Inside/Out Newsletter | Autumn 2013 | Issue 51

INSIDE/OUT ISSUE 51

AUTUMN

NEWSLETTER

OCTOBER 2013

Naval Hospital to Open Six Months Ahead of Schedule

The new medical center is being erected on a 70-acre ridgetop site with an ocean view, near the main gate of Camp Pendleton.

Rendering courtesy of Clark Construction.

After nearly three years of construction, an aging medical facility at Camp Pendleton is being replaced with a new 500,000-square-foot hospital erected on a 70-acre site.

The new hospital is designed to provide modern, safe, and effective medical care for active and retired military personnel and their families in the Southern California region. Expected to open six months ahead of schedule in December 2014, the facility is the largest American Recovery and Reinvestment Act project for the Navy and the second biggest stimulus project for the Pentagon.

The hospital design includes inpatient medical facilities, along with ancillary departments; emergency, primary, and specialty care accommodations; and support spaces.

Additional provisions include an open atrium and healing

gardens to enhance the patient experience and enable faster recoveries and earlier hospital discharges. A five-story parking structure features an open pedestrian walkway between the east and west parking areas, glass-paneled pedestrian bridge to the hospital, and glass-back elevator with ocean view. The structure also includes a 100-kilowatt photovoltaic system that will provide part of the power feed to the hospital.

The project incorporated sustainable design features in anticipation of earning the U.S. Green Building Council LEED Gold level certification requirements. “It was an honor working with a dynamic team of Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest, HKS (continued on page 2)

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architects, their consultants, and Clark McCarthy’s excellent construction management team lead by Carlos Gonzalez,” said Ahmad Khan, BergerABAM project manager. “The design/build facility of this new hospital will truly become a marvelous icon of a modern day health care system that will help heal many.”

Additional information about the Camp Pendleton Hospital replacement project can be found at http://www. clarkmccarthycamppendleton.com. Webcam images of the ongoing construction work are available for viewing at http://www.clarkmccarthycamppendleton.com/photos.

Firm Contributes

To New ACI Special Publication

The recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile (2010) and in Japan (2011) created substantial economic damage to ports and marine infrastructure, as well as deep social costs. Destruction in the realm of billions of dollars and the destruction of lives and livelihoods brought global attention to the plight of these areas after these earthquakes. They also brought the structural engineering community renewed interest about the sensitivity of pile-supported marine structures to such seismic activity. Despite evident progress in the seismic analysis, design, and construction of marine infrastructure, more work needs to be done to improve the response of these types of structures to seismic loads.

Carlos Ospina

This motivation led BergerABAM’s Senior Project Manager Carlos Ospina to organize, under the umbrella of the American Concrete Institute (ACI), a technical session on recent advances in the seismic design of prestressed concrete piles in marine infrastructure. Sponsored by ACI Committees 543 (Piles), 357 (Offshore Concrete Structures), and 423 (Prestressed Concrete), the two-day session took place in the spring of 2012 in Dallas, Texas, and showcased eight papers that covered such key aspects as seismic analysis, design, detailing, and experimental testing of precast, prestressed concrete piles as substructure elements of marine structures.

Nearly one-and-a-half years after the Dallas session, ACI will soon be releasing a special publication encompassing the eight papers presented in the session. The special publication was edited by Carlos Ospina with input from co-editors, Rudy Frizzi and Domenic D’Argenzio. The special publication covers a wide variety of subjects, including an overview of current design procedures for seismic design of piles, spanning from traditional design recommendations per ACI 543R-12 to displacement-based design concepts in the design codes of two of the busiest ports in the country (Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach both located in California); a study of the role live loads play as a source of seismic mass on the seismic response of pile-supported piers, wharves and container platforms (authored by BergerABAM’s J. Paul Smith-Pardo and Carlos Ospina); proposed improvements to code design provisions based on lateral load testing prestressed concrete pile-to-deck connections; the evaluation of the seismic performance of different types of pile-to-deck connections subjected to lateral loads; an investigation of the stability of pile-supported marine piers during earthquakes (authored by BergerABAM’s Stuart Stringer and Bob Harn); and results from numerical studies characterizing the shear and torsional behavior of pile-supported marginal wharves; and a technical paper presenting the fundamentals of slender, pretension concrete pile analysis.

