Across DPR Blog, Page 2

"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data," author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle once said. If it's data you're interested in, look no further than the following DPR data center projects in the news:

• The Facebook Prineville Data Center was featured in an article by Information Week called, "Facebook's Data Center: Where Likes Live." Selected by ENR as Editors' Choice & Green Project of the Year in 2011, Facebook's data center complex--according to the article--has the best energy efficiency rating of any major data center in the world. The article details how data on "likes," comments and other Facebook activity, is stored inside one of two 330,000-square-foot data halls in a complex outside Prineville, Oregon. With a massive 901 million users, this data complex was built to a whole new scale and was the first that Facebook designed, owned and operated. Facebook is unique in publishing the details of its designs and specifications. In April 2011, Facebook founded the Open Compute Project, where it makes available as open source information the designs for its servers. DPR's Andy Andres is quoted in the article, saying: "Facebook has taken the lid off the secrecy about how to bring power and cooling into a modern data center." Follow the project on Facebook. Check out DPR's Lulea, Sweden and Forest City, North Carolina data centers as well.
  
  
  Photo courtesy of Facebook


• In other news, EMC's Center of Excellence in Durham, North Carolina, achieved LEED Gold – Commercial Interiors certification for Phases 1 and 2 of its 450,000-sq.-ft. data center. Sustainability was a primary design criterion for EMC with efficiency innovations such as: a rooftop water collection system; free air cooling for much of the year; and flywheel technology that eliminates the need for battery storage in the uninterrupted power supply systems. Highlights of the sustainable features include: 34 percent in overall energy savings; ability to utilize “free cooling” 57 percent of the year; reduced potable water use of 78 percent; and reduced carbon footprint of nearly 100 million pounds of CO2. Read more about the project here.
  
  
  Photo courtesy of Mindy Gray

AZRE (Arizona Commercial Real Estate) Magazine hosted the 8th Annual RED Awards reception at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix On February 27 to recognize the most notable commercial real estate projects of 2012 and the construction and design teams involved. Our Health Sciences Education Building (HSEB) team was awarded AZRE’s RED Award for Most Challenging Project in 2012 for exhibiting team commitment to lean construction, world-class quality and design during one of the most extreme economic downturns in history. This was selected from more than 100 projects submitted by architects, contractors, developers and brokerage firms in Arizona. View all the 2013 RED awards winners and honorable mentions here. We are honored to receive this award, along with the entire team!

The six-story HSEB on the Phoenix Biomedical campus serves two end-users; the University of Arizona College of Medicine and the Northern Arizona University College of Health and Human Services. By accommodating two end users—the University of Arizona College of Medicine from the south and Northern Arizona University Physical Therapy School from the north—it unites both ends of the state while addressing a growing need for educating healthcare professionals to mitigate a critical physician shortage, nationwide. In addition to two end-users, the project included: two owners, the City of Phoenix and Arizona Board of Regents; two architects, design and executive architect, CO Architects, and associate architect and master planner, Ayers Saint Gross; and DPR and Sundt Construction, Inc. in a joint venture.

To learn more about the HSEB project, read "Two Owners, Two Architects, Two Contractors" from the Fall/Winter 2012 issue of our newsletter, DPR Review.

Sidenote: This is my fifth ground-up LEED® project (it's seeking Gold-NC certification).

Photo by Keven J. Siegert

Photo by Bill Timmerman

Photo by Bill Timmerman

On February 26, I was thrilled to be a presenter in a thought-leading panel discussion about the 'Next Gen of Net-Zero' in design and construction. Net-zero refers to a building that returns as much, or more, power than it takes from the grid on an annual basis.  Hosted in Charles M. Salter Associates’ office in San Francisco, the event was facilitated by Lisa Matthiessen and Kevin Hydes (Integral Group) with presentations from Peter Rumsey (Integral), Matthew Porreca (BNIM Architects) and Steve McDowell (BNIM).  The event was set up in a PechaKucha (pa-cha-ka-cha) 20x20 format where each of us had timed our presentations to deliver 20 graphic slides with only 20 seconds for each slide.  You'd be surprised how fast 20 seconds goes by when you're excited about the topic! 

The presentations were followed by an interactive conversation with a highly engaged and highly informed audience.  Our own Ted van der Linden added some valuable insights.  Here are a few of the topics that gained some audience traction:

• How will we capture the voice of the younger generation?  Environmental responsibility is an expectation for them, not a luxury.
• How can we shift attention (and budget) towards designing and building very efficient and interactive exterior skin systems…all five facades…instead of focusing on mechanical systems to counterbalance the inefficiency of the skin?
• Do automated 'red-light, green-light' systems really have an impact on occupant behavior?  Are there more intuitive, simple cues that can help shift occupant behavior?

