Hoar Program Management (HPM) has announced that Frankfurt-Short-Bruza (FSB) has been selected to provide architectural and engineering services for Package B of the significant Airbus assembly line project at Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile, Alabama. This package consists of the Flight Line/Final Phase Hangar, Gauging Hangar, and Delivery Center.
Airbus A321 – First Flight – First American Aircraft – Mobile, Alabama, USA
“We are pleased to announce the selection of FSB as architectural and engineering design consultant for Package B of the Airbus Project,” said Mike Lanier, president of Hoar Program Management. “Once again we have selected a highly qualified and experienced team. FSB was selected through a competitive process and we’re delighted to have them on board.”
FSB is a nationally recognized architectural-engineering and planning firm with expertise in architecture, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural, civil and fire protection engineering. Their aviation work includes hangars, maintenance and support facilities for major airlines and shipping companies, U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, and the National Guard.
About Hoar Program Management Hoar Program Management (HPM) is recognized as a top Program and Construction Manager by Engineering News Record magazine, the leading construction industry publication. HPM works with clients in the healthcare, institutional, commercial, and industrial markets and provides services for both public and private entities. The firm has offices in Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Texas and Tennessee. www.hoarpm.com
Tim O’Toole was not sad to see what was known as the bubble roof removed from a building at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds in 2005. The renovation and new solid roof on the former International Building – now the Cox Pavilion – was the first project to not only spruce up the fairgrounds, but to ensure the equine business did not go elsewhere. That project cost $2.25 million.
The final price tag includes about $55 million in renovations and new projects generated from a hotel and motel tax measure passed by voters in 2004. Outdated barns and equine amenities topped the list, but an evaluation of the fairgrounds as a whole became integral to the project. Many of the exhibit buildings at the fairgrounds were built in the 1950s and 1960s.
“We do maintenance and repair on them but you’re always behind the curve when you’re dealing with old buildings,” said O’Toole, president and general manger of the Oklahoma State Fair.
The State Fair generally runs about two weeks each year, but the buildings are in use for events year-round.
“The good news is they’re utilized all the time and the bad news is they’re utilized all the time,” O’Toole said.
The last time the state fairgrounds received any major funds for renovation was with the passage of MAPS in the early 1990s. MAPS injected about $13.5 million into the fairgrounds. “Thirteen million dollars in capital improvements in a 30- or 40-year period of time is not much money,” O’Toole said. With the passage of the hotel and motel tax, Oklahoma City architecture and engineering firm Frankfurt Short Bruza came on board as program coordinator.
To date, the firm has overseen the renovation of the Cox Pavilion, and extensive work on the barns and equine buildings. Work began on the barns in 2005 and is set to be complete in about two years. Frankfurt Short Bruza first worked for the state fair by designing the Centennial Building in the 1950s and then again during the MAPS work.
“The master plan was really to address the entire grounds,” said Fred Schmidt, principal and partner at FSB. “We were looking at creating a new image all the way from the outside in.”
Schmidt said it was important to fix-up the Cox Pavilion and add the new roof so the building could be used as additional space. That building was constructed in 1984. “It looked like an inflated pillow,” he said of the “bubble roof.” “It was not energy-efficient and if you had any holes in the top, it would leak.” O’Toole said he is relived to have the bubble roof gone, saying it cost a bundle to heat and cool.
“It was a very efficient form of construction,” O’Toole said. “But as it turns out in the years that followed it wasn’t a very energy-efficient building.”
Other early projects included razing the former All Sports Stadium to provide ample parking for recreational vehicles and trailers associated with visiting horse shows. Gordon Cooper Boulevard was also realigned in 2006, and storm drains, lighting and landscaping were added.
“This is probably the most prominent pedestrian mall on the fairgrounds,” Schmidt said. O’Toole and the FSB team are exploring options to renovate existing buildings and add more structures. One of those existing buildings is the Jim Norick State Fair Arena, which is connected to the barns, but dated and crumbling in parts.
