A unique and sustainable design cited as among the reasons for the award
Photo: Boston Aerials for Tufts University
Joyce Cummings Center has earned national recognition from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), a national construction-industry trade association. At its annual convention earlier this year, ABC presented PROCON, the firm responsible for the construction of Joyce Cummings Center, with the Excellence in Construction Eagle Award for the project.
In addition, the project received further recognition, for efficient design, from the Design-Build Institute of America.
Completed in 2021, Joyce Cummings Center is a 150,000-square-foot seven-story academic building on the Medford-Somerville Campus that houses classrooms, seminar rooms, meeting space, research labs, offices, and a 160-seat auditorium.
“The Excellence in Construction Awards are the cornerstone competition in our industry, honoring projects like Tufts University Joyce Cummings Center because the work by the design-build team at PROCON exemplifies the best of the best in construction,” said Milton Graugnard, national chair of the ABC board of directors.
Elements of the Cummings Center building that contributed to its recognition by ABC as the best construction project include the “unique and sustainable design and pre-construction planning strategies” employed by PROCON as the builders of the center. Among the pre-planning work: weekly 3D coordination and architectural detail review meetings, which allowed for more efficient sequencing and adjustability for construction tolerances.
The recognition by ABC also noted that the building’s construction was concurrent with an expansion of the abutting MBTA Green Line as part of the Green Line Extension project. The urban environment and proximity of the MBTA, rail lines, and pedestrian traffic called for significant logistic and signage planning.
Construction started on the center in May 2019 thanks to a generous gift from trustee emeritus Bill Cummings, A58, H06, J97P and M97P and his wife, Joyce, H17, J97P, M97P, through their Cummings Foundation.
