Conceived as a "living laboratory" that features research and demonstrations of advanced building energy technologies and processes, the 60,000-sq-ft Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy was built in a century-old mill building in Boston. The FCSE aims to validate the reliability and effectiveness of the technologies incorporated in the building.
Nearly 40 companies donated $2.7 million worth of products for the project, which proved difficult to track because neither the general contractor nor the owner held contracts with the firms that made the donations. As a result, there was reduced accountability from the suppliers, which caused considerable challenges for the project team when evaluating potential schedule impacts and managing coordination.