiency solutions through creative financing,\u201d said Dow.\u00a0 The Carpenters Center received a rebate totaling $114,000 from NSTAR, the largest Massachusetts-based, investor-owned electric and gas utility.\u00a0 This rebate is the highest granted to date by NSTAR, according to Dow.<\/p>\n

The new building\u2019s contemporary architectural design has been well-received by the general public and by Boston area architects, according to Peake, who said design through construction of the Carpenters Center was completed in approximately1.5 to 2 years.<\/p>\n

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMost people love it,\u201d said Peake.\u00a0 \u201cThe reactions among architects have been very positive.\u00a0 They talk about the interesting colorful wedge shape on top of the monotone base (an effect produced by the custom ALUCOBOND\u00ae colors).\u00a0 This design is very interesting compared to a lot of Boston architecture that is classically designed.\u00a0 Boston is trying to change to incorporate more contemporary designs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis building has had a huge, positive effect on the general public and on our industry-related friends,\u201d said Dow. \u201cOur general contractor (Suffolk Construction) receives calls almost daily from people who want to learn about the materials that were used to clad the building and the installation process.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Construction Institute (TCI) in Boston recognized the Carpenters Center in its 2010 Pride in Construction Project of the Year Awards (private sector project).\u00a0 TCI recognizes projects constructed in Massachusetts using union contractors and workers that have had a positive impact on the community, the construction industry and its clients.<\/p>\n\n\t\t