This cube-like, 10-story, 240-foot-tall tower seems to hover over the ground as if it were a sculpture on a pedestal. The Building Team created this floating effect with a cantilevered perimeter consisting of 24 columns, each 42 inches in diameter, supported by a 600-ton truss system nine stories above.
The design-build process facilitated this effort by involving the construction team early in the design phase. For example, those meetings came up with a practical truss scheme inspired by the concentric properties of a wagon wheel.
Consistent owner and Building Team collaboration on this project included a formal partnering program, facilitated by a third-party consultant. Seven full-day workshops were held over the course of the project, at which team members established shared expectations and objectives.
A 600-ton truss system above supports the tower’s cantilevered perimeter, and helped the Building Team create the effect that the cube-shaped building is floating above the ground. Bruce Damonte Photography.
To keep the project on budget without a loss of quality, the Building Team made extensive use of functional mockups to review finishing materials, details, and lighting throughout the facility’s 24 courtrooms and 32 judicial chambers. Other procedures led to innovative value-engineering solutions, such as using soil-cement columns instead of deep foundations.
The owner wanted to reduce the project’s annual energy outcome to 35 kBtu/sf, from the original goal of 47 kBtu/sf. That effort, dubbed “Drive for 35,” led to a six-week brainstorming session. To ensure team members were vested in the outcome, Clark, SOM, Syska, and the major MEP subs agreed to share the risk of payment for this work by tying the goal to contractually guaranteed performance.
Building Team — Submitting firm, general contractor Clark Construction Group–California Owner, developer General Services Administration Architect, structural engineer Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Mechanical/electrical engineer Syska Hennessy Group Plumbing engineer South Coast Engineering Group Construction manager Jacobs
General Information — Size 633,000 sf Cost $343 million Construction time January 2013 to August 2016 Delivery method Design-build
Related Stories
Building Team Awards | May 27, 2016
Big police academy trains thousands of New York's finest
The Police Training Academy in Queens, N.Y., consists of a 480,000-sf academic/administration building and a 240,000-sf physical training facility, linked by an aerial pedestrian bridge.
Building Team Awards | May 26, 2016
Cimpress office complex built during historically brutal Massachusetts winter
Lean construction techniques were used to build 275 Wyman Street during a winter that brought more than 100 inches of snow to suburban Boston.
Building Team Awards | May 25, 2016
New health center campus provides affordable care for thousands of Northern Californians
The 38,000-sf, two-level John & Susan Sobrato Campus in Palo Alto is expected to serve 25,000 patients a year by the end of the decade.
Building Team Awards | May 24, 2016
Los Angeles bus depot squeezes the most from a tight site
The Building Team for the MTA Division 13 Bus Operations and Maintenance Facility fit 12 acres’ worth of programming in a multi-level structure on a 4.8-acre site.
Building Team Awards | May 23, 2016
'Greenest ballpark' proves a winner for St. Paul Saints
Solar arrays, a public art courtyard, and a picnic-friendly “park within a park" make the 7,210-seat CHS Field the first ballpark to meet Minnesota sustainable building standards.
Building Team Awards | May 20, 2016
Pittsburgh's Tower at PNC Plaza raises the bar on high-rise greenness
The Building Team designed the 800,000-sf tower to use 50% less energy than a comparable building. A 1,200-sf mockup allowed the team to test for efficiency, functionality, and potential impact on the building’s occupants.
Building Team Awards | May 19, 2016
Chinatown library unites and serves two emerging Chicago neighborhoods
The 16,000-sf, pebble-shaped Chinatown Branch Library was built at the intersection of new and old Chinatown neighborhoods. The goal is for the building to unite the communities and serve as a catalyst for the developing area.
Building Team Awards | May 19, 2016
NYC subway station lights the way for 300,000 riders a day
Fulton Center, which handles 85% of the riders coming to Lower Manhattan, is like no other station in the city’s vast underground transit web—and that’s a good thing.
Building Team Awards | May 16, 2016
Upstate New York performing arts center revives once-toxic lakefront site
Early coordination, prefabrication, and judicious value engineering contributed to the accelerated completion of the Onondaga Lakeview Ampitheater, a Upstate New York design-build project.
Building Team Awards | May 16, 2016
12 building projects that represent the best in AEC team collaboration
A busy, light-filled Manhattan subway station and a pebble-shaped Chicago library are among the winners of the 19th annual Building Team Awards.