Located in the heart of Orlando’s tourism district, the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) is a world-class convention facility that hosts some of the largest conventions in the United States. Many of these exhibitions host tens of thousands of guests, resulting in an economic impact of over $2 billion each year, and benefiting more than 1,000 local businesses and 25,000 employees in Central Florida. Having completed convention center projects in more than 20 of North America’s major metropolitan areas, we were perfectly suited to take on the renovation of approximately 460,000 square feet of the OCCC’s West Building. The project delivers expertly finished and modern exhibits, meeting and breakout rooms and shared spaces designed to accommodate more than one million annual guests who gather within the facility.

We were tasked with installing new equipment in the mechanical room on the level 4 mezzanine. Contract drawings indicated that to get this heavy equipment up to level 4,  a 10-foot by 9-foot hole would need to be cut in the exterior of the mechanical room. The team raised concerns that this plan would leave the space exposed during Central Florida’s rainy season and require an expensive crane to hoist the equipment onto the center’s brand-new roof, risking possible damage.

We developed an alternative plan to hoist the equipment from inside the building on level 1, up to level 4. Using a scaffold platform on level 1 for a forklift, we coordinated the forklift’s reach so mechanical units could be hoisted up to level 4. Once on level 4, the equipment was rolled into the mechanical room and installed on mechanical pads. The alternative approach allowed for the mechanical equipment to be installed at a lower cost, while avoiding exposure to rainwater and without risking any damage to the center’s new roof.