“We have on the drawing board the ongoing renovation of the Norick Arena with a new interior lighting system and some lobby enhancements,” O’Toole said.
And if a MAPS III project comes to fruition, O’Toole would like to see funds to further improve the fairgrounds, and look at building a 300,000-square-foot, single-exhibit building. Schmidt said any projects must be mindful of the schedule for the fair and other major events, which usually reduces renovation work to about nine months out of the year.
“We’ve only been able to complete a couple of major projects a year,” Schmidt said. “That’s why this has been a phased operation.” The renovation of the final two barns is set for completion in 2010.
“The next step is to move across Gordon Cooper Drive and begin to address the remainder of the fairgrounds and particularly the exhibit buildings,” Schmidt said.
Formal groundbreaking ceremonies for a new classroom building on the campus of Southeastern Oklahoma State University will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2010 at 2 p.m. at 7th & Chuckwa Streets in Durant, Oklahoma.
The 22,000-sq. foot facility designed by Oklahoma City architecture and engineering firm, Frankfurt Short Bruza (FSB), will include three computer science labs/classrooms, two 50-seat classrooms and one 75-seat classroom. In addition, the building will house offices for social science and computer science faculty members. According to Elizabeth Kinney Stidham, Southeastern recruitment coordinator, the new building will help the university with recruitment efforts. “When we visit with prospective students, showing off the classroom building construction is a huge bonus. The construction shows Southeastern is progressive and growing and that we are focused on student’s needs,” said Stidham. “It will boost a student’s educational experience here at Southeastern.”
Being part of the higher education system is an honor for FSB and a focus for the company.
“Our hope is to support the growth of Southeastern Oklahoma State University by establishing a quality piece of architecture on its campus,” said Fred Schmidt, FSB principal. “Our partnership with Southeastern is an honor and solidifies FSB’s focus in supporting higher education.”
The new classroom building is a part of the 2005 Higher Education Bond project funded by the state and is slated for completion during the summer of 2010.
The landscape links the employee facilities building (near left) with Belluschi’s 30-story tower (right) and the re-skinned Braniff building (center right). Courtesy Rogers Marvel Architects
When the Oklahoma City–based energy company SandRidge was formed, it acquired several pieces of somewhat run-down property downtown, including a 30-story tower designed by Pietro Belluschi and a structure dating from the 1920s known as the Braniff building. Rather than selling the properties and building new, the company adopted a more layered urban strategy, including renovation, new construction, landscape, and urban design to create a corporate campus nestled in the city called SandRidge Commons.
The company approached Rogers Marvel Architects to create an ensemble of buildings and outdoor spaces that could add to the city’s burgeoning urban revival. “I think the strategy is both opportunistic and enlightened,” said Robert Rogers, principal at Rogers Marvel.
“They got the properties for a very good price, and then I think they realized that they could do something to add to the vitality of a resurgent Oklahoma City.”
With a team that includes the local firms Elliott + Associates and Frankfurt Short Bruza and the Chicago-based Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects, Rogers Marvel will renovate the Belluschi building, re-skin the side of the Braniff building to open it up to a renovated plaza next door, and build a new employee facilities building with an auditorium, child care, and fitness center, including a rooftop basketball court. Hoerr Schaudt, working with the city and Elliott, will also renovate Kerr Park across the street with a sloping lawn and more trees. “Our practice is about the overlap between architecture, landscape, and urban design, so it’s kind of an ideal project for us,” Rogers said.
Creating welcoming outdoor spaces in the city can be a challenge due to extreme hot and cold temperatures and strong winds. The redesigned plaza will include a large shade structure and pyramidal stands of trees designed to dampen the effects of the strong winds. “We’re using evergreen and deciduous trees. It should feel a bit like you’re walking through a nursery,” said Peter Schaudt, principal at Hoerr Schaudt. “We like the idea that you’ll see the Belluschi building obliquely.”
At Kerr Park across the street, the landscape architects hope to soften what is currently mostly pavement, and they emphasize it will not become a corporate playground. “We’re not taking over the park,” he said.
