In 2016 GBCA partnered with the Charter High School for Architecture and Design (CHAD) and created the CHAD Hard Hat Club. This after school club allows students interested in careers in the construction industry direct access to contractors and jobsites in a two-part series: intimate presentations on a specific project and the opportunity to visit that same job site, for a post-presentation, private tour. On October 12th, Torcon, Inc. was the first GBCA contractor to present for CHAD Hard Hat Club students. Assistant Project Manager Jaime McGeehan and Project Manager Michael Beatrice joined the after school club with drawings, renderings, and plans for Stemmler Hall at the University of Pennsylvania. This $119.3 million medical education building is being given a complete facelift by the contractor and team members Jaime and Mike are directly involved in all aspects of the project.
Stemmler Hall of the Perelman School of Medicine is a 200,000 square foot space being renovated in a multi-phases, replacing building systems and finishes that have exceeded their useful life. With combined Century Bond and School funding, this project will transform Stemmler’s research laboratories and support facilities into modern, highly efficient spaces. The multi-phased approach will replace all infrastructure systems while completely transforming the building into open and efficient BSL-2 wet-bench research laboratory space with corresponding office and collaborative meeting spaces.
Following the October 12th presentation by Jaime and Mike, CHAD Hard Hat Club students joined CHAD architecture teacher, Andrew Phillips, and GBCA Director of Education, Angela Hendrix, for a job site tour on November 16th. Jaime and Mike accompanied the students through the ground level and first floor renovations of the project, explaining unique aspects of the project that students saw when Torcon presented at the school.
The students will again visit the site in 6-9 months to see further progress. GBCA would like to thank CHAD and Torcon for their flexibility and participation, as well as their dedication to providing students with opportunities to explore careers in the commercial construction industry. If you are interested in hosting a job site tour for the CHAD Hard Hat Club, contract Angela Hendrix at ahendrix@64.207.152.120