Fascinating conversation!  This was a group with the power and passion to transform our world.  I can hardly wait for the next discussion!

Check out some of DPR’s net-zero work: DPR Phoenix office, DPR San Diego office, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation Headquarters (the headquarters was designed for net-zero and we hope to know the official status by the end of the year).

Many, including myself, headed to San Francisco this week for the ASHE International Summit & Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design & Construction--the PDC Summit--which began on February 24 and ended today on February 27. On February 25, during the Open Session, there was a Vista award ceremony, which recognized project teams with New Construction, Infrastructure and Renovation awards. I was honored to be a part of the John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital Specialty Surgical Care project team, which was recognized with a 2013 Vista Award for Renovation. The team, which included ccrd Partners and Orcutt|Winslow, renovated the space in 10 months to create a 21,350-square-foot Med-Surg unit with 28 post-surgery beds. 

Here's the team onstage receiving the award.

Later that night, DPR hosted a hospitality event at Waterbar on The Embarcadero for around 350 colleagues, customers and partners. With indoor and outdoor space and a fantastic view of the Bay Bridge, guests chatted, enjoyed refreshments and delicious food, while enjoying the music of the live band. 

A special treat especially for those visiting from out of town like myself, we had a front row seat to the Bay Bridge light show, which was a dazzling sight to behold.

The PDC Summit has a distinguished history of bringing together owners, design teams, contractors and many more industry professionals from around the country to learn from each other, make valuable connections, and lead change in the industry. In its 26th year, this year's conference continued that tradition. 

DPR's Eric Cusick and Skip Miyamoto contributed an article, which is on the cover of the current issue of AWCI's Construction Dimensions magazine, the leading periodical for the walls and ceilings industry. The article, "The GC Speaks: Why We Self-Perform Your Work," details how DPR self-performs up to half a dozen various scopes of work on the projects that we manage. DPR's Self-Perform Work added up to more than 2.5 million craft man-hours in 2012 and more than 1.3 million of those man-hours were in drywall.

The article details how our self-perform work impacts the following:

• Safety
• Staying on schedule
• Quality
• Cost
   

DPR is honored to be a part of the John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital Specialty Surgical Care project team, which is being recognized with a 2013 Vista Award for Renovation. The award is being presented on Monday, February 25 during the Open Session of this year’s ASHE International Summit & Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design & Construction (PDC Summit) in San Francisco.

About the project
The project team, which included Orcutt|Winslow as the architect and ccrd Partners as the engineer, renovated the third floor of the occupied John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital in Phoenix, AZ. Working together for 10 months, the team designed and constructed a new 21,350-square-foot Med-Surg unit to serve the community during the busy winter season. 

Working above occupied OR (operating room) and PACU (post-anesthesia care unit) space, it was critical to minimize noise for post-surgery patients. The team created a detailed plan, including items such as noise reduction kits for patients and visitors; hourly construction breaks; and visits from design and construction team members to answer questions and address concerns. Weekly team meetings also involved hospital staff from all departments to support increased communication.

“The dedication and commitment of this project team to ‘get it done’ in a very short time frame in order to accommodate our high winter patient census was remarkable,” said Rhonda Forsyth, president and CEO of the John C. Lincoln Health Network. Completed at the end 2011, the renovation received praise from staff, patients and their families, resulting in the Board of Directors authorizing funding for remodeling the fourth floor following the same standards.

Photos courtesy of Gregg Mastorakos

About the award
The prestigious Vista awards recognize the importance of teamwork in creating an optimal healthcare physical environment. The winning teams show a unity of purpose that helps projects succeed from pre-planning to implementation.

After an intensive, multi-step process that began more than two years ago and involved: designated individuals taking exams, creating a documented quality management system, and receiving jobsite audits, I’m proud to announce that DPR’s Bay Area Self-Perform Work (SPW) Interiors Group received official certification in the UL (Underwriters Laboratories) Qualified Firestop Contractor Program!

Firestopping is a form of passive fire protection installed into a building. During a fire, firestopping keeps smoke and fire compartmentalized into designated areas so it does not spread quickly. By containing smoke and fire to designated compartments, it will protect others and buy time for help to arrive to put out the fire before it envelops the whole building.

There are currently only 25 contractors nationwide with the UL Firestop certification, and only one other in California. UL is the leader in fire safety testing, certification and research. This Qualified Firestop Contractor Program ensures that firestop systems are installed correctly to the high standards of the UL. To maintain the certification, we will continue to be audited every year.

Firestopping is important for owners to consider because it gives peace of mind over the lifetime of a building. If a fire ever does occur in a building, with firestopping, there are systems in place to make sure lives and financial investments are protected.

