Etegra Tackles Seismic Retrofit of the Robert A. Young Federal Building
In 2014, the President Obama Administration emphasized the importance of the work and workers housed in the Robert A. Young Federal Building (RAY FB) with the following statement, “It is critical for the General Services Administration (GSA) to fund the seismic renovations [of the Robert A. Young Federal Building] at this time to provide shelter [and] a safer exit from the building following a seismic event. Structural failure would not only cause catastrophic loss of life for those in and around the building, but it would impede the ability of first responders in the central business district [of the City of St. Louis] to carry out their mission in the event of disaster.”
The RAY FB demands the intensive study of solutions and analysis of the project to develop a best value approach that considers many factors including; safety, efficiency, tenant health and comfort, reliability and accuracy, as well as cost.
The General Contractor for this retrofit is McCarthy Building Companies in collaboration with the Design/Build team composed of Gensler, Etegra, Thornton Tomasetti and William Tao & Associates. As part of the Design Team, Etegra, Inc. will design any occupied space based on the intense collaboration between the client, the building users and the Design-Build Team with constant attention to the life safety and operational needs of the building occupants. The coordination efforts are made even more complicated by the variety of governmental agencies, departments and offices that occupy the RAY FB with their diverse missions, operational practices, daily schedules, security requirements, and number of personnel.
The design process and the construction approach required to place concrete shear walls and steel framed seismic dampening devices in the fully occupied RAY FB will require collaboration between GSA project management, representatives of the tenant agencies and Design-Build Team of architects, engineers and builders. The issues, challenges and effects discovered throughout the construction process will require the patience, imagination and determination of all project stakeholders to implement the project successfully.
Etegra is a full service architect-engineer (A-E) firm. Services include architecture, engineering, construction management and environmental consulting.
You’re Only As Good As The Roof Over Your Head
Etegra, Inc. is taking part in the in the Army Reserve’s National Roofing Program. The U.S. Army Reserve began this initiative in 2005 and it has now entered into a full-fledged program to prolong the life of their numerous facilities. The program based on the assertion that consistent design, quality materials, and expert application could strengthen service life and reduce excessive roof maintenance and repair costs over time.
The Army Corps of Engineers has tasked Etegra to provide Registered Roof Observer (RRO) Services, requiring 100% surveillance during re-roofing construction projects. Etegra will perform these services for numerous roofs located at Army Reserve facilities across the United States. Additionally, Etegra is tasked with updating the asset management database upon completion of the roof.
Etegra’s RRO staff are considered experts in roof construction. To become certified as an RRO, an individual must have several years of roofing construction or roofing QA inspection experience, numerous hours of roofing continuing education, and pass the RRO exam
These are valuable qualities to have, given that the government has passed a mandate for all assets (roofs, buildings, railways…etc.) to be quantified into a database by 2016.
Federal Real Property Council, Guidance for Improved Asset Management (2004, December 22),
- “Guiding Principles: The Guiding Principles serve as the [Federal Real Property Council’s] FRPC’s strategic objectives for real property management improvement. Agencies must ensure that all real property initiatives are carried out consistent with these principles.
- Asset Management Plan: Each agency will draft an Asset Management Plan (AMP) that addresses, at a minimum, the FRPC Guiding Principles and the AMP required components. AMPs are subject to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review and approval. The FRPC guidance includes a “shelf document” that agencies are encouraged to use as a template for drafting the AMP.
- Property Inventory Data Elements and Performance Measures: The FRPC has identified and defined 23 mandatory data elements that will be captured and reported by all agencies. These data elements support the goals of the executive order, as well as the requirements of the Performance Measures Committee. Of the 23 data elements, four of the elements are also considered to be “First Tier” Performance Measures. In addition to these “First Tier” Performance Measures, agencies may choose to capture data on additional agency-specific performance measures. The FRPC’s intent is that agencies will report data at the constructed asset level; however, it is recognized that Agencies may initially report on a facility or other “building block””
Etegra is a full service architect-engineer (A-E) firm. Services include architecture, engineering, construction management and environmental consulting.