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An interior and exterior renovation to turn the Columbia Center Building in Vancouver, Wash., into the new corporate headquarters for PeaceHealth required the project team to put on its thinking cap 鈥� more than once.

From day one, the schedule proved to be unrelenting. The design team, led by TVA Architects, had a mere six weeks to handle its portion of work. The construction team, led by general contractor Emerick Construction, had an equally tight timeline: less than five months to complete the entire 100,000-square-foot renovation. Early budgeting and bid-package set-ups proved to be the keys to success.

As the renovation work progressed, other challenges popped up. For example, the building鈥檚 existing tenants had to keep working during construction, but the project called for elements that might create smoke, dust and other uncomfortable and hazardous conditions.

Working with a 鈥渟afety first鈥� motto in mind, Emerick came up with a two-layer protection system that allowed steel infrastructure to be put in place without exposing the material to outside weather while keeping building occupants safe. For the installation of a grand staircase, workers toiled at night next to exhaust fans to keep welding fumes and smoke from filling other parts of the building.