Boston, MA
Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Scope/Solutions
The Horace Mann School, the country’s oldest public day school for the deaf and hard of hearing, is temporarily relocating to the Edwards School building in Charlestown, Massachusetts. The 1931 Edwards School is a three-story concrete and masonry structure that is being renovated to accommodate the new students. SGH is serving as the structural engineer of record for the project.
The project includes modernizing and upgrading the building to meet current code requirements for accessibility and guidelines for the hearing impaired. SGH designed structural modifications, including:
- A new elevator core within the existing masonry walls and an elevator pit supported on helical piles
- A new interior ramp constructed with light-gauge steel framing and designed to minimize the additional weight on the existing structure
- Resupporting the existing concrete slab at new floor openings
- Adding new framing to support an audio booth
- Openings in the existing masonry walls to accommodate the reconfiguration of spaces and new mechanical systems
- New dunnage structures to support new mechanical equipment, strategically located to minimize strengthening the existing structure
- Repairs to address concrete deterioration at existing perimeter site walls
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Project Summary
Solutions
Repair & Rehabilitation
Services
Structures
Markets
Education
Client(s)
Machado Silvetti
Specialized Capabilities
Repair & Strengthening
Key team members
Additional Projects
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Bowdoin College Chapel
SGH first helped the college resolve issues with the copper roofs at the chapel and then investigated the cause of leakage and vertical through-cracking in the bell towers.
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With its new addition, the Isenberg School of Management consolidates departments and encourages collaboration. SGH consulted on the building enclosure design and performed a structural peer review for the project.