The plaza in front of the Belluschi building. Courtesy Rogers Marvel Architects
“It will still be a public park. We like the idea of using the interstitial spaces to create a campus in the city.”
The $100 million SandRidge Commons project is one of several going on in downtown Oklahoma City. According to Rogers, there are more than $3 billion in public and private projects planned or underway in downtown Oklahoma City. Many of these projects were made possible through a one-cent sales tax for downtown projects, known as Metropolitan Area Projects, including public facilities like streetscapes, parks, and libraries.
Rogers sees the adjacent plaza and park as an active alternative to the highly visited but somber Oklahoma City Memorial and Museum a few blocks away. “That is a wonderful contemplative space,” he said. “These spaces will be a more active counterbalance.”
The $80 million hangars designed for the use of the Tennessee Air National Guard to house and maintain the C-5 Galaxy aircraft have recently been completed at the Memphis International Airport.
The C-5 Galaxy aircraft is one of the world’s largest aircraft measuring nearly 248-feet in length, over 65-feet in height and having a wingspan in excess of 222 feet. In other words, the plane is so large that the Wright Brothers’ first powered airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C. could have happened in the cargo bay of the C-5 with room to spare.
Designed by the architectural and engineering firm of Frankfurt-Short-Bruza (FSB), the hangars are the cornerstone project in the largest construction program in Air National Guard (ANG) history, which in essence is the construction of an entire air base. The new complex is one of the most technically and physically advanced Air National Guard Bases in the country. Creating a home for the C-5 Galaxy meant putting three hangars under two roofs. At 332,600 square feet, the hangars entail more than half the building area for the entire base.
“FSB feels privileged to be a part of this amazing collaboration between private and government entities. Everyone focused their energies into producing a solution that directly enhanced the capabilities of the Air National Guard’s 164th Airlift Wing to perform their mission, not only today but also with flexibility for the future,” stated FSB’s Project Manager, Art Austin.
“These C-5 hangars balance state- of-the-art systems and anti-terrorism/force protection measures with operational sustainability and energy efficiencies in a fiscally responsible manner that produced an aviation maintenance complex that rivals any in the commercial market.”
The physical size of the C-5 aircraft presented a number of challenges. For example, the high expansion foam fire protection systems are the largest ever tested and accepted by the Air National Guard.
Instrumental in the success of this project was the technical support of the Tennessee Air National Guard’s 164th Airlift Wing’s Base Civil Engineer, Lt. Colonel Tracy Ruger. The ANG Readiness Center’s Program Manager, Doug Rowand provided overall leadership in maintaining program goals and objectives and fiscal and program oversight was provided by the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority’s representative, Tom Sutton.
“The Memphis complex is certainly one of the most innovative facilities of its kind in the Air National Guard facility inventory. This is a project with solid thinking behind every aspect of the facility,” said Rowand. “Volatile market conditions following Hurricane Katrina presented a serious challenge to the design team. Even with this said, the hangars are the showcase maintenance facilities for the Air National Guard,” stated Ruger.
The general contractor on both hangars was Albertici Constructors, Inc.
The power systems in any facility are critical and constantly evolving technology plays a crucial role in facility power design and operating costs. This Q&A showcases our electrical engineering team’s expertise and how they can help you as a client.
Q. Outline for us what role electrical engineers play in the design and construction process. A. Generally our task is to design low and medium-voltage equipment. If we take a typical large facility, you’re going to need power for the mechanical systems, IT, lighting, security, fire protection and often backup or redundant power supply systems. Basically, we connect power to everything the building needs to live and breathe. We design all of the equipment and systems necessary to take electricity from the source to where it’s needed. Finally, electrical engineers are responsible for making sure that all building codes and client needs are met, so that people’s health and safety is protected.
Q. Are people unaware of just how complex the electrical systems are in any given commercial building? A. It’s not something most people think about. Our clients are naturally focused on the aesthetics and functionality of a particular facility. Electricity is viewed as a “black box” – we want it to work, but we don’t want to think about how it works. It’s important that the power needs be considered up front, however, because even small changes in a design will hugely impact the electrical systems within a building.
