Project name: Western Oregon University Steam Line Tunnel Design

Location: Monmouth

Completion: October 2024

Size: 1,000 square feet of steam line

Cost: $11 million

Owner/Developer: Western Oregon University

Engineers: KPFF, Systems West Engineers

General Contractor: Andersen Construction

Submitting Company: Systems West Engineers

Other Key Participants: City of Monmouth

Subcontractors: Emery & Sons Construction Group, MPP Piping

Western Oregon University has completed a major infrastructure upgrade, replacing approximately 1,000 feet of steam distribution line across campus using innovative technology that promises decades of reliable service.

Originally planned as a tunnel project, budget constraints forced engineers to pivot to a direct-bury system using cutting-edge stainless steel piping technology. The approach makes WOU only the second campus in Oregon to implement this system, following Oregon State University.

The stainless-steel system is expected to provide 25-40 years of service, significantly reducing lifecycle costs compared to conventional systems that typically need replacement every 25-30 years.

The project faced numerous challenges, including deep trenching requirements of approximately 10 feet and navigating decades-old underground infrastructure while maintaining precise alignment for the steam system. Work had to be completed during a compressed summer timeframe to minimize campus disruption.

One particularly difficult aspect involved a vault where steam at 245° F had been leaking for approximately 10 months, creating both safety issues and technical complications. When steam was shut off, the vault required nearly 10 days to cool down.

The collaboration between Systems West Engineers, KPFF Consulting Engineers, and Andersen Construction proved crucial in overcoming unforeseen obstacles. When facing sequencing challenges related to providing continuous service to the campus pool, a year-round facility, the team developed creative solutions that allowed the entire project to be completed in one phase.

The project also incorporated modern monitoring technology with sump pump alarms and monitoring systems in the vaults, enabling proactive maintenance. Safety improvements included replacing dangerous rebar ladders in existing vaults with proper aluminum ladders and covers.

The direct-bury approach proved remarkably cost-effective. The original tunnel concept would have cost approximately $8,000 per linear foot, allowing the university to address only about 40 percent of its steam distribution needs within the available budget. By switching to the stainless steel direct-bury system, the team completed the entire scope while staying within budget constraints.

The project remediated a failing pipe that had been leaking steam for approximately 10 months, eliminating wasteful energy loss and ensuring reliable heating for academic buildings and year-round operation of the campus pool.

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PROJECT: Lincoln City Police Department facility

LOCATION: 1503 S.E. East Devils Lake Road, Lincoln City

SIZE:��18,500 square feet

COST:��$10.5 million

CONSTRUCTION START DATE: 2018

CONSTRUCTION END DATE: 2020

OWNERS: city of Lincoln City and Lincoln City Police Department

OWNER’S REPRESENTATIVE: Klosh Group

ARCHITECT: FFA Architecture and Interiors

ENGINEERS: KPFF Consulting Engineers (structural, civil); Sazan Group (MEP)

CONTRACTOR:��Emerick Construction Co.

OTHER ASSOCIATES: Acoustic Design Studio

SIGNIFICANCE OF PROJECT: The Lincoln City Police Department formerly operated out of an old ambulance building on a heavily wooded and sloped site. In 2017, the city selected FFA Architecture and Interiors to design a new, 18,500-square-foot facility.

The project presented several challenges, beginning with the site. It’s steep and backs up to property designated for a future city park. Access points were limited, and there was difficulty separating the site’s public and secure zones. Also, the existing building housed dispatch operations and needed to remain in place during construction, so the buildable area of the site was limited.

After engaging in a robust programming effort with the police department and consultant MWL Architects, the FFA team engaged in a research phase. Members worked closely with City Council and police staff to identify goals for the project and key metrics for its success. The team also conducted in-depth research into the history and culture of Lincoln City, working with citizens to determine an “origin story” that would influence representation of the final project.

Structural and envelope materials were chosen for three reasons: labor savings, coastal environment, and security. During design, FFA team members were told by contractors in the Willamette Valley that there was a 40 percent premium to perform commercial-level construction at the coast. This was mainly driven by transportation costs for workers. This led FFA to choose systems – including cross-laminated timber and unit fiberglass windows – able to be prefabricated.

That same labor theme impacted the choice of exterior cladding. Masonry is typically used to address security concerns of a police station. This is specifically tied to the ballistic performance of the wall. FFA was able to show that a combination of concrete tile and solid CLT walls met the same requirements. The team members did this by mocking up a section of the wall and letting police staff take it to a shooting range for target practice. The concrete shingles echo the cedar shingles common at the coast but last longer in the harsh climate.

“Building Blocks” spotlights noteworthy projects either under construction or approaching the start of construction. To submit a project for consideration, please visit: djcoregon.com/building-blocks.

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Three Portland-based firms are taking their talents to Idaho to build a multipurpose facility intended to highlight mass-timber construction and the state’s wood industry.

