Pierce Transit Project Honored/ MKA to Design Theater/Manufacturer Dealer Honored

Berger/Abam wins PTI Award of Excellence

Berger/Abam received the 2004 Post-Tensioning Institute (PTI) Award of Excellence for the Pierce Transit Tacoma Dome Station Phase I and Phase II development project. The PTI awards committee honored the Tacoma Dome Station development project in the category of "Best Parking Structure Design" in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This is the project's third national award.

Each PTI award entry was carefully evaluated and ranked by a select group of distinguished judges from across the nation based on six specific criteria, including creativity, innovation, ingenuity, cost-effectiveness, functionality, constructability, and aesthetics.

The firm was the prime consultant for the Tacoma Dome Station development project, which evolved into a major multimodal facility. A brand new gateway into the city, the transit center was designed for future flexibility and compatibility with a variety of revolutionary transportation modes in the area, including the commuter rail, light rail, and unique intercity bus systems.

Phase I of the project, which was performed on a fast-track basis, provided 1,250 parking spaces on a footprint roughly half the size of the original concept garage, exceeding the owner's original goal for parking capacity and budget. Phase I also included an 8-bay transit island and 4-bay layover spaces. The transit island houses covered patron waiting areas, restrooms, ticketing, information kiosks, and a securities office (subsequently moved to Phase 2). Of special note is the cost-effective design that enabled the addition of an additional floor of parking.

Phase II completed the Tacoma Dome Station project with an addition of a seven-level, 1,200-space parking garage, an intercity bus station, commuter and light rail transit agency offices, customer service facilities, platforms for city-viewing and a variety of commercial and retail spaces oriented to a brand new urban plaza.

Phase II is connected to Phase I by a series of seven pedestrian bridges and a car bridge.

Theater Design Goes to Seattle Firm

DALLAS, TX.--The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation announced that Magnusson Klemencic Associates of Seattle would serve as the structural engineer for the Charles and Dee Wyly Theatre.

The firm will work closely with the Kendall/Heaton Associates Inc., which will execute primary designs and drawings and will handle daily management of the construction project.

The Center's Charles and Dee Wyly Theatre will be designed to accommodate thrust, proscenium and arena stages - depending on individual production requirements and will seat approximately 600. The theater will be engineered with state-of-the-art technology supporting classical and experimental drama, as well as dance and music productions.

Magnusson Klemencic Associates of Seattle is a firm of 90 engineers that has participated in projects in 44 states and 35 nations. Recent projects include the Seattle Central Library.

Manufacturer Honors Local Dealer

Midland Machinery announced its Top Ten Dealer Award recipients for 2003. Clyde/West Inc. of Washington and Oregon was among those honored.

The annual top ten awards are presented to Midland dealers who have demonstrated excellence in sales, applications and parts and service support of Midland self-propelled road wideners and widener attachments. Midland Machinery has been manufacturing road building equipment for over 30 years.

Office Building Breaks Ground

Construction on Washington Cities Insurance Authority's new office building began in early summer. Designed by The Driftmier Architects, P.S. of Redmond, the 26,000-sq.ft. building is being remodeled to become the headquarters of the Authority and to provide office space for lease.

Driftmier's design includes the addition of an elevator, reconfiguration and modernization of the lobbies and common areas, new lighting and HVAC and new ceilings and interior finishes. The exterior of the building will receive a new entry canopy along with modernization of the building envelope and improved parking and landscaping. Chuck Weigman of JSH Properties in Tukwila manages the building for the Insurance Authority. PCT Construction, Inc., of Seattle is the general contractor for the project.

Driftmier recently received a contract for design work on the Lakewood Water District headquarters building. Apex Engineers completed Master Planning for the project.

Bids will go out on the project this fall. The firm was also recently hired by the Covington Water District to devise a master plan for expansion of its existing headquarters facility.

Underground Railroad Museum Opens

The National Underground Freedom Center opened in August in Cincinnati, Ohio. BOORA Architects of Portland was the design consultant on the $110 million project.

Other local firms were Mayer/Reed, Portland, and Lerch, Bates and Associates, Snohomish, Wash. The 158,000-sq.-ft. building will house exhibits, story theaters, an auditorium, educational facilities, research institute, café and gift shop.

The Freedom Center is built on top of a 600-car parking garage and a multi-modal transit center. It is located next to the Cincinnati Bengals stadium.

Issaquah Highlands Center Under Way

ISSAQUAH, Wash. -- Construction began on Blakely Hall, a new community center and town hall that Port Blakely added to its plan for Issaquah Highlands last year. Designed by Seattle-based architecture, interior design and planning firm Weber + Thompson, the hall will provide space for resident events, meetings and informal gatherings.

As with all of the buildings in Issaquah Highlands, Blakely Hall was designed to be respectful of the environment. It is pursuing LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for the sustainable design elements incorporated into the building.

To achieve LEED certification Weber + Thompson integrated several sustainable design strategies into Blakely Hall in areas such as lighting, ventilation and materials.

Through studies with daylighting models, Weber + Thompson made the best use of natural daylight rather than relying only on incandescent lighting. The Hall is also naturally ventilated with generous operable windows eliminating the need for air conditioning. Local materials are utilized whenever possible, such as the heavy timbers that come from Port Blakely's tree farms showcased in a series of exposed heavy timber trusses and columns in the vaulted ceiling over the main hall. In addition to being local, many of the interior materials contain significant recycled content, including the Squak Mountain Stone countertops that are made entirely of recycled materials by Issaquah's Tiger Mountain Innovations.

Blakely Hall is 6,500 square feet, comprised of offices, a central space, flexible meeting rooms, community Internet computer stations, and a demonstration kitchen and dining room. Construction is slated for completion in early 2005. The cost of the land and the building is $2 million.

Rafn of Bellevue, Wash. is the general contractor.

Cancer Center Design Awarded

Architecture firm Anshen+Allen has been selected to plan and design a new cancer center on Providence Everett Medical Center's Colby Campus. The proposed building will be a 96,000-sq.-ft. four-story structure with a 600-car parking garage to accommodate the Cancer Center and additional hospital parking. The facility will include radiation oncology, medical oncology, an educational resource center and medical office space and is set to open in late 2006. Construction cost is $30 million.

Anshen+Allen also designed the Comprehensive Breast Center at Providence Everett Medical Center, which opened in 2002. Among Anshen+Allen's current projects is the design for PeaceHealth's one million square foot replacement campus at Sacred Heart Medical Center, Eugene.