The new Central Utility Plant (CUP) at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) reached a major construction milestone when construction workers placed the final structural steel beam atop the building’s frame on January 24, 2012. Currently on schedule for construction completion in summer 2014, the $438 million (development cost) design-build project is being built by Clark/McCarthy, A Joint Venture.
In just four weeks, construction workers from Schuff Steel used a Manitowoc 999 Lattice-boom crawler crane with a reach of 140 feet to erect 1,400 tons of structural steel, creating the frame for the new CUP. An audience of approximately 300 project stakeholders and construction workers celebrated the ‘topping out’ during a ceremony held near the construction site. As a part of the event, attendees signed the final I-beam adorned with an American flag and an evergreen tree. The beam was then lifted 75 feet high and attached to the top of the structure. he tree represents growth, life and good luck for the construction workers and the building’s future occupants. The flag is displayed as a patriotic symbol that signifies the united effort by the project team to achieve a common goal.
The 70,000-square-foot facility has a steel frame that weighs in excess of 1,400 tons, or 40 pounds per square foot—about 30% higher than an OSHPD hospital in California.
The new CUP is being built to replace the existing 50-year old facility with a modern; state-of-the-art, computer managed utility plant providing enhanced passenger comfort and reliability of utility service and safety within the newly renovated modernized terminals at LAX. The existing CUP will service the airport throughout construction. Upon project completion, the replacement will be brought on-line and the old CUP will be decommissioned and demolished.
Serving as general contractor for the project, Clark/McCarthy’s contract includes demolition of the existing 50-year-old CUP as well as construction of a new 64,000-square-foot, steel-framed replacement CUP with a 20,000-ton cooling capacity. The project also entails the installation of associated equipment, such as a stand-by boiler, primary and secondary chilled water pumps, cooling towers, electrical systems and switchgear.
A new maintenance shop and offices and an above-grade thermal energy storage tank with capacity for 1.6 million gallons of water and 15,500 ton-hours of cooling is also being built. Other work includes: replacement of approximately 18 miles of pipe and duct bank that service the entire Central Terminal Area (CTA) with utility distribution, electrical and communications systems as well as reclaimed water, fire water and potable water systems; installation of several miles of new distribution piping throughout the CTA and beneath existing main entrance roadways throughout the airport; and an upgrade of pump rooms and air handling equipment in 21 different locations within all terminals, administrative buildings and the LAX Theme Building.
Systems and their components for the new CUP were designed and constructed to achieve LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Clark/McCarthy, A Joint Venture is a joint venture between Clark Construction Group and McCarthy Building Companies. Additional project partners include: Gruen Associates, Los Angeles, architect; Arup, Los Angeles, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural, and commissioning engineer; Capital Engineering Consultants, Rancho Cordova, Calif., mechanical consultant; Greenform, Los Angeles, sustainability consultant; and PID Engineering, San Diego, cogeneration consultant. BD+C
Related Stories
Architects | Jan 24, 2018
Danish design firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects joins Perkins+Will
Partnership expands Schmidt Hammer Lassen’s capacity for international growth; complements Perkins+Will’s design philosophy and strengthens the firm’s cultural practice.
Hotel Facilities | Jan 24, 2018
U.S. hotel markets with the largest construction pipelines
Dallas, Houston, and New York lead the way, with more than 460 hotel projects in the works.
Architects | Jan 24, 2018
Strong finish for architecture billings in 2017
The Architecture Billings Index concluded the year in positive terrain, with the December reading capping off three straight months of growth in design billings.
Architects | Jan 19, 2018
CTBUH announces global finalist projects for annual awards program
The Lotte World Tower, in Seoul, and 150 N. Riverside, in Chicago, are among the finalists.
Architects | Jan 10, 2018
NELSON and FRCH Design Worldwide are merging
Their chief executives will manage the company jointly, by region.
Architects | Jan 10, 2018
7 steps to ending a low growth cycle
Here are the top 10 marketing techniques as rated by high-growth firms and how they compare to their no-growth counterparts.
Architects | Jan 8, 2018
ZGF Founding Partner Robert Frasca, 84, passes away
Frasca was a driving force in transforming the architectural firm from its early beginnings as a regional office into one of the nation’s largest practices, with 600 design professionals across six offices in the U.S. and Canada.
Architects | Jan 8, 2018
Catherine Selby joins Dattner Architects’ partners group
Selby joins Principals Paul Bauer AIA; Richard Dattner FAIA; Jeff Dugan AIA; Beth Greenberg AIA; Daniel Heuberger AIA, LEED AP; Kirsten Sibilia Assoc. AIA; William Stein FAIA; and John Woelfling AIA, LEED AP in leading the 115-person firm.
Big Data | Jan 5, 2018
In the age of data-driven design, has POE’s time finally come?
At a time when research- and data-based methods are playing a larger role in architecture, there remains a surprisingly scant amount of post-occupancy research. But that’s starting to change.