The special publication will be available for public purchase after the Phoenix, Arizona, convention in late October.

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Inside/Out Newsletter

Oregon Ports

Poised for Job Growth

U.S. ports are responsible for more than 13.3 million jobs, including nearly 12 million people employed in export/import-related businesses and support industries throughout the country as of 2007, according to the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA). The economic impact of our ports is huge: in that year alone, commercial port activities contributed approximately $3.15 trillion overall to the U.S. economy, and those businesses paid nearly $212.5 billion in taxes.

Global trade continues to increase, with ports worldwide building and enhancing infrastructure to compete in the global marketplace. As recently as 2005, the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked the U.S. number one in infrastructure competitiveness. However, WEF’s 2012-2013 competitive index now has the U.S.’s infrastructure competitiveness ranked 14th, while neighboring Canada is ranked 13th, and China has quickly risen to 48th.

In addition, the recent global economic downturn has meant fewer funds from federal sources to help U.S. ports do the same. To maintain a competitive edge and relevance in today’s economy, the state of Oregon has made funds available for ports to complete strategic business plans that identify projects and supportive policies to capture their market opportunities.

What do strategic business plans accomplish? In addition to setting vision, policy, management, capital facilities, finance, market, and environmental policies for ports, these plans are now required to make projects eligible for state funding from Business Oregon (Oregon Business Development Commission). These plans follow a statewide Oregon Ports Strategic Plan, and are based on public input, facilities assessments, market analysis, goals, and strategies to implement each port’s mission.

The first state-compliant local port strategic business plan was completed by the Port

The first state-compliant local port strategic business plan was completed by the Port of Garibaldi.

of Garibaldi in 2010. The plan served as the springboard to obtain grants for strategic projects, including a waterfront parks and trails master plan funded by Oregon State Parks, a federal TIGER grant, and a Connect Oregon grant to reconstruct the Commercial Avenue wharf. This is a critical improvement needed to support water-dependent commerce for this small fishing port located on the Tillamook Bay, and the closest Pacific Ocean access to Portland.

Still, there are many small ports in Oregon in need of additional funds for facilities, docks, dredging, and marketing. Through local and state partnerships, ports can achieve broad community-based economic development policies and implement specific projects to spur job growth. The state’s target is completion of strategic plans for all 23 local ports in Oregon during 2014.

Editors / Writers Jana Roy Dee Young Karen Harbaugh Scott Keillor Amanda Schweickert Nora Bretaña Design and Production

As Oregon recovers from the Great Recession, now is the time to prepare for the next wave of economic growth. Through the development of effective strategic business plans, Oregon sets an example for other states, national and international ports to effectively make targeted investments that preserve community livability and enhance our global economy.

Jana Roy

To update your contact information, please e-mail newsletter@abam.com

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Collecting Seattle’s Rain

Second Annual Green Apple Day of Service

The kids were creative, creating their own images and colors and were very eager to paint.

When you think of Seattle, most people think of coffee, music, the outdoors, and rain--especially rain.

Seattle accumulates approximately 34 inches of rain a year, according to the Western Regional Climate Center, and the estimated annual demand for lawns is 18 inches (from the 1985 Washington State Irrigation Guide).

If people collected the rain water in barrels, it could offset this demand.

That’s exactly what the Seattle’s American Society of Civil Engineers Sustainability Committee (ASCE-SC) and the Renton/Skyway Boys and Girls Club in Washington State did for the second annual worldwide Green Apple Day of Service.

Volunteers introduced 21 elementary students to the importance of water conservation and how it can positively impact lives. The students, ranging from kindergarteners to fifth graders, participated in water-related games and activities, earned prizes, and helped prepare rain barrels for installation. Volunteers lead activities that helped students learn they could survive for weeks without food, but only three days without water. Other activities had the students drawing themselves enjoying water and participating in a “hot water” game, where they defined as many words as possible related to water.

