Critical to the successful on-schedule, below-budget delivery was ensuring construction did not affect the adjacent active airfield and FAA radar system, which relies on a 360-degree field of view to provide critical information regarding the airport’s operation.

To prevent the risk of the building inadvertently reflecting radar signals back at the tower, the facade’s face was angled away from the building column line, thereby reflecting radar waves to the ground. Construction was sequenced so the canted wall assembly was the first facade elements to be completed.

Photo by Ray Cavicchio Photography LLC

The successful design, fabrication and erection of long-span steel trusses for the hangar drove the project’s critical path. A 230-ft box truss system spanning the 30-ton hangar door was assembled on temporary stands to the correct dimensions and camber. Following the setting of the box truss, the project team repeated the process for the hangar’s lengthwise truss assemblies.

Due to layout and program requirements, all MEP and fire protection systems are centrally located to serve the entire single-story building. This required a significant number of systems to be coordinated and installed above the ceiling of the main lengthwise corridor.

Because installation of each new system prevented access to the layers above, an integrated BIM model helped guide complicated routing and support installation. Use of BIM coordination to plan both the work’s geometrical location and construction sequence helped the team forecast conflicts and create hold points for quality control inspections with the project’s permitting authority.

The project was completed below budget and on schedule and had no lost-time accidents during more than 285,400 worker hours.