A renovation to suit a medical clinic in Northeast Portland is in the works.

Two building permits totaling about $7.4 million are under review for a tenant improvement at 4400 N.E. Halsey St., Building D.

JRJ Architects LLC designed the project for a Providence Health and Services women’s clinic. The project team also includes general contractor Fortis Construction, structural engineer Equilibrium Engineers, mechanical/plumbing engineer Southland Industries, and electrical engineer Mazzetti.

The Providence women’s clinic currently on Northeast 47th Avenue near Hoyt Street is relocating into the company’s campus on Northeast Halsey Street near 44th Avenue, Providence design and construction manager Evan Schaye stated in an email. The new clinic will be 18,100 square feet, including dedicated space for maternal fetal medicine and forensic nursing services.

“The renovation is a complete gut and overhaul, with upgrades to the plumbing, electrical and mechanical system, two new rooftop units, an elevator upgrade and all new, modern finishes,” Schaye stated.

The new space will provide additional exam rooms, procedural rooms, and ultrasound rooms, as well as expanded office space and waiting areas.

The total project cost is $9 million, which includes planning, equipment, design and construction.

Construction is scheduled to start in March 2024 and finish in early October.

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The Structural Engineers Association of Oregon has released the names of the winning projects in the 2017 SEAO Excellence in Structural Engineering awards competition.

The annual awards recognize outstanding structural engineering efforts that feature at least one team member associated with SEAO. This year’s nominated projects were selected by a panel of judges based on criteria that included creativity and complexity of structural design, efficient use of materials, successful fulfillment of owner/client needs, and suitability of the structure for its environment.

The Titus Will adaptive reuse project, submitted by WDY Inc., was selected as the winner in the renovation and retrofit category. The 50,000-square-foot, two-story structure underwent a full seismic upgrade because of occupancy changes. The addition of moment frames to the seismic system allowed an existing large storefront to remain open. The project owner/developer was Tourmaline Capital and Irwin Development Group. The project architect was Lundin Cole Architects, and the general contractor was Korsmo Construction.

The award for buildings over $10 million went to the Q21 mixed-use project, which was submitted by Nishkian Dean. The seven-story, 202,000-square-foot mixed-use structure featured unique columns made from two 12-sided tapered steel sections. Welded together at the center, the sections created double tapered columns that formed the number XXI. The project owner/developer was Rosan Inc. The project architect was YBA Architects, and the general contractor was Andersen Construction.

The Athey Creek Christian Fellowship project, submitted by VLMK Engineering + Design, won the award for new buildings under $10 million. The judges gave the project and its engineering team top scores for overcoming a major hurdle to successfully locate concrete panels, ranging in height from 34 feet to 37 feet, on top of 12-inch-wide, cast-in-place concrete walls. The project owner was Athey Creek Christian Fellowship. The project team included David Bissett Architect and general contractor Perlo Construction.

In the special-use structures category, the winning project was the C-Tran Fourth Plain Bus Rapid Transit Corridor and Maintenance Facility expansion and renovation. The project holds the distinction as the first bus rapid transit system in Oregon or Southwest Washington. The project owner was C-Tran. The project team included Equilibrium Engineers, which submitted the project, PIVOT Architecture and Waterleaf Architecture, and general contractors Emerick Construction, Colf Construction and Tapani.

The Portland Japanese Garden’s Cultural Crossing was selected as the jurors’ favorite. The expansion project added four buildings, a site bridge and several site retaining walls. The owner/developer was the Portland Japanese Garden. Architects for the project were Kengo Kuma & Associates and Hacker. Hoffman Construction was general contractor.

The judging panel for the awards included Eric Thomas of the Portland Bureau of Development Services; Thomas Miller of the Oregon State University School of Civil and Construction Engineering; Judith Sheine of the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Environment; and Stephanie Basalyga, editor of the Daily Journal of Commerce.

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As three-year-old elephant Lily approached her herd’s new swimming pool, she didn’t hesitate to jump into the cold water and use her trunk to scoop up fresh-cut apples floating on the surface. She was soon joined by her mother, Rose-Tu, and the two dove and splashed as they played in the Oregon Zoo‘s 80-foot-wide, 160,000-gallon pool up to 12 feet deep. (To see a video of Lily and Rose-Tu’s first swim in the Elephant Pool, visit .)

