This $105-million, phase one office tower project adds layers of mixed-use elements to the South San Francisco community, including an adjacent parking garage, 30,000 sq ft of office support and retail space, on-site child care facility and a performance and conference center as well as an off-site fire station and gymnasium. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The owner, architect and contractor worked previously together on a similar office tower project in San Francisco. This prior experience as a team provided an opportunity to draw on the insight gained from the past project to effectively and efficiently collaborate on the

The builders of the 46,000-sq-ft University of California, San Diego Conrad Prebys Music Center had a difficult challenge. How would they build a music center that would allow for concerts, but also minimize the noise in classrooms and offices throughout the building? Related Links: Best of California 2009 Constructed of architectural cast-in-place concrete and an exterior curtain wall system, the $46-million music center contains offices, classrooms, student recording suites, computer music labs, practice rooms, a flexible black box theatre, 150-seat lecture/recital hall, ensemble hall and a 400-seat concert hall. Because of the complexity of the project, the team decided early

The project team building the Fourth District Court of Appeal overcame a funding freeze from the state of California to build a well-regarded project in downtown Santa Ana. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The $25.6-million courthouse was built to unify two separate court buildings and provide additional court services within its three stories. The project team – Heery International and Carrier Johnson + CULTURE – used a number of devices to eliminate problems before they occurred. Chief among these was the use of BIM. All spaces above the ceilings were modeled three dimensionally for the coordination of all MEP

Trying to balance the needs of the environment with active pedestrians resulted in the David Kreitzer Lake Hodges Bicycle Pedestrian Bridge. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The stress ribbon bridge provides a link to the north side of Lake Hodges from the south side and serves pedestrians and bicyclists. One of the keys that shaped the project was the need to limit the bridge’s impact on the lake. The project team used the stress ribbon design method to limit the number of supports in the lake to two. The use of precast panels eliminated the need for falsework within

The goals of this $56-million project in the heart of San Rafael were to elevate and widen the northbound and southbound Highway 101 lanes for the addition of HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes and to construct a new southbound 101/eastbound Interstate 580 connector. Related Links: Best of California 2009 One of the more innovative aspects of the project’s design was the use of both lightweight aggregates and EPS block (expanded polystyrene). The project is located immediately adjacent to the San Francisco Bay, so much of the native material underneath the site is what is referred to as “bay mud.” This

This $9.2 million seismic retrofit and complete interior renovation of a historic building on Pacific Ave. became the four-story headquarters of the San Francisco law firm Keesal, Young & Logan. It includes office space, a private bar and dining room, fitness room, shower, kitchen and several conference/meeting spaces. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The project team says that meeting the client’s specific move-in date was one of the most critical goals for the project. The team implemented weekly meetings with the owner and architect, as well as weekly schedule updates. The thoughtful restoration and renovation of a historic building

Needing a new home for its headquarters, the Aerospace Corp. sought a project team to transform an existing office building into a high-tech headquarters for the 21st century. Related Links: Best of California 2009 The Aerospace Corp.’s A9 corporate headquarters is a four-story, 177,000-sq-ft office building. One of the significant aspects of the project is the amount of advanced technology incorporated throughout the building. The lower level basement houses the Stars Lab, the data control center for satellite launches and features a raised floor, a server room and conference room. The main entry level features a viewing platform with stadium

Arterra is a luxury condominium building in the Mission Bay area which became San Francisco’s first LEED-NC silver-certified highrise residential project earlier this year. Related Links: Best of California 2009 Arterra consists of three interconnected buildings: a 16-level high-rise tower, a nine-level building with a landscaped terrace area and barbecue deck, and a six-level grass-roofed building featuring three tiers of two-level town homes. The $89-million project features 269 one- to three-bedroom units, concierge service, a fitness/wellness center, community lounge, rooftop sundeck, furnished suite for guests and an enclosed garage on and around a four-level podium structure. On Arterra, Bovis, the

Tutor Perini Corp. reports that Caltrans has informed the firm that it has been awarded a $215-million contract for construction of the fourth bore tunnel at the Caldecott Tunnel section of Highway 24 in Alameda and Contra Costa counties near Oakland. Photo: Caltrans Caltrans awarded the contract to Tutor-Saliba Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tutor Perini Corp. The tunnel will be approximately 990 meters long and will add two additional lanes of traffic in the westbound direction and is designed to alleviate traffic congestion along the Route 24 corridor. Construction is anticipated to start in January and will take approximately

A new state law that goes in effect Jan. 1, 2011 remedies longstanding problems without significant cost or inconvenience Related Links: Green Building Innovations Building Smarter: BIM and Beyond Heavy BIM Special Report Building Foundations for Future Organizational Development Sacramento Market Report Breathing New Life Into Old Facilities Since 1879, the California Constitution has guaranteed contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and others who have not been paid for work and materials supplied to a private works project the right to sell the property where the work was performed in order to obtain payment. The mechanism by which a sale of the property