ISSUE 68
INSIDE OUT
NEWSLETTER WINTER | 2018
“This is a building that our kids deserve. I know that they will appreciate and thrive in their new learning environment.” - David Cooke, Jemtegaard Middle School Principal The front view of the two-story Jemtegaard School that sits on an 85-mile-long stretch of protected land.
Jemtegaard Middle School: Realizing the Dream While Preserving a Scenic Area When the Washougal School District in Washington State decided to demolish the old Jemtegaard Middle School and build a new middle and an elementary school in its place, there was more work to be done than simply designing and creating the new buildings. Though citizens had approved the bond measure to fund building these schools, the school site was within the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. This meant that—in addition to the usual design and environmental requirements and permitting—this project needed to comply with a large range of special design restrictions that pertain to any structure built in this area. The nationally designated scenic area was created to “protect and provide for the enhancement of the scenic, cultural, recreational, and natural resources of the gorge and to protect and support the economy of the Columbia River Gorge area by encouraging growth to occur in existing urban areas and by allowing future economic development,” according to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). It’s not a wilderness or a park, but an area the USFS manages collaboratively with Washington and Oregon’s private owners, tribal entities, and county
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agencies. Careful coordination between agencies, the school district, and building designers had to be done to minimize weather exposure from the gorge and maintain ongoing operation throughout construction. Also, because the school is situated across Evergreen Highway from the Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge and close to Gibbons Creek, designers and planners ensured it did not impact local waterways. The Jemtegaard Middle School is the largest structure ever built in the scenic area, so the project team had to consider all the requirements and regulations inherent (continued on page 2)
To update your contact information, please email newsletter@abam.com EDITORS/CONTRIBUTORS Nora Bretaña, Danny Christian, Karen Harbaugh, Lauren Hurst, Jana Roy, Diann Scherer, Renée Stiehl, and Dee Young DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Ailoan Che and Renée Stiehl
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in such a project. To comply with these requirements, BergerABAM initiated an environmental assessment, as well as a careful analysis and interpretation of the scenic area’s “visual subordination” requirements for the design of the school buildings. For the visual subordination requirements, designers and planners had to discover the visual impact of the buildings on the site: Are they visible from key viewing areas? Are there enough trees and landscaping to screen the building from different elevations in the surrounding landscape? If visible, do they blend with the rest of the scenic area? A rigorous Clark County land use review permitting process was completed for scenic-area compliance, and the Friends of the Columbia Gorge, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the gorge in its natural state, did not appeal the approval, which is very unusual. To determine the extent of the visual subordination needed, the permitting team sent aloft 8-foot balloons to simulate the buildings’ height and took photos to discover the lines of sight and the potential visual effect the school would have from elevated viewpoints 3 to 4 miles away. Once the effect was determined, 18- to 24-foot trees, berming, and other landscaping were selected to screen the most obvious areas of the school. In addition, the USFS guidelines were consulted to visually subordinate the buildings through the use of building materials and colors to match the landscape. Special low-reflective windows were also installed to minimize glare.
The new middle school holds approximately 600 students.
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The pick-up and drop-off area in front of the school provides protection from inclement weather.
Despite these complexities, the project team’s careful coordination and planning allowed the Jemtegaard Middle School to be completed ahead of schedule for the fall 2017 school session. David Cooke, principal of Jemtegaard Middle School wrote, “This is a building that our kids deserve. I know that they will appreciate and thrive in their new learning environment.” Columbia River Elementary School Principal Tracey MacLachlan added, “I’ve talked to the kids. ‘What’s your favorite part?’‘ Oh my gosh, Mrs. MacLachlan, there’s an elevator. There’s a courtyard. When do we get to eat lunch in the courtyard?’ Just that kind of stuff. But there’s also just good people. People that are dedicated to the work with kids. And that’s my most favorite part.” Expertly designed to enhance scenic, cultural, recreational, and natural resources, it was clear—for the Jemtegaard Middle School administrators, teachers, and students—that it was a dream realized.
