Project Name: Grays Harbor Conservation District

Company Name: Stantec

Project Location: Grays Harbor, Washington United States

Project Information/Details: Stantec, a global engineering, architecture, and consulting firm—in partnership with National Fisheries Conservation Center— will be supporting the Grays Harbor Conservation District (GHCD) with the Twin Harbors Sediment Study. This critical project focuses on protecting and enhancing the local shellfish industry located in Pacific and Grays Harbor Counties in Washington State. The firm will be developing and running a coastal model of the Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay estuaries to estimate and predict scour and sediment deposition as it impacts the oyster industry, a critical economic driver for this rural and economically depressed region of Western Washington. Grays Harbor and neighboring Willapa Bay have long been one of the most productive shellfish aquaculture areas in the US, cultivating 25% of the country’s oysters. Shellfish aquaculture and related jobs are key components of the local and regional economy, and shellfish themselves provide ecological benefits to the estuary—facilitating water filtration, juvenile fish and crustacean habitat, and healthy benthic fauna. Shellfish aquaculture has been suffering from excessive sediment movement resulting from nearby river flow, coupled with changes associated with human activity—including dredging +and bulkheading— as well as changing ocean conditions, and variations in the tides and winds. This problem has been reported since 1990 and has been deteriorating, which has caused continuous degradation in local commercial shellfish cultivation. Additionally, an infestation of burrowing shrimp is degrading the overall ecology of the Bay, while liquifying the sediment, swallowing shellfish, and ultimately suffocating them, further exacerbating the situation. GHCD initiated a three-phased process in 2015 to investigate the growing impacts. Phase I included a literature review and general analysis to identify Phase II next steps. During Phase II, Stantec will strive to obtain a better understanding of the sedimentation and erosion dynamics in Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay, identify areas of impact and potential new sites for shellfish aquaculture, and define mitigation measures in greater detail to offset impacts to shellfish growing beds. In addition to leading coastal model development, the global firm will be capturing ultra-high-resolution imagery of the estuaries and performing an in-depth analysis of where the most active sediment is, while identifying stable areas of sediment where oysters can grow safely. “Farming shellfish — and protecting the beautiful waterways necessary for shellfish to live— is a way of life that has existed since before statehood in rural Western Washington,” said Wayne Wright, Stantec Principal Scientist and Project Manager, based in Bellevue. “We are humbled to be leading efforts to help support the rapidly deteriorating shellfish industry, a major economic resource for the entire state of Washington and look forward to getting underway.” The modeling and site analysis are expected to be complete at the end of 2020.

Project Name: University of Minnesota’s Historic Pioneer Hall

Company Name: TKDA

Project Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota United States

Project Information/Details: Design architect KWK Architects, with architecture/engineering firm-of-record TKDA of St. Paul, MN, received a Grand Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota (ACEC/MN) for the design team’s renovation and expansion of the University of Minnesota’s historic Pioneer Hall. The award was presented at the organization’s 53rd annual Engineering Excellence Awards banquet on Jan. 24 which recognizes engineering firms and their clients for projects that demonstrate a high level of accomplishment, value to the community and ingenuity. The newly renovated and expanded 90-year-old Pioneer Hall welcomed incoming freshmen for the fall 2019 semester. The $104.5 million project increased the number of student beds at the residence hall from 693 on four floors to 756 on five floors, while preserving a significant amount of the structure’s historic Georgian Revival-style exterior. “This was a challenging design project on many levels,” said KWK Architects Principal Sara Koester. “We knew that the design needed to increase inclusiveness and accessibility, provide housing and dining for additional students and provide modern updates, all while maintaining a significant amount of the building’s historic character. We are proud to have been recognized by the ACEC/MN for our work on this important project for the university.” First opened in the early 1930s, Pioneer Hall was the university’s first dormitory for men. At that time, the building consisted of a series of houses with three- and four-room suites with separate bedrooms for each student and a common study and bathroom. The two back-to-back, C-shaped buildings formed two courtyards, with each house having its own exterior entrance off the courtyard. The main dining rooms were located in the basement level extending upward through the first floor. Over time, the building evolved with a kitchen addition in 1958 and a full-scale renovation in 1977 that introduced a corridor system to connect all houses, provided updated systems and added a small loading dock for residential life staff. After many decades of service, Pioneer Hall was no longer meeting the needs of today’s students. The existing building lacked accessibility with no elevator, multiple floor levels to navigate, exterior stoops with stairs at entry points, inaccessible bathrooms and inadequate circulation. The dining rooms were subterranean with the only views to the exterior from high clerestory windows. Major mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems needed improvements, and the building exterior components needed restoration. The renovation increased the hall’s total square footage from 177,000 SF to 257,000 SF, with demolition of the existing building limited to the center construction and within the courtyards, with approximately 60% of the typical upper floors being retained. A new 42,000 SF dining facility was designed with seating for 850 students that features eight venues arranged in a Main Street configuration. Fresh food is prepared at salad/deli, grill, pasta, pizza, sauté, Mongolian stir-fry, home-cooking, and allergen-free stations, with emphasis on display cooking and a variety of food choices. An on-site bakery offers fresh baked breads, cookies and donuts, and a breakfast venue offers traditional morning fare. A new central, sub-basement level was built to accommodate the main mechanical, electrical, and telecom rooms; the new construction was concentrated in the courtyards and center to connect the building on all levels. The center addition linking the two C-shaped existing buildings extends up vertically for a full story instead of traditional attic space framing of the existing buildings and provides additional area while giving a massing hierarchy to the center linking element. The renovated residence hall features community-style living unit modules with a small group of residents sharing a community bathroom. These facilities are grouped with single-use private bathrooms to offer varying levels of privacy. Studies and lounges are provided for the communities, and a dedicated floor lounge allows for larger gatherings. Classroom, multipurpose, music practice, recreation rooms, large student kitchen, meditation and tech/business center provide a variety of spaces for students to gather, study or relax.

Project Name: Cherese Mari Laulhere Children’s Village

Company Name: Turner Construction Company

Project Location: Long Beach, California, United States

Project Information/Details: Turner Construction Company is pleased to announce that the team working on the Design-Build Cherese Mari Laulhere Children’s Village at MemorialCare Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital in Long Beach, California celebrated the topping out milestone to recognize the final steel beam being placed onto the 80,000 square foot, four-story medical building. Officials, staff, donors, and patient families gathered to celebrate the completion of the next phase of construction. Jacob O’Donnell, field representative for Senator Lena A. Gonzalez, presented Miller Children’s and Women’s leaders with a certificate of recognition in honor of the project. Miller Children’s and Women’s provides care for patients in multiple medical offices throughout Long Beach. The Children’s Village is intended to provide all specialties within a single building so that patients and their families no longer have to travel to multiple locations for care. The Children’s Village will offer access to pediatric doctors in more than 36 specialties, as well as a range of services all in one location. “It’s been exciting to see the project transition from block diagrams and cardboard mock-ups to a standing structure,” said Vernon Southerland, Project Executive at Turner. “We are looking forward to the next major phase of the project which is installing the offsite, prefabricated panels. The penalization approach should save us three months on our dry-in, which will be a huge benefit to the project.” Southerland continued, “Besides the schedule savings, the offsite fabrication will help address the labor shortage we have in the region.” The Cherese Mari Laulhere Children’s Village is set to open in 2021.