Housing one of the world’s finest international glass collections, the new Glass Pavilion at The Toledo Museum of Art is an international marvel of its own. The implementation of a new process in glass design and fabrication, the expertise of an internationally recognized architectural firm and a postmodern design built on the belief of social transparency make the building an architectural and social masterpiece. Glass walls span the entire exterior of the 76,000 square foot structure creating uncharted difficulties in construction.

Multiple engineers were retained for various building systems which were designed independently without drawing coordination. Dunbar’s project management process, which includes drawing fieldwork on CAD systems before any construction begins, found interferences within all of the mechanical, electrical, and structural systems. Required elements could not fit in the space available as designed and significant re-routing was presented by Dunbar. While “only” the mechanical sub, Dunbar provided leadership for all trades and even coordinated the concrete work to ensure total project success.

Results:

Significant cost overruns are avoided System conflicts were identified and resolved before materials were fabricated
Money and time are saved   All costs contained
Great digital as-built drawings Long-term maintenance is easier with a complete and accurate digital map of the building systems