INSIDE/OUT Newsletter
Lighting up the Discovery Corridor with Dark Fiber Infrastructure Though much of business and daily life these days is connected through the internet, there are still large swaths of the United States that remain relatively untouched by fast and reliable high-speed internet. Bringing such services to these areas is a “chicken or egg” situation: Though cable and other internet providers are reluctant to supply such services and infrastructure unless a business case can be proven for it, businesses themselves are reluctant to move to a community if such services are not in place. Even when a community and businesses are established, it becomes more expensive to tear up existing roads and utilities, which is a further disincentive for internet providers to install high-speed internet unless the business case for it is proven.
BergerABAM’s Scott Keillor and Melissa Uland, along with Nelson Holmberg, the Port’s director of innovation, presented the Dark Fiber Optic Infrastructure Needs Assessment methods and findings at the International Society of City and Regional Planners/Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association (ISOCARP/OAPA) SMART Communities conference in Portland, Oregon. Their needs assessment for the Discovery Corridor documented the following. •
Current and future broadband needs
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Demand for increased bandwidth
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Industry trends leading to demand for fiber infrastructure
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Case studies identifying how fiber optics can change economic conditions
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Determination of the companies that will benefit from the service
Among the findings were that the majority of stakeholders in the Discovery Corridor identified that broadband was the most important need for businesses in the area. Though transportation and utility infrastructure are also important, these elements are common in development proposals, while it is more difficult for individual businesses to improve inadequate broadband. The “Discovery Corridor,” an area along Interstate 5 around the Port of Ridgefield in Clark County, Washington, has suffered from poor internet access, which affects schools, emergency services, businesses, and homes already in the community. As the Port develops the area, they want to ensure there is a solid communication infrastructure vital to attracting new businesses and supports existing communities now and in the future. As a result, they plan to tap into “dark fiber” infrastructure. Dark fiber is a privately operated fiber-optic network that is installed and run directly by its operator and whose network is leased or purchased by an internet supplier to provide broadband access. It’s a “kick start” for a community to set the stage for widespread high-speed broadband internet. To present the business case for this installation, the Port of Ridgefield hired BergerABAM to do a needs assessment/feasibility study to show objectively whether there is a need to tap into such an infrastructure.
The BergerABAM team was able to demonstrate through examples of other rural port agencies that had installed dark fiber of its importance in attracting and retaining businesses, developing a medical information network, and developing economic partnerships with agriculturists, producers, researchers, and educators locally and globally. For example, in Skagit County, innovations increased; patents issued were 55 percent higher over the last five years compared to the average over the previous decade. The examination of stakeholder information for the Discovery Corridor revealed that the majority of respondents were willing to pay a marginally higher rate for fiber-optic services of one gigabyte per second. The economic sectors in the corridor (manufacturing, health care, agriculture, government, education, and small businesses) make up nearly 60 percent of their local economy, and these sectors also favorably align with new technologies that will be greatly assisted if broadband infrastructure were installed. It would enable people in (continued on page 4)
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the community to work locally (instead of driving long distances) and support local businesses. This is especially important for the City of Ridgefield because it has doubled in population in the last 10 years. BergerABAM’s Dark Fiber Optic Infrastructure Needs Assessment provided a clear statement that the Ridgefield area needs dark fiber infrastructure in order to attract and retain coveted cutting-edge employment in the educational, institutional, and public service sectors. Furthermore, the assessment revealed a high level of
stakeholder, business, and community support for the Port’s efforts to build a dark fiber network and initiate a bright future for the Discovery Corridor. These findings can help the Port move forward with confidence as it assesses its resources, the funding necessary to build the network, and the ultimate return on the Port’s investment. If the Port can rise to the funding challenge and build a fiber network, there will be significant economic benefits for the Ridgefield area.
