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
| Oct 14, 2014
Slash energy consumption in data centers with liquid-based ‘immersive-cooling’ technology
A new technology promises to push the limits of data center energy efficiency by using liquid instead of air to cool the servers.
Sponsored | | Oct 14, 2014
3 color trends drive new commercial exterior color collections
Collectively as a society, we help create color trends, which shape our businesses, recreational facilities, healthcare centers, and civic buildings. These iconic colors are now appearing in Valspar's new color collections. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Oct 14, 2014
Get inspired with the top 10 TED talks about cities
The TED talks, none of which are longer than 20 minutes, feature speakers such as architect Moshe Safdie, Rio de Janeiro Major Eduardo Paes, and animal behaviorist Amanda Burden.
| Oct 14, 2014
Proven 6-step approach to treating historic windows
This course provides step-by-step prescriptive advice to architects, engineers, and contractors on when it makes sense to repair or rehabilitate existing windows, and when they should advise their building owner clients to consider replacement.
| Oct 14, 2014
Richard Meier unveils design for his first tower in Taiwan
Taiwan will soon have its first Richard Meier building, a 535-foot apartment tower in Taichung City, the country’s third-largest city.
| Oct 13, 2014
The mindful workplace: How employees can manage stress at the office
I have spent the last several months writing about healthy workplaces. My research lately has focused on stress—how we get stressed and ways to manage it through meditation and other mindful practices, writes HOK's Leigh Stringer.
| Oct 13, 2014
Debunking the 5 myths of health data and sustainable design
The path to more extensive use of health data in green building is blocked by certain myths that have to be debunked before such data can be successfully incorporated into the project delivery process.
Sponsored | | Oct 13, 2014
The problem with being a customer-centric organization
Kristof De Wulf, CEO of InSites Consulting, argues that the effects of customer-centricity typically don’t endure, leading only to temporary improvements in company performance. SPONSORED CONTENT
Sponsored | | Oct 13, 2014
CLT, glulam deliver strength, low profile, and aesthetics for B.C. office building
When he set out to design his company’s new headquarters building on Lakeshore Road in scenic Kelowna, B.C., Tim McLennan of Faction Projects knew quickly that cross-laminated timber was an ideal material.
Sponsored | | Oct 13, 2014
Think you can recognize a metal building from the outside?
It’s getting more and more difficult to spot a metal building these days. What looks like brick, stucco or wood on the outside could actually be a metal building in disguise. SPONSORED CONTENT