THE CONSTRUCTION RESOURCE

Engineering News-Record

NOVEMBER 5, 2012 • enr.com The McGraw ·Hill Companies

The Top Owners Sourcebook

Getting ready for a recovery (p. 49)

GIVING NEVIJ MEANING TO TEAM· BUILDING

COLLABORATIVE DELIVERY MODEL PAID OFF WHEN FOOTBALL'S '!SERS DECIDED TO OPEN ITS STADIUM A YEAR EARLY BY NADINE M. POSTIN SANTA CLARA

"We landed ontbis delivery syst em in 2005after looking at prior stadium projects with cost overruns and disputes. " -Larry MacNeil. Executive Vice President , 49er s

or five uneasy years , the team responsible for building the San Francisco 49crs' $1-billion new home had lnmg togethe r through three work hiatuses, a recession and a regrouping caused by a site reloca­tion 45 miles to the south-fr om San Francisco's Candlestick Point to Silicon

Valley's Santa Clara. Th en, early last fall, things changed. Suddenly, the snail's pace became a race.

Based on an early opportunity to secUie financing, the 49ers and the Santa Clara Stadium Authority , which will own the New Santa Clara Stadium, decided to accelerate the opening by one year. They are pulling all the stops to finish in time for the 2014 season of the Natio nal Football League.

"Ir was Like drag racers wanningttp their tires with short bursts forward at the starting line before the race begins," says Jon D. Magnusson, preside nt and CEO of project structura l engineer Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), Seattle. "Th en, aD of a sudden, it was go, go, go."

Plans by the Los Angeles office ofHNTB Archi­tecture call for a nearly 1.9-m.illion-sq-ft facility with 68,500 permanents seats, including 165 suites, and the ability to expand to 75,000 for the 1\TFL Super Bowl. For constrnction , the stadium authority named the 49ers' Stadium Deve lopmem Co . (StadCo), Santa

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Clara, as its agent. StadCo will lease the facility w1der a long-term agreement . . Major financin g is from a group of banks led by Goldman Sachs.

Th e project has at least two claims to fame. The 49ers team is the first sports franchise-a nd perhaps the first developer- to use a hybrid, collaborative proj­ect delivery model that combines the best features of delivery systems, including imegrated project delivery.

"\Ne landed on this delivery system in 2005 after looking at prior stadium projects with cost overruns and clisputes between the owner, the architect and the contractor," says Larry MacNe.il, the 49ers' executive vice president for development. "vVe are trying to elimina te potential dispute s and limit the owner's ultimate risk;' he adds.

The second distinction is that the steel sn-ucwre­des ignecl to resist seismic loads th rou gh a braced frame-is the first NFL stadium to use buckling­restrained braces (BRBs). The 529 BRBs, which resist lateral loads, have structura l and architectural benefits,

Robert L Rayborn Design·BUilcl Contractor Turner-Devcon, JV

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'& ., ' · ~ David J. Masel

General Suoerinteodent Tumer·Dev<.:on, JV

in terms of earthquake resistance and design flex.ibili cy, over convent ional braced frames or shea r-wall struc­tures (see sidebar, p. 36). "Thjs is the most extensive use ofBRBs on any sports facility, to my knowledge," says \i\Tayne Sear le, CEO ofSME Steel, WestJordan, Utah, which is the lead firm for the job 's stee l con.trac­tor, the S.ME/Hersc.hfeld Joint Venture.

The new delivery model, which Magnusson dubbed in tegrated bridg ing design-bui ld (IBDB), is an en­hancement of bridg ing design-build. A big difference is that the bridging architect and, in this case, the struc­tural engineer that first work for the owner/ developer become designers-of -record in the design-build phase.

"For this project, in a seismic zone, the need for

continuity of the structural engineer from start to fin­ish is paramount," says Jeffrey R. Appelbaum, ma11ag­ing director of Project Management Consultants, Cleveland. P.MC crafted the delivery mode l for the

49ers based on earlier bri dging design-build models developed for otber sports venues.

Jack w. Hill Owner's RepresentatiVe San Francisco 49ers

To allay concerns abour compromised architecture during the design-build phase, the 49ers have "contrac t limits with HNTB that say it will not pro du ce any

des ign in phase two that would be inconsistent with phase-one design," says Appe lbaum.

The "integrated" in IBDB means the presumptive design-bui ld contrac tor is brought in at the project's onset to he lp with estimates and constructibility under a preconso ·uction services con tract. T he owner has the option to hire a different design-bui ld contractor if it is not satisfied with its proposed guaranteed maximum pr ice (GMP) or for any reason. Major subcontractors are also brought in early to assist with design.

