Assumption University sits within beautiful woodland in the heart of Massachusetts, an area bejeweled by lush greens in the summer and red warm tones in the fall. Though not the designer of the University’s building interiors, the Continental team couldn’t agree more with the use of cherry wood for outfitting Assumption’s newly erected Tsotsis Family Academic Center. The 62,000 square foot state-of-the-art academic facility features a grand entry hall adorned in cherry, from the walls to the stairs and trim. The cherry continues into the 400-seat performance hall, where Continental also supported the need for natural acoustic properties by creating special facet panels for the walls to help with sound. And Continental built and painted the box beam coffers that adorn the Center’s grand ballroom meeting center.

As Massachusetts’ fifth state-funded school, founded in 1874, Worcester State University has a proud heritage and history; a glowing thread woven into the tapestry of the Worcester community. It made sense, therefore, for the school to find a local millwork firm to help them rebuild their main dining area, Sheehan Hall Dining Hall. Continental, which fabricated all the counters of the dining hall and their stone countertops, faced a unique challenge in building out the counters where food is prepared and cooked. The team had to meet certain requirements to isolate temperature control in various sections of the counter, accommodating high heat from the tandoori ovens and near-freezing temperatures for refrigerators and freezers nearby.

The Continental team also partnered with another supplier to build out stainless steel cabinets for the kitchen that were treated to look like wood and match the rest of the design.