Q. Are there any significant changes you’ve seen in your field? A. All engineering disciplines are constantly using new technology, but the electrical field is advancing faster than most, hand-in-hand with computers and semiconductors. It’s hard to think of a machine or appliance that doesn’t have a microchip in it. In the broader field, mostly improvements are ongoing in the efficiency of the electrical equipment, meaning what percentage of power going into the equipment is usable coming out. Transformer efficiency, for example, has improved greatly.
User trends have also changed in regard to lighting and how much is really needed. It used to be that when you entered a building every light was on and blazing. Now we have much broader use of natural lighting, with occupancy sensors that turn lights on when people enter a room and off when it’s empty. Other lights, especially security, hallway and emergency exit lighting, have been reduced in overall brightness while still meeting the needs of the occupants. All of this obviously reduces the overall operating costs for the facility. Solar water heaters are also used much more widely now, which again saves on power costs. We’re even starting to see solar-powered streetlights with motion sensors.
Another thing that’s notable is that aluminum wiring is making a comeback. It doesn’t conduct quite as well as copper wiring, but it’s lighter, cheaper and not a target for thieves, like copper wire. So we’re seeing that emerge in new construction as a way to cut costs.
Q. How closely do you work with other members of the design team? A. As electrical engineers we work very closely with the client, with the architects and with the structural and mechanical engineers from the beginning regarding the placement of equipment and the electrical loads associated. When the client says ‘This is how we want this laid out,’ then we can offer options that help them to be more efficient and save money, both up front and through reduced power expense down the road.
To learn more about evolving technology in facility power design or trends in electrical engineering, contact J.T. Little at jlittle@fsb‑ae.com.
The U.S. Air Force recently announced their 2012 Design Awards Program winners. Frankfurt Short Bruza (FSB), an Oklahoma City-based architecture and engineering firm, received a Citation Design Award in the (Facility) category for the Headquarters Air Reserve Personnel Center located at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, CO.
“The primary purpose of the facility is to accommodate the Air Reserve Promotion Board in their efforts to review and designate promotions for all Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard forces serving our country throughout the world,” said Rick Johnson, principal at FSB. “We collaborated with the base commanders and users to design a highly functional facility that accommodates their important work and complements the mountainous surroundings.”
In reviews for the award, one juror stated that the facility “reflects a Colorado design language and reflects a four-season approach to using a large office facility.” The design incorporates natural materials and large windows around the facility that offer mountain views.
“This project is an example of the reward for ‘fighting the good fight’ with respect to design quality,” said John Osborne, FSB architect. “In spite of the multiple challenges we faced, the design was a well-received success.”
Brig. Gen. Kevin Pottinger, ARPC commander, speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for ARPC’s new building at Buckley Air Force Base on July 23. The ceremony marked the beginning of an estimated $17 million, two-year construction project to build a new facility for ARPC. (U.S. Air Force photo/Ellen Edwards)
Lt. Gen. Charles E. Stenner Jr., commander of Air Force Reserve Command, spoke to an audience of more than 200 ARPC employees and Air Force and community leaders during the groundbreaking ceremony.
“We are about to marry up a world-class facility with a world-class agency on a world-class installation,” General Stenner said.
The ceremony marked the beginning of an estimated $17 million, two-year construction project to build a new facility for ARPC. The building is part of ARPC’s scheduled move to Buckley. The Base Realignment and Closure committee mandated the move in 2005.
The Air Force established ARPC in 1953 at 3800 York Street in Denver. In 1976, the center relocated to its current site on what used to be Lowry AFB.
“ARPC has been through a history of change,” General Stenner said. “Throughout that history of change, you see a legacy of service at ARPC.”
The new headquarters will allow ARPC to continue providing personnel services to nearly 1 million Air Force reservists, Air National Guardsmen and retirees.
