We can see the light ahead! The Sonesta Cambridge is in the Construction Administration (CA) phase, with a target opening date of April 3rd. This is one of the most hands-on, detail-intensive stages of any hospitality project. It’s a period of weekly site meetings and rapid problem-solving that can only happen when you’re standing inside the space itself.
For those outside the industry, the CA phase might sound administrative. Purchase orders, FF&E samples, and layout drawings must be meticulously reviewed. In practice, it’s anything but. This is where something 2D officially becomes 3D and we are there to see it come to fruition. We make sure that every design decision made over months of planning actually materializes with integrity.
The Role of AJC Design in CA
Our involvement during Construction Administration is comprehensive and continuous. Every week, we’re in meetings with the general contractor, ownership, ownership’s project management team, architecture, and every relevant consultant. Design doesn’t operate in a silo. The entire design team – architects, designers, engineers, and specialty consultants — functions as one cohesive unit. That collaboration is what keeps a project like this on track and on vision.
A core part of our role is responding to Requests for Information (RFIs) in a timely manner. When a contractor has a question about a finish, a detail, or an installation method, the clock is ticking. Delays in response ripple through schedules. We take that responsibility seriously.
Before anything is manufactured or installed at scale, we review it. CFAs, Cuttings for Approval, give us the opportunity to sign off on actual material samples before full production runs begin. We review purchase orders to verify that specs and quantities are precisely correct. When shop drawings and submittals come in, we go through them with precision before a single thing is fabricated. The goal is always to catch discrepancies early; not after thousands of dollars of material have been produced.
And then there are the site visits. Standing in a room, seeing how light falls across a wall finish, how a drapery panel lands against the floor; these are things you simply cannot assess from a computer or phone screen.
At the end of CA, we punch the job. We walk every space with the critical eye of someone who knows what was intended and can recognize where execution has — or hasn’t — honored that intention. Every trade, every contractor, every subcontractor is held to the standard of the design. That’s not about being difficult. It’s about delivering on a promise made to our clients and their guests.
The Challenges We’ve Navigated
Every project teaches you something. The Sonesta Cambridge has been a learning experience, because the building itself surprised us in ways we didn’t expect. Here’s what we’ve encountered, and how we’ve worked through it.
Challenge 01: No Two Floors Are Exactly Alike
Stacked floors feel interchangeable on paper. In practice, this building has nuances from floor to floor that we discovered only once we were actively in the space. Some walls turned out to be plaster rather than sheetrock; something we could not have known until we were in the thick of guestroom installation. While we performed the model room prior to rollout, this project pushed us to stay nimble, cross-referencing each floor as new variables emerged.
Challenge 02: Draperies: A Room-by-Room Puzzle
The removal of PTAC units and installation of new HVAC systems, while an upgrade for guests, created an unexpected ripple effect for our drapery installation. Once the new systems were in place, every single room had a slightly different clearance height. We had to coordinate drapery installation in tandem with the FF&E installers, measuring each room individually to ensure the best possible fit. It was a meticulous, methodical process — not at all typical — but the result is drapery that fits each room precisely rather than approximately.
Challenge 03: Over-Procurement of Wallcovering
In preparation for the project, our purchasing team procured guestroom wallcovering well ahead of schedule — six palettes’ worth. When the final quantities were reconciled, it became clear that excess had been ordered. Because the material had been sourced so far in advance, it could not be returned. It’s a real cost and a real lesson in the importance of closely coordinated purchasing controls from the earliest stages of procurement. We carry that forward.
Despite these challenges and perhaps because of how the team has responded to them, the Sonesta Cambridge project has been, by every meaningful measure, a success. The building is coming together. The design is being honored. And there is something genuinely wonderful about being present as two dimensions become three. We cannot wait for April 3rd!