Submitted by Swinerton Builders

Building 24 is an 8,800-sq-ft single-story wood- and steel-framed building with a 1,700-sq-ft mezzanine located at the Chevron Richmond Technology Center in Richmond. It was originally built in the early 1980s as a lab facility and was converted into office and warehouse space in the 1990s. In 2008, Chevron identified the need for an Operations Control Center (OCC) at the RTC to support complex research units across the campus.

Building 24 houses the OCC along with office space, training and conference facilities, a server room and break room for 24-7 operation.

Many challenges were encountered during the conversion of this existing warehouse into a state-of-the-art global communications center in a high-security, high-tech campus. First, the demolition of interior walls and finishes revealed considerable more substance of the building and cracking of existing slab-on-grade. The structural integrity of the building had to be re-reviewed and adjustments in the design had to be made to add more spread footings.

Considerable collaboration, communication and teamwork took place to move the team to a workable solution.

Swinerton’s superintendent had to document existing conditions and coordinate effective solutions meetings between the soils consultant, Rollo and Treadwell, and the structural and civil consultants.

As part of the scope of this project, Building 24 was demolished down to the exterior shell with approximately 75% of the foundation replaced and micropiles added to support the building due to poor existing soil conditions.

Reusing the existing shell within the footprint of the building provided some challenges and at times it felt like getting 10 lbs of sugar into a 5 lb sack. The project team identified early on the need to layout MEP trades in 3D. HVAC, plumbing, fire protection and structural steel were programmed with Clash Detection software to work in the tight overhead spaces. Daily coordination meetings were held to microschedule all trades work within the building envelope to keep from stepping on each other.

Building 24 underwent approximately 200,000 man-hours of work over two years with zero recordables. This success is attributed to the exceptionally thorough safety program that was designed and implemented by the Swinerton and Chevron Construction Team. With the help of safety consultant JMJ, the Construction Team tailored a program called Incident and Injury Free (IIF).

Project Team

Developer/Owner: Chevron, San Ramon
General Contractor: Swinerton Builders, San Francisco
Architect: Perkins + Will, San Francisco
Civil Engineer: BKF, Concord
Structural Engineer: Forell/Elsessor, San Francisco
MEP Engineer: Gayner Engineers, San Francisco
Subcontractors: American Services Co., Dublin; Ayoob & Perry, San Francisco; Contra Costa Electric, Martinez; Marelich Mechanical, Hayward; MCE Corp., Dublin; Shooter & Butts, Pleasanton; Whiteside Construction Corp., Richmond; William P. Young, San Leandro