Richards Boulevard Office Complex

Together Apart

When the design-build contract for the 1.25-million-square-foot Richards Boulevard Office Complex (RBOC) was awarded in February2020, the team had planned on using a “big room” approach. Then COVID shut everything down in March. In spite of this, all members were committed to maintaining that sense of being one big team.

They leaned hard on remote working technologies, and “by keeping communication channels open and strong and by building strong relationships, we were able to get together and solve a lot of issues quickly,” says Brian Kenworthy, design  principal at architect ZGF. Our structural engineers have a decades-long history of working with both Hensel Phelps and ZGF, and those established relationships proved to be particularly beneficial for this project.

Close collaboration allowed us to develop early steel fabrication packages – providing flexible details that enabled the design to continue while allowing for long-lead steel procurement and pandemic-related supply chain issues. This strategy let steel erection begin just a year after notice to proceed, helping meet a tight schedule. And all challenges were handled as a team. “There was never a point where people were pointing fingers,” says Associate Katie Hansan Post. “We said, ‘Here’s our problem. Let’s get together and find what works.’”

As with any project, it’s not always easy. “Sometimes issues come up and we need to have difficult conversations,” says John Petty, operations manager at Hensel Phelps, “but we’re a good team – we can deal with those things and celebrate the wins and keep those relationships strong."