2016 marks the third annual Sam Lilly Founder’s Award for Construction Excellence, which is presented to two exceptional projects completed in the past year. Created in memory of Sam Lilly, who founded Columbia Construction Company in 1925, the internal award acknowledges one project from the Columbia’s Mainstream division and another from Interiors. Qualifications for achieving excellence include overcoming design and construction challenges, successfully accommodating a fast paced schedule, and/or developing positive relationships with the entire project team while exceeding their goals. Each year, three completed projects from each division are shortlisted as finalists. The project teams are then tasked with creating a video presentation showcasing their project and highlighting why it deserves the award – a highly secretive and competitive process in which creativity is encouraged! Once completed, the videos are viewed by the entire company and the winners are determined by a popular vote.

Check It Out!

Crimson Hexagon was one of the three Interiors projects shortlisted this year because of the team’s work on the 23,000 sf corporate office. The social media analysis software company now occupies two floors of open office space in a high rise building in the Seaport district, with plenty of hexagon accents throughout! The Columbia team (Josh Dretchen, Matt Arsenault, Bob Erdmann, Bill Carpenter, Sarah Neff and Manny Venuti) found collaborating with Crimson Hexagon, Dyer Brown Architects & Colliers International to be a seamless and enjoyable experience. As Colliers Assistant Vice President Kevin Koch put it, “it’s fantastic to work on projects that run like a well-oiled machine.” The project team wanted the video presentation to reflect the fun rapport and positive relationships developed during the construction process, so they got together after work to film their own spin on a cheesy 90’s theme song.

Enjoy!