The 49ers hired the local Turner/Devcon, Joint Venture (TD JV) for preconstruction services one month before it hired HNTB. But the Santa Clara­based 49ers and Devcon Construction Co., Milpitas, Calif., go way back. The 49ers first engaged Devcon, which is well established in the Santa Clara area , for

preconstruction services in mid- 1997, when San Fran-

I "For this proj~ct,~ ase1snuc zone,the need for continuity of the structural engineer from start to finish is paramount. " - Jeffrey Appelbaum, Managing Director, Project Management Consultants

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BDCKLIHG·RESTRJUNED BRACES ARE A BIG PLUS

D uring both the conceptual and schematic design phases for the San Francisco 49ers' stadium, the structural engineer developed a matrix of 66 structural-system

scenarios. Then, the design and construction team evaluated each for schedule and cost. The team ultimately selected a steel frame, with composite metal decking and structural precast seating treads and risers. Buckling-restrained braces (BRBs} resist earthquake loads.

LIGHTER A BRB lateral system weighs significanUy less than an equivalent concrete shear-wall system.

u A BRB works like an ordinary steel brace but periorrns better under seismic loads due to the fabrication of a brace with 'controlled' tension and .compression capacity,· says Brian A. Dickson, a principal with the stadium's structural engineer, Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Seattle.

in foundations. "We estimated foundation costs to be 20% less than if a concrete shear-wall system were used," says Dickson.

diameter near the base, where seismic forces will be greater.

Architects prefer BRBs to shear walls because they interfere less with the architec­ture, particularly the floor layouts. They also allow a more open look, especially inside. And they are no more difficult to erect than conventional braces.

A BRB system uses significantly less steel than an equivalent moment-resisting frame. An equivalent concrete shear-wall system would weigh six times more. Compared to other systems. the lighter system and the better seismic performance result in savings

Each of the 529 BRBs has a steel core surrounded by concrete mortar encased in a steel tube. The high-performance braces are on every level of the New Santa Clara Stadium, which varies in height from four to eight stories. The BRBs range in weight from 2,500 lb to 13 tons and are up to two feet in

Begun on July 30, steel erection for the 1.9-million-sq-ft project is 77% complete. •

INNOVATION The steel frame's 529 buckling­restrained braces (yellow) represent the first use of BRBs in an NFL stadium.

cisco passed ballot measures for the stadium and a mall project at CandJestick Point, the 49ers current home. That effort went donnant in 1998. Devcon continued to assist the 49ers with estimates and other services.

The projectalmosrc.·ame alive in 2001, bur no team was selected. Then, in 2006, the 49ers issued two re­quests for proposals-one for the a1·chitect and one for preconstruction services. T hat RFP had Devcon listed as a partner, says Jonathan Harvey, TD]V's co-director and a Devcon vice president.

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In March 2006, the San Francisco office of1urner Cons01.1ction Co. was selected as the nationa l contrac­tor with sports construction experience. The site switch and modest redesign happened .in 2008.

StadCo retained the joint venture as the design­build cono-acror earlier this year after a GMP had been established. TD]Vs 5854-million design-build con­tract is actually with the stadiwn authority. HNT B and MKA were transferred to T DJV in June.

The job went into high gear over Labor Day week­end in 2011, when the 49ers' MacNe il gathered his team to consider whethe r an early completion was do­able. Within a few days, the members of the building team, who had been working together on and off for 6ve years, decided they could get the job done, but it would mean pulling out all the stops.

To regroup, the team, among other tactics, phased I and streamlined the design schedule, "stacking it" over

construction . "vVe shortened design by seven months and went out to bid seven months earlier," says Harvey.

Speeding things up was not easy, adds David J. Masel, TDJV's general superintendent and the ac­knowledged mastermind of the "rush" strategy. "We

had to take into accow1t all contingencies. v\Te didn't have the design or drawings, so we plugged into his­torica l data onto scopes of work," says Mase!.

Buy-in from all of the design and construction teammates-from individuals, not just the firms-was essential for the accelerated plan to work, says Jack W Hill, StadCo's project executive. Hill, an owner's representative based in Dallas, joined the team over that Labor Day weekend.

IBDB allowed the team to quickly devise a phased permitting plan and site utilization and staging plans. The full-team cooperation allowed HJ\i'TB to get com­minnents from MKA on a phased delivery of docu ­ments for structural packages and on a greater overlap of design and c011srruction than is typical, says H ill.

"There are probably not roo many projects with as much camaraderie and connectiv ity," says Joseph J. Diesko, HNTB's vice presidenr-direcror of sport architecture. "A lot of owners believe adversarial rela­tionships produce better results," he adds. "That is not the case here. This has been a gTeat process."

In the accelerated scheme, structu ral steel was on

the critical path. TDJV first asked MKA what could be done to get the basic stee l design in a huge hw·1y­by early last Tovember. "Then, we worked with our estimators to make sure the right allowances were in the estimates," says Robert L. Rayborn, TDJV's co­director and a Turne r construction executive.

As a result, in the middle of design development, MKA moved into construction documents. "\Ve had to consider the SU"tlcture set wd let NII<A go, or we would not be able to coordi nate the mill orders," says Diesko. HNTB "froze" the structure, as ifit were an existing building, much earlier than is typical, adds Lanson Nichols, HNTB's vice president.