Igniting and Inspiring Girls’ Excitement in Technology Careers On 26 October 2017, Sue Johnson, of BergerABAM, sat on a panel and spoke to girls attending Decatur High School in Federal Way, Washington, as part of the Inspiring Girls Now in Technology Evolution (IGNITE) initiative. Along with three other professional women from the University of Washington, Microsoft, and Amazon, Sue shared stories of overcoming adversity. How failing a math test, and her teacher giving her the opportunity to retake it, encouraged her to keep studying. “Don’t give up,” Sue encouraged. “Even when it gets hard, keep working through it and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Take opportunities when you have the chance.” The panel answered questions, such as: What was your favorite and least favorite classes during your studies? In ninth grade, did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? How much money do you make? Have you ever experienced sexism? What was your journey to get where you are today? The panel members answered honestly, open-heartedly, and thoughtfully. After the panel discussion, the students split into small groups for in-depth conversations with the panel members. During these discussions, Sue showed the girls a variety of BergerABAM projects, discussed her favorite parts of the projects she led, and shared the joys and challenges she has endured during her career. During the months of October and November, BergerABAM staff visited schools throughout the Federal Way School District to speak on panels. IGNITE’s mission is to create opportunities for girls to get involved in activities, which hopefully excites the girls for future careers in technology. The hope is to give girls a diverse perspective of what’s possible; introduce them to different paths, resources, and opportunities; and to encourage them by sharing real-life stories of success and challenges from people they can relate to.
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BergerABAM senior project manager, Sue Johnson, sharing her career stories and excitement for engineering with Decatur High School students.
Women continue to be underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) work forces. Some of the greatest inequalities persist in the engineering, computer, and mathematical sciences. According to STEM statistics, only 17.5 percent of civil, architectural, and sanitary engineers are women, and an estimated 1.4 million U.S. technology jobs will be available by 2020. With current graduation rates, the United States will only fill about 30 percent of those jobs. Decreasing the gender gap in the STEM field for women requires a culture shift. As a company in the engineering sector, we believe it is important to participate in the empowering of these girls. Gaps tend to happen during the K-12 education, so this is a prime time to help introduce more girls to opportunities and resources, and guide them on how to best apply their talents, especially in STEM. For more information on IGNITE, visit http://www.igniteworldwide.org/.
INSIDE/OUT Newsletter
Tuxpan Project Wins International Accolades The Tuxpan Port Terminal (TPT) project recently received two important CEMEX Building Awards for its sustainable approach to infrastructure design and construction. The project, planned and designed by BergerABAM, employed an innovative combination of deep soil mixing, land- and marine-based pile installation, and precast/prestressed concrete, to enable the development of a state-of-the-art container terminal in an environmentally sensitive and geotechnically unstable area. Sponsored by one of the largest cement manufacturers in the world, the CEMEX Building Awards recognize the application of new concrete technologies in projects with a high degree of sustainability, encouraging the exchange of ideas and solutions among the world’s different construction industries. This year, the award received 70 entries in the five categories. TPT took first place in the Infrastructure category for projects located in Mexico, as well as third place in the international infrastructure category.
The Tuxpan Terminal is located at a greenfield site, an environmentally sensitive area, on the south bank of the River Tuxpan
We are pleased to welcome the following new team members to BergerABAM.
Marcia Medina
Madison Sehlke Loren Campos Federal Way Office
Houston Office
Marcia Medina is a project manager for the Facilities Department. She has experience managing multidisciplinary projects that include stormwater treatment, drainage, and conveyance; utilities, erosion, and sediment control; wastewater pump stations; and site grading for a variety of clients. Marcia has a bachelor’s in civil engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Madison Sehlke is a communications specialist in the Business Development and Communications Department. She has a bachelor’s in communication, with a minor in economics, from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.
Loren Campos is an engineer-in-training for the International Ports and Terminals Department. He has a master’s in civil engineering from the University of Houston and a bachelor’s in civil engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. His project experience includes educational, institutional, and commercial facilities. He also has experience in construction administration.
Federal Way Office
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