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By Ted Smalley Bowen and Deborah Snoonian, P.E.

Working around congestion

The technical and logistical challenges of the renovation were particularly stiff because the Trinity parish continued to use the church for services and hundreds of other programs during construction. Project managers had to schedule accordingly and work around the congestion of Copley Square, with its crush of tourists, shoppers, and vehicular traffic. Space on-site was tight—the project team was able to carve out only 4,000 square feet of temporary space for use during construction.

In the new undercroft, Goody Clancy exposed the granite piers that support the church’s main tower (left). Colorful walls of structural glass pivot open for large events, or can be closed to create more intimacy and acoustic privacy for smaller gatherings (right). Low-VOC paints and adhesives and recycled materials were used throughout. Photography: © Peter Vanderwarker (left); Courtesy Raffaela Sirtoli Schnell (right)

Because the church was in use throughout the project, interior spaces and sight lines had to be obstructed as little as possible. The scaffolding used for nine months during the restoration of the central tower’s murals and decorative painting rested on four, 8-inch-square legs, blocking views much less than a conventional arrangement. To keep dust, fumes, and noise from occupied areas, contractors built a barrier ceiling and kept work spaces at negative pressure. For the tower’s exterior, Shawmut used mast-climbing platform scaffolding to minimize damage to the masonry. Steeplejacks were employed for upgrading the tower roofs.

Green but not LEED

As with its other preservation projects, Goody Clancy looked for sustainable materials and design options. While the firm boasts some 50 LEED-accredited professionals, the project team opted not to apply to the U.S. Green Building Council for LEED certification. Overall, Carroon says, LEED’s checklist system undervalues reuse and doesn’t make exceptions for some of the performance characteristics of older buildings, but she adds that its popularity and catalyzing effect on the market for green design and products shouldn’t be discounted. “It was just a given that if you could choose among products, you picked local, durable materials with recycled content and the potential for cradle-to-cradle lifecycling,” she said.

Besides the geothermal HVAC system, other sustainability measures at Trinity include the use of recycled glass tiles in the undercroft bathrooms, low-VOC paints and adhesives, energy-efficient lighting fixtures, and water conservation measures. Runoff from the newly waterproofed roof is captured and channeled underground to maintain subsurface water levels on-site, which not only reuses the water on-site but also helps keep the wood-pile foundation fully submerged to avoid dry rot.

Trinity’s restoration drew on Goody Clancy’s long experience with both preservation and sustainability. While Carroon says that no single technical challenge they faced was overwhelming, the complex job required creativity in both design and logistics. Ultimately, the pieces fell into place because the project team bore in mind both the building’s history and its ongoing use, according to Goody. “You always have to design to the story of the space,” she said.