Opsis Architecture, KPFF Consulting Engineers and construction manager/general contractor Hoffman Construction are the key members of a project team working to build the Idaho Central Credit Union Arena – a 62,000-square-foot basketball arena and event center at the University of Idaho in Moscow.

The $51 million project was intended from the get-go to be an iconic, one-of-a-kind building that speaks to the capabilities of mass timber, Opsis Architecture principal Chris Roberts said. The university’s hope is for the project to build the kind of excitement in Idaho that mass-timber construction already enjoys in Portland and in other parts of the Northwest.

“They didn’t want an out-of-the-box arena; they wanted a showcase piece,” Roberts said. “They wanted something special and unique that would speak of who they are as a university, help with recruiting and help build up their basketball program.”

Use of wood as the main material for an arena created a unique set of challenges, including how to achieve span lengths of up to 150 feet without so much use of the material that it became aesthetically overbearing.

“Basically, we didn’t want to have a massive, glorified log cabin,” Roberts said. “There’s definitely more engineering involved than just putting a big steel truss up.”

Early collaboration between the project team members was essential for determining the best method for spanning such a large space while maintaining a competitive cost relative to materials traditionally used for an arena.

The team also includes British Columbia-based design/build firm StructureCraft, which is fabricating and erecting all of the timber. Also, Hastings+Chivetta Architects, a St. Louis-based firm that specializes in collegiate arena design, is designing the building’s basketball-related programming.

Another challenge was minimizing the structure depth, said Josh Richards, a principal with KPFF; its Portland and Boise offices both worked on the project. Creating too much volume in the space would drive up costs by requiring more finish material and create more area in need of heating and cooling.

“We ended up with a pretty good system,” Richards said.

That system involves the use of king-post trusses, which are assembled using multiple 40-foot glue-laminated beams. A triangular piece of steel is attached to the beams, and a steel cable runs on the underside of that.

“It’s a large amount of wood and a small amount of steel, and you utilize the qualities of each to maximize the spans,” Roberts said.

The trusses will support a roof with an undulating shape that essentially curves in two directions. That created another engineering challenge, Richards said, due to the need for precise geometry and a wood decking that could actually warp to the roof’s form.

The building will also utilize dowel-laminated timber in some of the programming areas. Most of the wood material for the project has been sourced from Idaho and donated by the state’s wood industry.

Construction of the arena began in June 2019. Crews with Hoffman Construction dug a significant hole for the arena’s bowl, which recesses into the ground by 14 feet. Concrete and steel erection were carried out through the winter and this spring in preparation for start of construction of the wood structure.

Following a year of ground work, erection of the wood structure has begun and is expected to last about four months. Late last month, StructureCraft crews installed the building’s first wood column. The project is scheduled for completion next year, in time for the 2021-22 basketball season, according to Hoffman Construction project manager David Shourd.

“It’ll be a great venue,” he said of the 4,000-seat arena. “Every seat in the house is a good one.”

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One of the advantages of mass-timber construction in the Portland-metro area is that products aren’t far away. They can be produced at plants in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, Canada. That has taken on even greater importance now, when deliveries of many materials are beginning to take longer.

P&C Construction knew that as it began to construct the Robert Libke Public Safety Building in Oregon City. Rick McMurry, chief safety officer for MHA Resource Co., parent of P&C Construction, said delayed arrivals of materials due to the COVID-19 pandemic haven’t yet impacted the anticipated completion date for the project. But the possibility of that happening is on team members’ minds.

“Once this (pandemic) rolled out, we’ve been checking in weekly with subcontractors about anything with a lead time,” said Will Somme, a P&C Construction project manager. “We’re like, ‘Guys, this is a public project. We have an avenue to get stored material paid for; let’s get it here.’ At some point it’s going to have an impact. We just don’t know when that’s going to happen.”

The Robert Libke Public Safety Building will be a single-level, 34,000-square-foot, multipurpose facility located on the Mt. Pleasant property that formerly held school buildings over more than 150 years. The ex-Mt. Pleasant Elementary School, at 1232 Linn Ave., was demolished to make way for the new building. It will house the Oregon City Police Department, municipal court space and emergency management operations.

The building is named for the late Reserve Officer Robert Libke, who in 2013 responded to a house fire, was shot by an occupant of the house, and then died the next day. A new outdoor plaza will feature a memorial wall made of bricks and a main entry window salvaged from the elementary school.

Designed by FFA Architecture & Interiors, the new building is being constructed entirely from mass timber, with cross-laminated timber panels for walls and ceilings, and glulam beams and columns holding everything up. The entire heavy-timber package was fabricated by British Columbia firm Structurlam. All structural elements were placed this past winter, prior to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The facility is designed to seismic standards that call for immediate operations in the wake of a significant earthquake. Even interior shear walls meant to protect the building during seismic events are made from cross-laminated timber panels.