Healthcare buildings, which contain immobile patients who cannot easily get away from a fire, can benefit from the protection of firestopping in particular. Building owners of data centers, who invest millions in sophisticated servers, also benefit from this added security. Life sciences buildings, where vital research is conducted, also need to be protected from every angle. These are merely examples of why firestop systems are important; all owners can benefit from protecting human life and property.

“The industry needs to talk about cost, not price,” said DPR’s Eric Lamb, one of the panelists at Bisnow’s 2nd Annual San Francisco Construction Development Summit on February 6th. The panelists at the summit discussed the new projects ready to break ground in the city of San Francisco. They also discussed the various neighborhoods poised for growth, what it takes to get a new project off the ground, and the process of renovating an existing building. The event included a timely panel discussion on new construction methods, financing strategies, construction costs (what “cost versus price” means and why that’s especially important in today’s climate), and building designs.

On the panel, Eric also discussed DPR’s use of technology, saying: “We’ve seen a huge push for technology in the field in the past 2 years. We now have 200 tablets in the field.” 

He also spoke about ways to maximize productivity, saying: “The key word in the industry for me is automation. It reduces labor cost and increases efficiency.”

On January 29, DPR's Dave Seastrom, who manages our Southern California region, participated in a panel discussion at the BOMA Orange County luncheon program: Success from Scratch: How Business Models and Culture Make a Difference. The moderator was John Combs, Founder and Principal of RiverRock Real Estate Group, Inc. and, in addition to Dave Seastrom, panel members included:

• Scott Emigh, Director of Enterprise Solution Sales for Microsoft;
• Alan Gladstone, Chairman, President, CEO & Owner of Anna’s Linens
• Steve Jones, Co-CEO/Chief Operating Officer of Universal Services of America

The panel shared their experiences with establishing their companies; trials and tribulations along the way; company culture & work environment, comparisons of the early days to today; and what's in store for the future. More than 200 people attended the event at The Westin in Costa Mesa, CA.

The panel (Dave is the third from the left)

About BOMA
Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) members are building owners, managers, developers, leasing professionals, medical office building managers, corporate facility managers, asset managers, and the providers of the products and services needed to operate commercial properties.

Collectively, BOMA members own or manage more than nine billion square feet of office space, which represents more than 80 percent of the prime office space in North America! More than 80 percent of individual members have annual operating budgets exceeding $1 million, while more than 75 percent of individual members are responsible for multiple buildings.

DPR Foundation folks presented Girls Inc. of Orange County with a check for $30,000. At the check presentation, the Girls Inc. president & vice president gave a touching speech about DPR's impact to the organization, referencing our core values (Integrity, Enjoyment, Uniqueness, Ever Forward) and found real life examples of each through our involvement with the organization. Reps from California Senator Mimi Walter’s office (37th state senate district) were also on hand and presented DPR folks with a certificate in recognition of the company’s continued support, both financially and through volunteer commitment, to the organization. “It is our pleasure to thank DPR Construction for their financial, and more importantly, physical contributions to improve the opportunities for the girls enrolled in the program, ” said Martin L. Paine, district director for the office of Senator Mimi Walters.

Girls Inc. CEO Lucy Santana-Ornelas said, “DPR’s gift is literally transformational in the sense that it allows us to impact the lives of more Orange County girls who need our help.” DPR began working with Girls Inc. of Orange County in 2012 when the non-profit was chosen to receive a complete makeover as part of DPR's Rebuild America Day. As a result, the organization received new classrooms and expansive repairs to their Youth and Family Center based in Costa Mesa, with materials alone totaling over $100,000. 

At the check presentation event, DPR was cordially invited to join Girls Inc.'s Green Club (Girls Restoring Emerging Environmental Needs), inspired by our GenR3 project this summer. DPR's plans for this year's involvement include hands-on volunteer opportunities with the elementary-aged girls that will focus on the importance of sustainability, protecting the environment, and making a difference in their community.

The girls made an incredible and sustainable gift for us to take back and hang in the office: a framed D, P, and R made out of recycled materials. Thank you, girls! 

Here's to a great year together!

About Girls Inc.
Girls Inc.® of Orange County positively changes the lives of 4,000 girls, ages 4 1/2 to 18, each year, by providing year-round holistic, compensatory, and intentional programming focusing on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math). Girls Inc. of Orange County has been a respected member of the non-profit community for almost 60 years. The mission of Girls Inc. is to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. We put our mission into practice through the Girls Inc. experience that equips girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers and grow into healthy, educated and independent adults. Health, education and independence are the three main areas that surround our program curricula.

About the DPR Foundation
The DPR Foundation is a company-wide, focused outreach to help children who fall short of their potential due to socio-economic challenges. For 2012-2013, the DPR Foundation distributed a grand total of $845,000 to support 15 organizations selected, nationwide. Since 2008, the Foundation has awarded more than $2.4 million to 21 different organizations.