The pool is just one part of a greatly expanded habitat for the zoo’s small herd of Asian elephants. The entire Elephant Lands, which opened Wednesday, is expected to become a model for other zoos. Officials conducted an early media tour to show the six-acre development that includes the pool, an interpretive center and indoor viewing area in the 33,000-square-foot Forest Hall, a new 14,000-square-foot barn and several outdoor habitat areas with paths, warming sheds and feeding stations.

The Elephant Lands project was $57 million, and was paid for with bond money approved by voters in 2008. The budget covered construction of a new service access road, work to reroute the zoo train loop and relocation of the zoo’s Wildlife Live headquarters.

Construction took three years to complete, said Jim Mitchell, the zoo’s construction manager.

“It was a phased project and we had to keep the elephants in place while we were building,” he said. “That definitely added time to project – plus we put a complete new service road around the zoo and that all had to be done before we actually started Elephants Lands.”

Mitchell was accompanied on the tour by zoo spokesman Hova Najarian, zoo bond program director Heidi Rahn and elephant curator Bob Lee.

Elephant Lands will give zoo visitors a much closer view of the animals, but the important thing, Rahn said, is that the new environs emulate a natural habitat.

For example, automated feeders dispense food at random times, which encourages natural foraging behaviors, and ample land allows the elephants to roam.

“This will be a model for other zoos to follow,” Rahn said. “This is such a huge milestone for the zoo and the community. The community really stepped up to make sure we have the best habitat for our elephants.”

The total bond issue was for $125 million, and Elephants Land is the fourth project out of eight that the bond will pay for, she said.

Other projects already completed include the new Veterinary Medical Center, an upgrade to the water filtration system in the penguin habitat and the Condors of Columbia exhibit. Currently, a new Education Center is being built. A full renovation of the polar bear habitat, and expansions of the primate and rhino habitats are in the works.

In planning for Elephant Lands, zoo staffers visited zoos in Europe and the U.S., Rahn said, and learned best practices for elephant habitats to incorporate into the design.

“The Oregon Zoo has always been a leader in elephant management and research, and this puts us at the top of all zoos,” she said.

Research is essential because, as the interpretive center in Forest Hall explains, natural habitats for Asian elephants are threatened – particularly because of palm oil plantation expansions.

One of the most impressive displays in Forest Hall is a full-size photograph of 53-year-old Packy, the zoo’s oldest elephant. The photo is on clear glass and can be viewed from both sides, giving the impression that there really is an elephant in the room.

Forest Hall also has auditorium seating overlooking a large indoor enclosure with 40-foot walls and 4 feet of sand on the floor with dune play areas.

After their swim, Lily squealed with delight as she led Rose-Tu into the enclosure at Forest Hall. Lily ran up to a large tower that dominates the center, where surprises are hidden in small holes. There, she used her trunk to find some treats, including some water, which she promptly sprayed on herself. Then she got dirty all over again by rolling around on one of the sand dunes.

Elephants are considered highly intelligent and social animals that adopt a matriarchal family structure. According to a zoo pamphlet, that structure was the motivating factor behind the recent expansion.

“This ancient matriarchal structure is the guiding principle of the Oregon Zoo’s elephant vision,” the pamphlet reads. “Caring for elephant families means nurturing complex relationships and providing a life and environment full of choice.”

But for Lee, the curator, seeing Elephant Lands completed is a bit more personal.

“For me it’s the realization of a dream,” he said. “We have all these ideas in our head about the perfect situation for the animals and go home every night and think, ‘What more could we have done?’ ”

Lee said knowing that the community is behind the creation of Elephant Lands is for him an unparalleled experience.

“It gives me a kind of joy I haven’t had before,” he said. “It’s incredible to have the bond measure and know that it was in the best interest for the animals. It was truly inspired through their eyes and giving them what they need.”

Elephant Lands

Location: Oregon Zoo

Cost: $57 million

Construction start date: January 2013

Construction completion date: December 2015

Owner and developer: Oregon Zoo

Architect/management: SRG Partnership

Zoo architect/planning/exhibit design: CLR Design

Landscape architect: PLACE Studio

Civil engineering: KPFF Consulting Engineers

Structural engineering: Equilibrium Engineers

Mechanical/electrical/plumbing: PAE Consulting Engineers

Life support engineering: TJP Engineering

Cost estimating: Rider Levett Bucknall

General contractor: Lease Crutcher Lewis

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Andersen Construction announced this week that it has completed the first vertical use of cross-laminated timber in the state.