Engineers designed a roof structure with the entire diaphragm locked into the structural elements via a series of massive, six-inch, metal-plate drag struts, Somme said. KPFF Consulting Engineers is the structural engineer for the project.

Typically, on a wood structure locking the diaphragm together with angle brackets, drag struts and other measures is not needed, he added. But because this is a Category 4 building it was required.

Steel, buckling-restrained brace frames were considered and rejected on aesthetic grounds, Somme added.

“On a CLT structure you can incorporate those BRB frames,” he said. “But you don’t really want to because it takes away from the visualization of the interior of the building. You see the cross braces and you think, ‘Well, that’s a beautiful wall behind it.’ It was a challenge for our structural engineers.”

The building’s interior is designed to showcase the heavy timber, with CLT wall and ceiling panels left exposed along with ductwork.

The rectangular massing features a variety of cutouts that create courtyards with protected views and openness to ample natural light. Public areas, including the municipal court, will be separated from law enforcement-only spaces, including offices, conference rooms, evidence storage and more. All of these spaces will feature vaulted ceilings and natural light coming from a clerestory that parallels the main corridor running the length of the building.

On the exterior, metal panels will feature predominantly, along with curtain-wall storefronts.

For now, the scheduled completion date for the project is Aug. 21. That could change, however.

“The way (the pandemic is) going it might eventually, but for now it hasn’t,” McMurry said.

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The Cascadia subduction zone lies in wait of the best-laid plans of developers, architects and engineers on the Oregon Coast.

In the aftermath of a major earthquake, impacts to bridges and roads are concerns of parties inland, but avoidance or survival of a wall of seawater are top of mind for people along the coast.

State policy has changed. A law that barred state grants being awarded to projects in tsunami zones was repealed in the Legislature’s previous session, allowing more construction in such areas.

Meanwhile, at Yaquina Bay in Newport, crews are building for Oregon State University a showcase facility, the Marine Studies Building at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, able to withstand a major earthquake and tsunami. The three-story building will top out at over 47 feet and feature an escape area for the approximately 150 anticipated occupants.

Yost Grube Hall Architecture designed the 72,000-square-foot building so that it could be inundated during a tsunami with no loss of life. The windows will be able to break away, allowing water to flow through the ground floor while occupants stay safe at higher points.

“The structure and the meat and bones of the building are designed to withstand a 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami,” Yost Grube Hall Architecture principal Tom Robbins said. “A lot of the systems in the building are sacrificial.”

YGH used lessons learned from its experiences designing U.S. embassies in several nations, in which blast analyses and other studies were performed. YGH estimates one or two building columns could be taken out and this new structure would still stand, Robbins said.

The design firm also worked with a tsunami modeler at the University of Washington to understand the severity of a potential tsunami hitting Yaquina Bay.

The building’s design is not especially complicated in concept. To keep most of the structure out of a possible tsunami’s path, it made sense to go tall. The building’s stories, which have tall ceilings, will be stacked on top of each other to create more height.

“Just by arranging the building carefully, we were able to get out of the tsunami zone fairly quickly,” Robbins said. “The dumb and simple thing was how to stack this building to get where you want to go.”

The building’s roots go deep underground.

“The building is much like an iceberg,” Robbins said. “You see about a third of it above grade, and two-thirds of it is below grade.”

The engineering consultant is KPFF Consulting Engineers, and the general contractor is Andersen Construction. Officials expect work to wrap up in late spring 2020.

To stabilize the sandy soils, Andersen used deep soil mixing to nearly 100 feet below ground. Crews pumped in approximately 27,380 cubic yards of grout.

Communities up and down the coast are looking to the Marine Studies Building as an example of what can be done.

“We wanted to make this a demonstration project – how to responsibly build in a tsunami zone such as Newport,” Robbins said.

At the same time, it was important to build within a budget.

“One of the desires (and) goals of this project is to do this in a financially responsible way,” Robbins said. “Take proven methods of construction. You can do this without a great cost premium. If you were building another structure in a tsunami zone, there are methods you can employ.”

OSU owns the building, but university scientists regularly work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“This is a space for collaboration,” Robbins said.

Large-scale projects are fairly rare on the Oregon Coast, where small tax bases and populations limit development. However, communities are examining how to fortify their built environments against a potentially devastating tsunami.

When Oregon repealed the ban on state grants in tsunami zones as a head-in-the-sand approach to disaster preparedness, national media jumped on the story quickly. But Oregon Rep. David Gomberg, D-Neotsu, said repealing the ban made sense.

“We have state regulations that don’t allow us to use any grants or state money in the inundation zone or to get out of the inundation zone,” he said.

Gomberg expressed skepticism that the changes would prompt a rush of construction in vulnerable areas.

