2023 Yearbook of Engineering Achievement: Housing/Residential

RISE (Residences for Innovative Student Entrepreneurs) | BASE

Honolulu, Hawaii

Project Team: Structural Engineer: BASE / Architect: Design Partners Incorporated / General Contractor: Moss / Owner: The University of Hawaii and Hunt Development Group

Start Date: 6 June 2019

Completion Date: 22 August 2023

Accreditation and Awards: n/a 

Background: RISE, or Residences for Innovative Student Entrepreneurs, is a brand-new integrated, live, learn, work, innovation center at the University of Hawaii (UH) at Manoa campus. RISE is a unique facility with dormitory-style housing for 374 students, from freshmen to graduate students.  The RISE development offers housing, workspace, and resources for students interested in entrepreneurship and innovation. The goal is to create a collaborative environment that would encourage students to develop their ideas and work on entrepreneurial projects. The building includes co-working spaces, meeting rooms, and other amenities to support these efforts.  RISE is managed by B.HOM Student Living as UH’s first externally managed student housing complex. It was developed as a public-private partnership between the University of Hawaii, the University of Hawaii Foundation and developer Hunt Companies.

Impact: RISE enhances the educational experience of UH students by providing a space for entrepreneurial activities, innovation, and collaboration. This center provides local students with greater opportunities to sharpen their innovation skills which will have a lasting positive impact on the rest of the university and local business industry. This development also repurposed and gave new life to a historic, 100-year-old building that was in a state of disarray. Instead of demolishing it and building new, repurposing the original structure provided environmental benefits to the local community including less pollution and disturbance of the site.

Technical Aspects:

• Development of two separate new structures and renovation of the historic, 100-year-old Charles Atherton House
• Intricate system of seismic expansion joints were designed to connect the three structures
• New structures designed with post-tensioned concrete podiums and cold-formed steel framing (CFS) above

Mirasol Village | ENGEO Incorporated

Sacramento, California

Project Team: Nick Broussard, GE

Start Date: 11 January 2021

Completion Date: 6 June 2023

Accreditation and Awards: 2022 ASCE Sacramento Award Urban / Land Development Project of the Year

Background: Mirasol Village is a $300 million mixed-income redevelopment in Sacramento’s River District that replaces the 1940s era Twin Rivers housing development and infrastructure.  The area will be fully connected to new transit, employment centers, services, retail, and cultural amenities–creating a gateway to downtown Sacramento.  The redevelopment included new backbone infrastructure, a community park and garden, and mixed-income housing.   The onsite improvement included raising site grades by several feet using imported soil, construction of multiple two- to four- story multifamily buildings, and a five-story mixed-use podium structure.  Site improvements included underground utilities, below-grade Chambermaxx® systems, a swimming pool, jointed plain concrete pavement, and pervious concrete.  This project used a unique approach to store and infiltrate 100 percent of the design event runoff while optimizing the number of developable units. By incorporating below-grade Chambermaxx systems, stormwater planters, and pervious concrete, the design runoff was contained while still meeting water quality requirements.

Impact:  The backbone of this project was infrastructure that included new roadways, underground utilities, large stormwater planters, detention basins, and below-ground stormwater storage.  The project also included other public improvements such as the construction of the Mirasol Community Park and Garden.  The project used a unique approach to store and infiltrate 100 percent of the design event runoff while optimizing the number of developable units.

Technical Aspects:

• Shallow infiltration testing as a part of 2016 geotechnical exploration, followed by supplemental infiltration testing at greater depths within the par basin
• Corrective grading recommendations to remove and replace shallow silt with more pervious imported sand
• Development for design criteria of 3 inches differential settlement over 50-feet of seismic conditions

Carlsbad Fire Station No. 2 | SMR-ISD Consulting Structural Engineers, Inc. (Small Firm)

Carlsbad, California

Project Team: SMR/Delawie

Start Date: 1 September 2020

Completion Date: 20 October 2023

Background: As a member of the Design-Build team for the City of Carlsbad Fire Station No. 2 – $12M project, SMR was able to collaborate with the architectural firm, Delawie, the general contractor, Barnhart-Reese Construction, the city’s Facilities Engineering, city’s consultant construction manager among others to meet the operational needs, goals, and policies of the City of Carlsbad Fire Department and the city.  The station includes six dormitories, four private bathrooms and office space to accommodate five firefighters and one captain on duty. The lower floor houses the apparatus bay with fast-acting four-fold doors at the egress of each of the three bays along with the laundry room, a shop, and secure EMS room. The second-floor housing area has a full kitchen, an indoor dining area and outdoor dining area with a BBQ. Per Carlsbad Fire Chief, Mike Calderwood, “To be honest, I was not a believer that they would be able to fit a fire station this size and have the ability to house as many apparatuses and the number of staff that it is, so I commend the design team and the architects for being able to create such a fine station on such a small lot”.

Impact: Carlsbad Fire Station No. 2 was reconstructed at the site of the 1960’s station it replaced, which occupies the 0.42-acre footprint of the original station. The 10,782 SF station is approximately three times larger than the original station. The new station can accommodate up to six firefighters, five emergency response vehicles, including a 60 ft. ladder truck, fire engine and ambulance. Sustainability features include solar panels, a solar hot water heater, low-energy-use lighting, and two EV charging stations. 

Technical Aspects:

• Structural steel selected for gravity load resisting system due to long spans and unique floor plan
• Steel beam and girder system supported by steel columns allowing for flexibility at the first-floor apparatus bay
• Special Concentrically Steel Braced Frames (SCBFs) selected as the Seismic Force Resisting System (SFRS)