91视频

For many years, the USDA Forest Service鈥檚 Pacific Northwest (PNW) Research Station Corvallis Forestry Sciences Laboratory was a hub of collaboration.

Scientists, resource specialists and land managers from the Forest Service, the Siuslaw National Forest and the National Resource Information System group all worked in the building. Researchers from Oregon State University鈥檚 College of Forestry and the U.S. Geological Survey also leased space within the lab.

When the U.S. Geological Survey announced plans to relocate its Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center to a new building, the opportunity arose to foster even greater collaboration, reduce lease and energy costs, and meet the USDA鈥檚 goal of co-locating whenever possible.

Portland-based O鈥橬eill Electric Inc. helped bring that goal to fruition with the remodel of the PNW Corvallis Lab. The project included demolition of the existing 鈥渆ast wing,鈥� a one-story, wood-framed building; construction of a new two-story building wing connected to the existing structure; integration of new and existing electrical and mechanical systems; and a remodel of the existing building.

The $3.7 million remodel began in September 2010 and was completed in February 2012. With a LEED silver certification, the building features the repurposing of existing clear, rare paneling; new daylight windows; and a vegetated green roof.

For O鈥橬eill Electric鈥檚 crew, the ability to reclaim and reuse wood during the project was personally rewarding. The firm had a recycling goal of 75 percent and achieved 95 percent.

鈥淚t was one of the neatest jobs I ever did,鈥� said Terry King, a project manager for O鈥橬eill and a union carpenter by trade. 鈥淏eing able to decide how the reclaimed wood should be reinstalled on the walls in the lab was really cool.鈥�

O鈥橬eill donated many of the demolished cabinets to Habitat for Humanity. The company also achieved more than 50 percent MBE participation on the job between self-performed and subcontracted work.