Over the years Benchmark Construction has been involved in numerous interesting projects, but none more unique than the Organizational Headquarters for Mennonite Central Committee. This international Village will provide guest housing and orientation facilities for more than 1,500 volunteers and staff from throughout the world who pass through Akron each year. From the very beginning of Benchmark’s involvement, we were asked to lend our ingenuity and craftsmanship to the project. Joining the team while the project was still in the conceptual phase, we were able to assist in every element of the design and construction of this unique project.

And “unique” is an understatement when it comes to our involvement with the Organizational Campus. It began when the Owner, Mennonite Central Committee, asked the Architect and Benchmark to join them on a pre-design and project planning trip to Egypt and India. This ten-day junket halfway around the world was just the beginning of what would become the most intensely collaborative effort we have ever had the pleasure to be involved with.

The project has been divided into three major components—the site, guest housing and the Village Center, all which function in harmony with each other. The site will provide a welcoming environment established around a “village setting.” To achieve this, the guest housing clusters are placed around a central “green” which is further defined by the Dining Hall at one end and the Village Center at the opposite end. The guest housing will consist of four housing clusters, each able to accommodate up to 22 guests. The four housing clusters have been named after the primary geographic areas that MCC serves—Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East/Europe. Each housing cluster will be decorated and appointed with artifacts, textiles and imagery appropriate to the region. These variations on a basic theme continue to promote the “village setting.”

The Village Center is designed as a two-story building with roughly 7,000 square feet of area per floor. Each floor provides grade level access in that the building is tucked into the natural topography. The building consists of a gathering hall, large assembly rooms, break-out rooms, children’s areas, public restrooms, storage and a mechanical equipment room. Construction and architectural expression of the Village Center will be similar to that of the housing clusters.

Location: Akron, PA

Design Professionals: Reese, Lower, Patrick & Scott, Ltd.

Total SF: 35,000 SF

Value: $3.7 Million

Awards:  2002 ABC National EXCELLENCE IN CONSTRUCTION AWARD

2002 ABC - Keystone Chapter AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

2001 Mid Atlantic Builders Exchange CRAFTSMANSHIP AWARD

Services Provided: Preconstruction/Construction Management/General Construction Services

"The Benchmark Construction Company family, from laborers to chief executives, bought into the MCC mission and served as a catalyst to make a physical village a spiritual experience. Your personal guidance, enthusiasm, and tenacity for excellence was paramount to its ultimate success. Gregory J. Scott, AIA Reese, Lower, Patrick & Scott, Ltd.