“What a good day for ARPC, AFRC, the Air National Guard, Buckley AFB and the city of Aurora,” said Brig. Gen. Kevin Pottinger, ARPC commander. “This is what we call Total Force.” (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)
Frankfurt-Short-Bruza Associates’ (FSB) corporate culture is a reflection of its philosophy that outstanding architecture and engineering is enhanced by good citizenship.
As a natural progression of its Leadership Development Program in 2008, FSB formalized its longtime outreach focus and created its Community Involvement Initiative. The company continued to focus on building and enhancing the program in 2009. The purpose of the initiative is to create a firm-wide community involvement program that is ongoing and encourages active participation by leaders of the firm as well as FSB employees.
With 20,138 volunteer hours and more than $1.3 million contributed and raised since the program’s inception, FSB has seen an immediate benefit through the continuation of programs that the company supports. FSB also foresees the long-term benefits of its Community Involvement Initiative to be a positive impact on the community, making it a better place to live, work and play. Internally the program has increased employee morale and involvement within the community.
“Community involvement is not just a passing fancy at FSB,” said Fred Schmidt, a principal of the firm. “It’s just as much of a commitment now as it was when I started with the firm 23 years ago, only stronger. The leaders of the firm made a decision to actively improve the quality of life in our city, through direct involvement, and this influences everyone throughout the organization.”
From its earliest beginnings 65 years ago, the firm has always supported multiple philanthropic endeavors with contributions in 2009 totaling more than $1.32 million in donated man-hours. A large percentage of employees are active in many area nonprofit organizations including Allied Arts, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Arthritis Foundation, City Rescue Mission, Habitat for Humanity, Junior League of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation and Prevent Blindness Oklahoma, just to name a few.
FSB employees donated an estimated 10,614 volunteer hours in 2009, including providing design services for a new chapel built at the Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Taft, Okla. In support of Habitat for Humanity, 16 FSB employees donated more than 75 hours bringing dreams to life by helping build two new homes for grateful Oklahoma families. In addition, employees adopted multiple military families in need through Operation Holiday Spirit, a program aimed at improving the holidays for many of the nation’s armed forces personnel. To mark its 65th year of business, FSB also made a $50,000 donation to the Myriad Gardens Foundation to buy 65 trees that will line the lawn and performance pavilion lawn of the Myriad Botanical Gardens.
“The leadership of FSB fully understands our company must rely on the local, regional and national communities to support its business activities. This inspires FSB to support the communities that in turn support our business,” said Laure Majors, director of business development.
AT A GLANCE Name of company: Frankfurt-Short-Bruza Associates PC Headquarters location: Oklahoma City Year established: 1945 Type of business: Architectural and Engineering firm No. of employees (statewide): 110 No. of employees (total): 110 Amount of philanthropic contributions in 2009: $1.32 million (donated man-hours and contributions) No. of volunteer hours in 2009: 10,614 Website: www.fsb-ae.com
Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton said he focuses on tribal culture. But it’s hard for him to demonstrate that when the tribe’s cultural services office is housed in a double-wide trailer.
That location will change by early 2018, when the tribe opens a five-story, 500,000-square-foot headquarters building. Senior Executive of Commerce T.R. Kanuch said the project will cost $219 million. The building will be on Durant’s south side, west of the tribe’s casino and close to the Big Lots distribution center.
The tribe leases space in 32 locations across Durant, meaning employees often have to drive for meetings. For Choctaw citizens, having to visit multiple offices means spending time driving around the city. Batton said the new headquarters will address those issues and help move the tribe forward.
Kanuch said he thinks having everyone under one roof will produce many positives for the tribe.
artist’s conception of the planned Choctaw Nation headquarters in Durant. COURTESY RENDERINGS
“It’s a lot easier to share ideas,” he said. “It creates some synergies. Being the business guy – productivity – it has to go up. We won’t spend as much time traveling around.”
But getting people from several places into one building wouldn’t be an easy task. Oklahoma City-based Frankfurt-Short-Bruza Associates designed the building; however, they had a lot of steps before they put pen to paper and planned the facility.
