Oregon Transportation Building Restored

SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) recently celebrated a major renovation project on the state’s Capital Mall, making major upgrades to a 61-year-old structure that will increase the workplace experience for employees and lead to major long-term cost savings due to new energy-efficient strategies.

The project was designed by SERA Architects and built by Hoffman Construction, which served as a construction manager and general contractor. Both firms are based in Oregon, with their main offices located in Portland.

Patrick Cooney, communications director for ODOT, was extremely pleased that the project came in at $60 million, after an initial budget of $69.5 million. All Oregon transportation revenues, like car registration fees and fuel taxes, go back into the department, meaning no general fund revenues were expended in this project.

Stuart Colby, associate principle at SERA and lead designer on this project, explained the cost savings came from a combination of factors. He said the original project was budgeted in the summer of 2008, a few months before the financial downturn, which led to a large drop in construction prices before any work was actually done on the ground. He added that foundation issues were always a guessing game and this project required seismic upgrades, but there were fewer surprises underground than in many similar buildings. He felt this project also went very smoothly due to a mix of efficiency on the part of the workers constructing it and the forward-looking strategy taken in the early phases of planning.

Colby said the project featured a lot of coordination between the construction manager and his staff from an early stage, leading to the creation of very detailed computer models, which led to less unforeseen complications than in an average project.

The project featured an array of green elements, including a radiant heating and cooling system and a rainwater collection system that contributes grey water for flushing toilets in the lower levels of the building. Also, about six percent of the building’s annual energy needs will be fulfilled by 220 solar panels on the roof. Colby explained that the new heating system would make a huge difference in energy consumption, as employees used over 200 air conditioners to compensate for a natural ventilation system with a design that “didn’t prove to be effective.”

Colby said he had a “high level of certainty” that the project would attain LEED Gold certification, but was holding out some hope for a LEED Platinum designation. ODOT will receive its official LEED certification ranking this winter, when the U.S. Green Building Council renders a decision in early November.

The building was in amazing shape in terms of maintenance, Colby noted, but seismic issues and some basic changes over the last 60 years made the building obsolete. He pointed out that the original construction date for the structure placed it in a world before computers, faxes, printers, and wireless Internet.

Colby was impressed by how long some public entities could stretch an outdated building, commenting that the structure was designed for a lifetime of 30 years, but lasted twice as long without any significant expenditures up until the current renovations. He also said the structure included construction materials like bronze and marble, which was unique, and led to a lot of restoration work on the bronze. He said this was abnormal because “nobody would fund a building like that in a public environment now.”

Cooney explained many of the changes involved rethinking the structure for the modern age, as it was not designed for all the wires associated with office equipment and the original layout was not conducive for wireless Internet either. He said the elimination of personal space heaters and jury-rigged wiring would increase efficiency and make for a much safer and more pleasant workplace.

Cooney said some employees weren’t thrilled with a new key-card security system that would only allow them into the areas associated with their jobs, but the measure was deemed necessary after a fire started on the roof in a suspected arson. He understood that employees liked having more freedom to move around the building on breaks but felt the security measures were worth it. “For instance, I don’t have access to financial services, and I have no reason to be there.”

Colby was particularly proud of the fact that the project made the Oregon government building more representative of the local area. Landscaping outside the structure was redone, replacing non-native plants with local Oregon species. He said the design and build teams made “a relatively extraordinary effort” to ensure over 90 percent of the wood products used were from Oregon. He said this involved getting mills and wood product manufacturers to coordinate on a level that was beyond the normal expectation, making large special orders specifically for this project.

Colby was also very pleased that ODOT chose to refurbish this building rather than move the department elsewhere, as he said this led to cost savings but also a much better experience for the people served by the department, as public transportation options were much more prevalent at the current site than the proposed alternate locations.