Fogg Museum – Harvard University

2010 – Cambridge, MA

The project is located on Broadway between Quincy Street and Prescott Street in Cambridge, MA. The project building will be a five-story museum with two below-grade levels. The foundation work consisted of the construction of SPTC slurry wall that serves as a bulkhead to retain the surrounding soil for the site improvements during and after construction. In addition to the renovation of 104,000 square feet, the Museum will be expanded by 100,000 square feet. The new facility will centralize the collections, galleries, and curatorial staff of the Fogg, Bush-Reisinger Museum, and Arthur M Sackler Museums in one state-of-the-art facility.

Owner	Harvard University
Architect	Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Construction Manager	Skanska USA
Structural Engineer	Robert Silman Associates
Geotechnical Engineer	Haley & Aldrich, Inc.

The slurry wall was constructed as SPTC (Soldier Piles Tremie Concrete), with thickness of 36” to accommodate the foundation layout and the particular design. It used over 300 tons of steel and 3000 cubic yards of concrete.

The SPTC wall was constructed through layers of organic deposits, Glaciomarine and Glaciofluvial deposits, Glacial Till and Bedrock. Numerous boulders at the top of the Glacial Till layer were also encountered in several panels.

The challenges on this project included the tight space for the construction of the slurry wall and the proximity of the existing structure of the Fogg Museum.

The project, the 10th performed by TREVIICOS for Harvard University, was completed on time meeting very high quality and safety standards to the client’s satisfaction.