The strategy worked. "We got our first design de­velopment package to buy structural steel and vertical transportation in November 201 1," says Harvey.

After design development, the new schedu le elim­inated a two-month "pencils down'' period for the de­sign tean1 so the joint venture could create the GMP.

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lt is also slicing two months off the origina l 28-month construction schedule.

TDJV's contract calls for substantial completion in

FROZEN To accelerate opening day, the architect "froze" the structure ear1y on as if it were an existing frame.

COMING UP LIKE ROSES After three hiatuses and a site switch, construction of the stadium started in April. The first steel went up in late July. Steel erection is currently 77% complete, with a topping-out expected in December. To keep work moving along, the design-build contractor split the stadium into four vertical quadrants instead of moving around the oval. Work in each is concurrent.

APRIL 19, 2012 JULY 29, 2012 AUG.27,2012

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HOMECOMING The stadium, when it opens in 2014, will have 68,500 permanent seats. It will be able to expand to 75,000 seats for the Super Bowl.

"This is a very challenging project for my department because of the size and tight time line.We don't compro­mise anything." - Sheila Lee, Building Official. Santa Clara Planning6 Inspec tion Department

August 2014. That cuts out a typical three -month buf­fer between substantial comp letion and the first game.

bout a year ago, the team l1ad a mcecing with the city to develop a multiple drawing-package review strategy for phased permitting of the steel struc­ture, the foundations and the conc rete .

To expe dit e the steel permit, MKA proposed combining a peer review of

the sU'UCU!re, which the 49ers wanted, with plan check­ing. For this, the city agreed tO deputize strucmra l reviewer John A. MartinA~socia tes OANIA), Los An­geles, as part of the building department.

"Vie also did a courtesy review," says Shei la Lee, building official for the SaJlta Clara Plann ing & In­spection Dept. "This is a very chalJenging project for my department becaus e of the size a11d tight time line.

vVe don't compromise anything." MKA split the structure into eight plan-check

packages , submitting them in stages from Nov. 4 to

Feb . 17. \ iVhileJANIA reviewed one package, JVI.KA continued to eng ine er others. This su ·ategy saved a

minin1um of t\vo months over a more tradjtional two ­step foundation- and- supe rstructure review process, says Bria11 A. Dickson , an MKA principal.

1o speed work, TDJV's Mase! split the buiJdjng into four quadranrs and constructed them concurrently instead of using more traditiona l, "racetrack" oval se­quencing. Crews used four drill rigs for the auger cast piles, for examp le. ViTorkers a.re erecting steel witl1 four crawler cranes, one for each quadrant.

TDJV is using building information modeling for interferen ce checking . To date, there are 402 request~ for information , instead of three or four times that amom1t, tl1anks to IDDB with BIM, says Har vey.

BIM also was used to locate and build the deep utilitie s below the slab on grade so they could be built ahead of piles instead of after tl1em. Crews worked 24-

hour shifts from May 1 to May 15. That move cut the

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cime in half for the deep utilities work, says Harvq.

TDJ V had field-lc.:vel electrical rooms , made of cemencitious masor1-ry units , built out of sequence . That move allowed the electrical switcb gear , trans ­formers a11d panels to arrive early so the electricians can streamline the electrical rough - in and distribu­tion. These rooms would faU under nouna l field-leve l CMU and drywall const11.1ction, after fireproofing, and potentially cause delays in construction, says Harvey.

Crews have been installing sleeves, bloc k-o urs and inserts in the metal decks on swin g shifts. The same is n·ue for slab-on -metal -deck pour s. Thi s tactic allows for continuous steel erection during the day.

On Jun e l , more than one month after construction started, HNTB and M.KA were officially assigued to TDJV. Because of the acceleratio n , \tVSP Flack+

Kur tz, the bridging mechanical-elecn·ical-plumbing engineer, did not get transferred to the desigu-bwld team. To expedite the work, the team made a decision to bring in a design -build mechanical conmictor.

ork started on April 23 and is

speeding along. Steel erection be­gan on Ju ly 30 and is 77% com ­plete. Topping out is expected in Dec ember. On Sept. 4, tower cranes Started lifting in escalators. "To see escalators actually set at

this stage is phenomenal, " says l-lNTB'.s Diesko. On Oct. 26, crews installed tl1e first piece of struc­

rural precast concrete for the seating treads and riser s. The project is on COlU'Se for substantia l completion

on Aug. 31, 2014. That's one month ahead of even the accelerated schedule, says Harvey.

The fBDB and acceleration sm1tegies have worked out so far, says the 49ers' MacNeil. "\tVe are pleased with the design -build team," he adds.

But with onJy 22% of the project complete, the race is far from over. "\,Ve haven't deplo yed the parachute

yet ," says MKA's Magnusson . •

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