In business for close to 50 years, at A. T. Chadwick Company, we specialize in providing mechanical contracting services for difficult, high profile projects. In the case of Philadelphia’s Comcast Center, the term “high profile” takes on a whole new meaning. The Comcast Center is the tallest building in Philadelphia, standing at 58 stories and 975 feet tall. Completed in 2008, the tower registers as the tallest building in the U.S. built outside of New York or Chicago since 1993. We were proud to accept the plumbing contract for this building. When embarking on a project of this magnitude, there are numerous factors that need to be considered.
Designed as a green building, it incorporated cutting edge sustainable technologies. The Comcast building also was constructed with the most advanced safety features as a post-9/11 structure. To take these factors into consideration while creating the building’s plumbing system required extensive planning and cooperation with the construction crew, as well as a deep level of skill and experience in plumbing system installation. Our long history of providing plumbing systems for the most challenging environments made us a perfect match to help complete the new skyscraper.
The Comcast Building is the twenty-third tallest building in the United States.
In order to work at maximum levels of productivity and effectiveness, we began planning the plumbing system nearly six months in advance of the installation process. We employed CAD and BIM drawings, as well as 3D modeling, to create the perfect design, which included a rainwater collection system. We created a system for the piping to go in and out of the tower, which required precision pipe sleeving.
Procuring the best materials in the quantities needed for such a large scale project was also a challenge. We did extensive preplanning and used a single source vendor to ensure that we had all of the pipes and other materials required to complete the system.
Logistics were also a concern, as there were a total of 1000 people working on this building throughout the construction process. Deliveries had to occur on time in order to keep supplies ahead of the workers’ needs. The plumbing design and installation were completed within a timeframe of two years, providing a reliable piping system to one of the most cutting-edge buildings in Philadelphia, and indeed, in the whole country.
