Margulies & Assoc. awarded Project of the Year for BCBSMA by ASM

Margulies & Associates' new south shore headquarters they designed for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mass. (BCBSMA) has been named Project of the Year by the Associated Subcontractors of Mass. (ASM). Located at 25 Technology Place, the four-story, 329,000 s/f office building includes a multi-purpose cafeteria space, conference/training center, major data center and child care facility. A five-level, 1,400 car parking structure is linked directly to the main lobby by an all-weather connection. The facility was designed to allow for future expansion with no additional infrastructure required. Site clearing and re-grading was minimized to preserve as many trees as possible and to allow the building to nestle into its surroundings. "Under budget, on time, energy-efficient, environmentally-sustainable, award-winning, beautiful... the accolades keep coming in for 25 Technology Place, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mass.' new south shore headquarters building," said The Professional Contractor, a publication of the ASM, which issued the award. Completed in June 2007, the building is expected to be certified LEED silver. The green design aspects of the building will result in 21% energy savings and 20% water savings per year over the national average for a traditional office building. "One of the ways this building stands out from other suburban commercial office facilities is the way Margulies & Assoc. treated the site," said Larry Healey, director of real estate and design and planning at BCBSMA.  "The opportunity to employ green building design while controlling project costs was very important to us. The entire project team took this to heart and made it a reality."    "We have enjoyed working with BCBSMA on multiple projects over the years.  This new facility proves that solutions to building challenges such as reducing energy usage and creating a durable, handsome structure that safeguards the welfare of both its occupants and the environment are not in conflict with one another, and are, in fact, intertwined," said Daniel Perruzzi, Jr., AIA, principal of Margulies & Assoc. "We are proud that the project accomplished BCBSMA's primary goals of cost efficiency, environmental responsibility, and creation of a healthy, comfortable environment for staff and visitors." The project team consisted of Turner Construction, construction manager; Souza True & Partners, structural engineers; SEi Co., mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection engineers; Brown Richardson & Rowe, landscape architects; and BSC Group, civil engineers.