“I’m not hearing anybody anxious to build in the zones,” he said. “I’m hearing about the infrastructure we have, and how we update it or move it.”

Water districts are required by state law to conduct an annual master plan. Pat Cox, manager of the Nesika Beach-Ophir Water District on the southern Oregon coast, said the cost for doing a master plan has risen from $50,000 to $90,000 because of seismic requirements.

“Now it’s starting to hurt,” he said.

Emergency planning is often made more complicated than it needs to be, according to Cox.

“It always makes me scratch my head when they do these efforts for all these plans, when really it’s run uphill as fast as you can when an earthquake happens,” he said.

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A historic apartment building in downtown Portland is undergoing a seismic retrofit, and general contractor Lorentz Bruun Construction is seeking subcontractors for work on the project.

Fountain Place, at 929 S.W. Salmon St., is a five-story (plus a basement) unreinforced brick masonry structure owned by Home Forward. The 45,336-square-foot building is listed in the city’s Historic Resource Inventory for its architectural significance.

The proposed scope of work includes seismically upgrading the entire 105-year-old building, providing a new, rated egress stair, a new elevator, a new community room, and office space for residential services and property management.

Peter Meijer Architect is designing the retrofit, which is awaiting issuance of a building permit from the Bureau of Development Services. Other members of the project team include KPFF Consulting Engineers, Reyes Engineering, Glumac and Salazar Architect Inc.

According to the design team, Fountain Place was built in 1914 in Second Renaissance Revival style. The raised basement, bracketed sheet metal cornice and belt course with brick corbels all correspond with the style.

Nonmandatory job walks for prospective bidders will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 31. Any questions about the project are due by 5 p.m. on Nov. 1. Bids are due by Nov. 12.

For more information on this project and others, visit the 91��Ƶ Project Center online at www.djcoregon.com/projectcenter/.

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The Portland Design Commission on Thursday declined to hold a vote on a land-use permit for the Pepsi Blocks development’s first phase because of unresolved issues with the Portland Bureau of Transportation. From a design perspective, commissioners favored plans; however, staff advised them to push back a vote until PBOT approves a loading zone and woonerf – a shared street designed primarily for pedestrians.

Located at 2505 N.E. Pacific St., near the Sandy Boulevard corridor, the development would arise on land that previously was long occupied by a Pepsi bottling plant. While most of the existing facilities will be destroyed, an iconic bow-truss structure at the entrance will be preserved; it is to become one or two restaurants.

A Seattle-based team has been working on the Pepsi Blocks for some time now, with owner Security Properties bringing in Mithun to design the 230,000-square-foot expanse of mixed-use buildings and KPFF Consulting Engineers handling the civil engineering duties. The project received its first design advice hearing in May, when it was met with mostly positive reception from the commission.

The first phase of the project involves construction of an eight-story, 87-foot-tall building with 219 residential units and 15,000 square feet of retail space. The first phase also includes two levels of below-grade parking, a landscaped public plaza with art and the woonerf.

Two problems are primarily keeping the project from moving forward. First, the applicants requested an adjustment to loading zone requirements. A main loading zone is required on-site, but the owners requested to place it off-site on an adjacent right-of-way.

Another issue is the woonerf. The city of Portland has only a few examples of precedent for the feature, which is a somewhat new trend adopted from Europe. Since many of the city’s codes predate the woonerf’s use in Portland, the designation is currently for a public street, which makes it liable for several other strict codes.

The applicants are trying to change its designation to an “on-site vehicle area.” That more accurately represents the woonerf’s purpose because it is designed primarily for pedestrians, but there must be vehicle access in case of an emergency.

PBOT has not yet approved these adjustments, and because of that, the Design Commission cannot vote unless it issues a denial, which would greatly delay construction. For this reason, commissioners opted not to vote, and instead rescheduled a future land use review. Then they used the time allotted to talk more about the actual design guidelines.

The Pepsi Blocks’ design was universally lauded. Special praise was given to the project’s integration within the neighborhood, as commissioners said it would create a lively and pedestrian-friendly environment that Sandy Boulevard hasn’t seen in a long time – perhaps ever.

“Public realm is where this thing is quite exceptional,” Commissioner Don Vallaster said. “It gives more back to the city than any project we’ve seen in a really long time.”

Commissioner Brian McCarter said the project sets a very high bar for the potential future of Sandy Boulevard, and Commissioner Jessica Molinar said she wished the project was built already. A few minor criticisms were directed at project aspects such as window tint and certain colors, but commissioners said they would not hesitate to approve the project following resolution of its more pressing issues.

“This is a great thing for the city of Portland,” Design Commission Chairwoman Julie Livingston said. “This is going to be a really great addition to the neighborhood.”

Pepsi Blocks plans will return before the Portland Design Commission for a land-use review on Sept. 19.

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