The 24-foot-high CLT panels, averaging eight feet in width, were manufactured by D.R. Johnson in Riddle, according to Brad Barcroft, Andersen’s senior project manager for work at Western Oregon University’s Richard Woodcock Education Center in Monmouth.

Earlier this year, CLT was used horizontally for a roof at the new Elephant Lands exhibit at the Oregon Zoo. Barcroft said Equilibrium Engineers worked on the zoo project as well as the one at WOU, where 23 load-bearing CLT panels were used instead of concrete beams in the education center’s stairwells.

The stairwells are located on each side of the two-story, 57,000-square-foot building that will house 13 classrooms, 86 offices, three computer labs and conference space. Construction is expected to finish in June 2016.

Barcroft said placing each CLT panel was similar to setting vertical precast concrete, but with the advantage of faster completion. Plus, minor adjustments can be made on-site with a saw, which would be impossible with concrete.

“Typically, we would have used concrete or steel,” Barcroft said. “There are lots of different things we could have used, but this is new technology.”

Oregon officials have been pushing for the use of CLT, made from sustainably-grown young trees, as a way to boost the state’s timber industry. CLT was a point of discussion for Gov. Kate Brown and others at the 2015 Oregon BEST FEST last month.

Barcroft said he’s glad to be part of the new trend.

“I was pretty excited to be part of dealing with new technology and doing something that could be meaningful to the economy of Oregon down the road,” he said. “That was kind of cool.”

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Crews with Lease Crutcher Lewis installed a roof made of cross-laminated timber Tuesday on a new building at the Oregon Zoo, marking the first use of the material in the state. A total of seven panels, measuring about eight feet wide and with a thickness of 5 ½ inches, were lifted into place atop a visitor center under construction as part of the zoo’s new Elephant Lands exhibit.

The 2,000-square-foot building was designed by SRG Partnership and engineered by Equilibrium Engineers, which is also working on a Western Oregon University project that is making use of cross-laminated timber. The $53 million Elephant Lands project, slated for completion this fall, is one of several major projects at the zoo funded by a $125 million bond measure passed by voters in 2008.

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One material will stand out in the new Western Oregon University College of Education building: wood.

Its designer, Mahlum Architects, has been tasked by Gov. John Kitzhaber to highlight innovative uses of wood. The project is designated as a demonstration project under the governor’s ; it calls for state agencies to identify nonresidential capital construction projects that can showcase wood products in high-performance buildings.

The tricky part is figuring out the best way to do so, said Kurt Haapala, principal in charge of Mahlum Architects’ Portland office.

“(Kitzhaber) wants wood,” he said. “He’s smart to be thinking about a traditional market that has sustained and grown the state of Oregon (and) that needs to evolve. We have to demonstrate the power and beauty of wood in all its forms.”

The firm is in the early stages of design for the $18.6 million project at the WOU campus in Monmouth. The team is investigating innovative ways that wood can be incorporated into the proposed 50,000- to 57,000-square-foot building – within budget restrictions. Other challenges include navigation of the city permitting process and the lack of familiarity among builders of work with products like (CLT).

Mahlum staffers hope to include CLT in the design, Haapala said. Panels are manufactured with lumber glued in opposing directions to form a solid slab that can be used for walls, floors or ceilings. The product has gained popularity in Europe and Canada over the past 20 years, but it’s still relatively unused in the U.S.

“The city of Monmouth has not seen this before,” Haapala said. “The good news is the city of Portland has dealt with it. There are some code implications we have to work through … We would need to prove it works.”

That is one reason why Mahlum has teamed up with Lake Oswego-based Equilibrium Engineers for the project. The structural engineering firm worked on the only CLT project approved in Portland – a small, single-story structure that was designed by SRG Partnership and now is under construction at the Oregon Zoo.

For that 2,000-square-foot zoo building, extra calculations for load capacity were required to gain city approval for use of CLT on the roof, Equilibrium Engineers associate JoMarie Farrell said. She expects a similar process for the WOU project because Monmouth, like Portland, has no code language that addresses cross-laminated timber.

