Newport News Shipbuilding

Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the largest industrial employer in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the sole designer, builder and refueler of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. NNS is also one of two providers of U.S. Navy submarines. Originally founded as the Chesapeake Dry Dock and Construction Co. in 1886, NNS has built more than 800 ships; both naval and commercial. NNS is in the city of Newport News and is strategically positioned in Hampton Roads, one of the distinguished harbors of the East Coast.

The challenge was to replace more than 30 existing office trailers located in a densely compacted area along the James River into one strategic structure. The new structure would accommodate the Carrier Programs Refueling and Complex team of 400 trade supervisors and support staff, while minimizing the construction footprint and keeping above the flood elevation.

Mobilease assisted Newport News Shipbuilding with the design of a 43,560 SF 3-story modular office structure that would entail enclosed exterior aluminum stairwells and a 4 inline stop modular elevator. Within a 30-day window, and in the height of an active hurricane season, a total of 67 units were crane set onto a raised steel platform. The project scope of work included utility connections, installation of fire alarms, a wet and dry fire suppression sprinkler system, roof mounted mechanical systems and a mechanically fastened roof system. In just 168 days, Newport News Shipbuilding opened the doors of the new Consolidated Trades Building.