The first step was learning who needed to be neighbors, said Jason Holuby, project principal architect. He and a team from FSB went to Durant and met with every office, talking to the employees about their needs and with whom they often work. FSB talked to tribal leadership about future needs.
Holuby said the building has space to accommodate expansion for the next 10 years, but the site has room for additional buildings as needed for the next 50 years. The entire third floor is empty, with other spaces and rooms that can be converted into offices.
When the headquarters opens, about 900 employees will occupy it.
The office layout was only one part of the pre-design work. The FSB team also had the nation host a cultural immersion workshop so it could learn the tribe’s story and what symbols were important to it.
The building’s exterior features red brick, an element in the existing headquarters. It also has a light stone diamond-shape accent. The figure is an important Choctaw symbol and is seen on traditional attire. The large windows have feather-shaped line designs. The windows allow for natural light and create a modern, contemporary look. Since the tribe’s exiting headquarters is a 100-year old building, Holuby thought more people would want something historic-looking, but that wasn’t the case.
“There was a lot of tribal leadership that really wanted a more modern, contemporary design,” he said.
When people enter the building, they will see a two-story rotunda, as well as plenty of seating space. The round lobby was important to the tribe, as a circle associates with family, the tribe and the circle of life, said Toni Brungard, interior designer with FSB.
The first floor has more than 20 offices, all of which are highly sought by citizens. First-floor departments include education services, career development and language.
Batton and Assistant Chief Jack Austin Jr.’s offices will be directly behind the reception area.
“It really speaks to how important it is to (Batton) to be accessible to the citizens,” Holuby said.
The lobby’s east wall will have a video board displaying a sun shape made of diamonds that, when touched, tell the story of a Choctaw citizen. The eastern direction is important to the tribe, as that’s the way they traveled to Mississippi. The lobby’s western wall will have a video board telling the tribe’s western migration to Oklahoma.
When people walk by the chief’s office, they will walk through either the Community Hall or the Hall of Chiefs to get to the cafe and conference center, a one-floor facility. Brungard said Batton wanted to emphasize family in the cafe, so a family tree came to mind. There will be a wooden tree on the wall, with diamond and feather-shaped leaves. The cafe is called Roots.
There will be natural finishes throughout the building, such as a wooden tile and stonework. Each floor will be accented with colors to reflect earthly elements, such as fire and the water. The first through fifth floors will be fire, sun, earth, water and wind. For example, the fire floor will have red accents, and the sun level will have yellow. Brungard said this will help with way-finding.
As the floors progress from the second to fifth levels, the service departments typically have fewer interactions with citizens. The fifth floor will house the agriculture, government relations, public relations and risk management offices. There will also be a large space – where the rotunda ends on the second floor – that was designed for tribal dancing.
“We had the structural guys make sure that area can hold dancing,” Brungard said.
Bratton requested a storm shelter underneath the building.
Manhattan Construction Group will build the facility. Barker Engineering did the civil engineering work. Howard-Fairbairn Site Design Inc. designed the landscaping. Holuby said the project will break ground in late February.
“This is a legacy project,” Batton said. “This is very important to us as a tribe. When I think about all the adversities we’ve faced – like the Trail of Tears – this project really shows that we have arrived as a tribe. This won’t be just a building. It matters so much more to us than that.”
The 22,000-sq. foot facility designed by Oklahoma City architecture and engineering firm, Frankfurt Short Bruza (FSB), will include three computer science labs/classrooms, two 50-seat classrooms and one 75-seat classroom. In addition, the building will house offices for social science and computer science faculty members. According to Elizabeth Kinney Stidham, Southeastern recruitment coordinator, the new building will help the university with recruitment efforts. “When we visit with prospective students, showing off the classroom building construction is a huge bonus. The construction shows Southeastern is progressive and growing and that we are focused on student’s needs,” said Stidham. “It will boost a student’s educational experience here at Southeastern.”