The project is a great opportunity to demonstrate the advantages of CLT and convince Oregon manufacturers to produce it, Farrell said. Because it comes in prefabricated panels, the product can be installed quickly, she noted.

“I would like to use this product a lot more often; it’s really a matter of finding the right fit,” she said. “I think it pays for itself in so many ways.”

That is the precise reason for projects like the WOU College of Education building, said Rachel Wray, the governor’s press secretary.

“A project like this can demonstrate these products exist – they’re available and they work,” she said. “This project, it really met the criteria for being a great demonstration for the range and uses of Oregon’s wood products.”

WOU officials recognized that innovative wood use in the College of Education building project would be a way to gain state funding, said Brad Huggins, WOU’s construction manager.

“We felt that it was a reasonable project for it,” he said. “We recognized that the governor had an interest in sustainable products, and we were happy to work with them.”

Earlier this year, federal officials joined Kitzhaber in pushing for more wood construction and use of products like cross-laminated timber. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in an effort to support the nation’s timber industry, announced a partnership with the Wood Products Council‘s initiative WoodWorks to inform architects, engineers and contractors of the benefits of CLT.

Mahlum staffers are working with WoodWorks to learn more about the possibilities for CLT in the WOU College of Education, Haapala said. One idea is to include CLT treads on the building’s main staircase. Also, CLT in the floor and the roof could be left exposed.

“It’s using a pretty high-grade wood, so it’s beautiful,” Haapala said. “Why put a ceiling on?”

The project appealed to Mahlum Architects because the firm has a long history of working with wood, particularly for tribal projects, Haapala said. The firm recently won a WoodWorks National Wood Design Award for the Muckleshoot Smokehouse in Auburn, Wash. The structure was designed in traditional longhouse style for the Muckleshoot tribe.

“There is a craft to working with wood that’s still very much alive in the industry, and I think we should celebrate that,” Haapala said. “How do we get that emotional connection to wood? That’s what we’re after.”

Western Oregon University has not yet selected a contractor for the project. Construction is scheduled to start next spring and wrap up in time for the building to open in fall 2016.

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An elephant on the run is a force to be reckoned with.

“It depends on how much room they have to gather speed, but it’s in the ballpark of 30,000 pounds, so about twice their weight,” said Ed Quesenberry, principal of LLC in Lake Oswego, of the impact force a charging elephant can inflict. “It’s pretty significant.”

The Oregon Zoo recently awarded Equilibrium the structural design contract for a new elephant habitat. The $40 million project is coming out of a $125 million bond the state passed in 2008 and will increase the current pachyderm property from 1.5 acres to six. It will involve construction of a new elephant management building, an indoor viewing hall and a life support system facility.

To put in perspective 30,000 pounds of force, a runaway car’s impact load is just 6,000 pounds of pressure, Quesenberry said. So the elephant facility needs to be pretty beefy.

“Tension cable fencing with big foundations because the elephants like to push on them and pull on them and step on them,” he said. “So that will be a good design problem for us to deal with.”

SRG Partnership‘s Hussain Mirza is the principal architect heading the project. He said the firm has worked with Equilibrium in the past.

“He’s a very creative engineer,” Mirza said of Quesenberry. “It’s an unusual project and it requires a lot of thinking outside the box and he can certainly do that. So we appreciate the rigor he brings to it.”

Quesenberry said the elephant facility is a bit of a departure from the firm’s typical repertoire of health care, higher education, institutional, mixed-use and parking structures.

“This kind of zoo project doesn’t come along very often,” he said.

The structural engineering package also includes relocation of the zoo’s train tracks and the design of two train trestles. Quesenberry said the firm has already begun design of the new train system and a new service road, which should be ironed out in the next eight months. Those two projects will be the first to go out to bid for construction, he said.

The company hopes to finish design of the elephant habitat by the first half of 2013, and Quesenberry said construction should begin in the second half of next year. For now, Equilibrium will be doing a lot of number crunching.

“There’s a lot of design considerations that we have to take into account that are different from a normal building for obvious reasons,” he said. “You’re dealing with a seven-and-a-half-ton animal that can deliver a lot of load on the walls and floors.”

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