WuXi Update—March 2023

As we roll into spring our WuXi Biologics project in Worcester is beginning to take its final form.

The fenestration and finish cladding are in progress and we continue to make regular site visits. We’re looking ahead to assisting with some QA/QC testing of various envelope assemblies over the next several months.

Look at that blue sky—spring is here! Oh, and the wall cladding is going on!
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Brookline Condo Masonry Restoration at 15-17 James Street

Last year CopelandBEC wrapped up a multi-year masonry facade restoration project at 15-17 James Street in Brookline, MA. Statewide RM, the contractor on the project, recently posted a great write-up on their website and it’s so good we wanted to share it!

It was a challenging project for many reasons. From Statewide’s article:

The portico at 15-17 James Street, Brookline, had become a safety concern. Replacing it with a similar portico would have been expensive and difficult to accomplish, but it was too worn down to be repaired. Work was completed in tight quarters, primarily during the cold winter months.

-Statewide RM

Check out the full Statewide RM feature here.

Hands-On with Roof Coatings

The CopelandBEC team traveled to Chelmsford today for a hands-on roof coating workshop with our friends at Atlantic Restoration and Neogard. Atlantic graciously hosted at their facility and provided some great mock-up boards to try out the Neogard materials on.

Roof coatings are not the answer on every project but do offer some significant benefits where applicable:

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Why are we here?

The post below is taken directly from our internal team wiki. The intent of sharing it here is to give a bit more context to what it’s like working with us and lay out our motivations for doing the work that we do. We’d love to hear your feedback in the comments section below.


The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

apparently not Albert Einstein

We are here to solve problems.

We want more buildings that last centuries instead of decades. We want durability and resiliency so that we can conserve limited resources. We want to help people create sustainable shelter for generations to come.

But building problems keep occurring. Roofs leak or blow off. Windows leak or get covered in condensation. Basements (you guessed it) leak or become dank and unusable.

We know how to build so that performance problems are avoided. The fundamental knowledge about how to build better is readily available.

Yet, we keep making the same mistakes and problems keep occurring.

Why? What can we do differently to create better outcomes?

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WuXi Wall Cladding Continues

Despite the winter weather work continues at our WuXi Biologics project in Worcester, MA. Steel topped off in September and the construction team, led by The Cardinal Group, is now working on cladding and roofing (as weather permits).

WuXi Biologics facility under construction at the Reactory development in Worcester, MA
A new year, same grey New England winter.

CopelandBEC has been providing building envelope design consulting during the design assist process over the past year, and is currently providing construction phase quality assurance services including regular site visits to observe the ongoing work.

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