Eugene de Souza, project manager with Arup, the project's Los Angeles-based structural, civil and MEP engineer, says that to avoid site limitations, the team devised an innovative approach to fabricate the cooling towers in the field. "We built them on site to the specifications of the facility," he says. "Not only did that help with space constrictions, but it also saved about 800 horsepower. This is a very efficient system."

Model Building

When LAWA was requesting proposals, Clark-McCarthy utilized its building information modeling (BIM) expertise to win the bid, Cashin says.

The construction team is outfitted with iPads loaded with Autodesk Navisworks Freedom and Bluebeam software. These provide hyperlinked plans to design information and Autodesk BIM 360 to track issues live. Team members say that using the technology saves about 10 hours per week in the field. Otherwise, they would have to take photos and measurements in the field, then go back to the office and compare the data to what was modeled.

The project team also uses iPads to compare the model with fabrication and assembly. "We had already proved that things were going to fit where they said they would, so that made the owner much more comfortable," says Kevin Carpenter, Clark-McCarthy project manager. "It makes things much easier, especially in a constricted space like this."

Earthquake protection is always a concern for California projects, and the airport plant is no exception. But for the CUP, placing the mammoth turbines on the second floor also created the need for extra support and bracing. "We created a weak spot in the design to isolate a failure and for the building to withstand it," Carpenter says. "Everything is seismically braced and designed to the same standards as a hospital. We also isolated the turbines from the source of a potential earthquake using base isolators and spring dampers. In the event of an earthquake, the turbines will shut off."

Smart Systems

The installation of a new computerized building information and management system, designed by Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls, will allow the CUP's operators to monitor all of the pumps and meters throughout the airport and let them make adjustments remotely or automatically.

That part of the job also involved making improvements to each terminal at the airport. "A lot of the efficiency is in the controls, which allows the system to make adjustments to how much power is being used according to the need," McKelvie says.

The 1.6-million-gallon thermal-energy storage tank chills water at night when electricity is cheap, then discharges at noon so the chillers can be turned off, says George Stawniczy, AECOM project manager. In addition, the new computer system can be programmed to monitor operating points and adjust for energy efficiency and optimal performance.

The CUP, designed by Gruen Associates, Los Angeles, is expected to be 25% more efficient than the old facility. The project is slated for LEED-Silver certification, and may attain Gold. And by using construction methods that favor the recycling of materials, the project has been able to shrink its environmental footprint.

Minimizing the impact on the traveling public continues to be the project team's prime goal as the project moves toward its completion next year. "Dealing with traffic congestion, multiple permit authorities and stakeholders, we needed to plan every move, consider what might go wrong and how we could avoid or mitigate the impacts," McKelvie says. "The vision we created four years ago is coming to fruition, and there's a great deal of satisfaction in that."