The biggest project of the day was preparing the rain barrels. Two 55-gallon barrels, previously used to hold pickles, were sanded and painted prior to the event and ready for the students to decorate. Stencils cut out in the recycle symbol, light bulbs, flowers, birds, and faucets, all elements related to nature and conservation, were prepared ahead of time, which the students used when painting the barrels. One of the barrels used the four horizontal panels to show a rain system and the progression starting from the sun and clouds to the flowers and trees. Volunteers led the installation of the rain barrels by altering the downspouts at the Boys and Girls Club to allow the water from the roof to flow down through the diverter and collect in the barrels. The rain barrels will provide for 89 percent of the water needed, collecting about 1,010 gallons a year.

Volunteers included BergerABAM staff members Amanda Schweickert (ASCE-SC chair), Miranda Hagadorn, Evan Sheesley, and Veronica Vong. Supplies and prizes were donated by BergerABAM, HDR, Inc., and Anchor QEA. This is the second year that ASCE-SC, BergerABAM, and HDR participated in the Green Apple Day of Service.

Last year, volunteers helped the Renton/Skyway Boys and Girls Club construct their own worm composting containers.

Green Apple Day of Service is organized by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Green Schools. Powered by volunteers, these community-based efforts are aimed at transforming schools into healthy, safe, and productive learning environments. This event was one of 2,000 projects that took place in all 50 states and in more than 40 countries.

To find a Green Apple Day project in your community, go to http://mygreenapple.org/dayofservice.

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Inside/Out Newsletter

V.K. Kumar

Recognized for Positive Contribution

On 26 August 2013 at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Ports 2013 conference in Seattle, Washington, BergerABAM’s Vice President of International Ports and Terminals Viswanath K. “V.K.” Kumar was given the Kenneth M. Childs, Jr., Ports and Harbors Practitioner Award.

The award was established in 2005 in honor of Kenny Childs, a prominent ASCE Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute (COPRI) Ports and Harbors Committee leader, and recognizes ASCE member design and construction practicing engineers employed in the marine engineering profession with demonstrated leadership and/or achievement in harbor and coastal projects.

Mr. Kumar was born in India and, after receiving his bachelor’s in civil engineering at the University of Madras, he immigrated to the United States and received his master’s in structural engineering at the University of California, and then his masters in architecture at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and later became a U.S. citizen. Early in his career with BergerABAM, Mr. Kumar was involved with development of waterfront facilities for local ports, using such precast, prestressed concrete products as piles, pile caps, and deck panels all aimed towards speeding up construction. In particular, Mr. Kumar’s value engineering construction concepts for the Bath Iron Works waterfront project at Bath, Maine, resulted in significant cost savings and gave the contractor the ability to deliver the project on schedule. The schedule was critical because of the relatively short in-water construction season in Maine.

With development partners, such as SSA Marine, Mr. Kumar has brought this precast waterfront system worldwide where it now has become the standard for pier and wharf construction. The result of the ability to quickly build economic waterfront facilities has influenced the significant positive economic progress in countries, such as Panama, Peru, Chile, Mexico, Indonesia, and Vietnam. He has become internationally known for his project management and engineering expertise within the coastal engineering, port engineering, and construction communities.

As a mentor and recognized leader within the industry and particularly in the company, Mr. Kumar has made knowledge sharing and education common practice. He generously

and consistently shares his waterfront engineering and construction expertise with fellow professionals by presenting professional development seminars, teaching courses, and presenting and authoring papers in technical conferences for world-renowned organizations. These organizations include the ASCE and their ports conferences held every three years, starting with Ports 1989 in Boston and for every ports conference thereafter, including the 2013 in Seattle, Washington, which will be a total of nine consecutive conferences. Presentations to other organizations include the Precast Concrete Institute in May/ June 2003, AAPA Authorities Facilities Engineering Seminar in 2009, and ACI in 2010.

This commitment has had tremendous influence on young engineers throughout the years in career and professional development and by cultivating professionals who are now leaders in advancing the engineering field. He has influenced strong technical minds that are also key contributors in developing and guiding business within this industry. As a member of the Federal Way, Washington, community, Mr. Kumar has been involved in community support through youth sports programs and support of the Federal Way Symphony. The Kenneth M. Childs, Jr., Ports and Harbors Practitioner Award is an apt celebration of his citizenship, character, and positive contribution to the success of and progress in his community and country.

Kumar being presented award by Stephen Dickenson, chair of the Ports & Harbors Committee, at Ports ‘13.

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