A Glimpse of the Future: Building a 2009-Compliant Facility To House Historical Documents

[ By Judy Sealock ]

From building permit to completion, this build-to-suit took seven months to complete. It will house 850,000 cubic feet of documents. Special building requirements involved fire suppression; security; and environmental controls.

There was nothing ordinary about the project, process, function or maintenance of the new Pacific Regional Facility for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Specifications for the build-to-suit center called for use of the newest system technologies; implementation of newly adopted, 2009 building requirements for fire suppression; specialized security; and environmental controls, adding significantly to the complexity of the project. NARA required delivery of this specialized structure in rapid fashion.

NARA is the federal government agency that houses and protects materials that document the rights of American citizens, the actions of Federal officials and the national experience from the nation's beginnings in 1774. Among the records in NARA's holdings are the Charters of Freedom, which are held in Washington, DC. All told, the agency is responsible for nine billion pages of photographs, maps and documents, plus millions of electronic records. The Riverside facility primarily stores documents for the IRS, Social Security Administration and other agencies. Because of the uniqueness of its buildings, NARA determines many of its own architectural and design standards for its 34 facilities, which also includes 11 Presidential libraries.

From building permit to completion, this build-to-suit took seven months to complete. It will house 850,000 cubic feet of documents. Special building requirements involved fire suppression; security; and environmental controls.

Over the last 22 years, Aardex Corporation of Denver, Colorado, has built courthouses, training facilities, warehouses and office buildings for numerous federal agencies including the IRS, FBI, Bureau of Land Management, USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation and the Social Security Administration. It continues to lease and manage 13 government facilities.

Aardex developed the new build-to-suit regional facility for NARA. For this project, Aardex was responsible for development, design (along with M+O+A Architectural Partnership, also a Denver firm) and construction management. The Aardex property services division continues to maintain and manage the facility. The company was required to turn over the project to the agency by December 1, 2004, ready for move-in, under a 20-year leasing program.

Extending the ceiling height to 23 feet allowed shelving units to reach a maximum of 15 feet high, a feat first achieved in this facility.

 
Construction Began With a Running Start
An 18.6-acre parcel south of Riverside, California, was chosen for development by Aardex specifically for this project, because it could accommodate the required 100-foot setback, afforded quick accessibility to the freeways, conformed to the geographical requirements for the regional center and provided an abundant supply of water for the fire protection system. In order to procure the land, 43 jurisdictional approvals were required before a building permit could be granted. Through the coordination efforts with local authorities and the extraordinary cooperation received from the Riverside County Economic Development, the project progressed through the entitlement process in just 48 days.

During the design phase, the scope of work, resources for the job and time allocations were analyzed to identify any possible scheduling conflicts. Aardex uses a systematic approach that collects data to build a priority matrix for the project. Through this process, possible conflicts between tasks can be detected. Each risk is then ranked according to its relative importance. From weather conditions to material shortages, Aardex assigns a probability of occurrence and significance in meeting milestones for each item. The result is a response strategy or "back-up system" for each item identified.

Developing this safety net can prove invaluable for any project, especially if there is a strict delivery date. During construction, the tractor-trailer delivering a generator to the NARA site flipped over on the highway, resulting in a total loss of the generator. Because Aardex chose back-up materials and suppliers well in advance, they had anticipated this scenario and devised a plan for its timely resolution. A new generator was delivered to the project, with no impact to the tenant's schedule, which made for a project-saving strategy. From the moment the building permit was issued in mid-March last year, construction crews quickly mobilized and began operations. By tightly dovetailing sub-trades, the project manager, on-site superintendent and field engineer, Aardex orchestrated field crews into a precision team of trades. Each subcontractor took ownership of its scope of work and adjusted manpower sources to meet deadlines. Although many trades worked long days, the project finished without delay.

Translating the 2009 building requirements into specifications was no small charge. For example, NARA did not want any roof penetrations in the storage areas, which meant re-evaluating every aspect of the HVAC and piping options. Structurally, more than 40,000 anchors were placed to resist earthquake forces on the shelving in the storage bays. Each storage bay is separated by four-hour firewalls. The loading dock, records containment and recovery rooms had to have an air supply and exhaust system separate from the remainder of the facility. The building had to incorporate redundant systems for uninterrupted functioning.

As a Level III security building, bringing the "smart" security/access control/intrusion detection system to life was an enduring and meticulous part of the project. This state-of-the-art equipment detects even the slightest movement or sound in and around the building. Concealed cameras follow every movement. As part of the 2009 requirements, the system can self-detect any attempt to alter its wiring.

Reducing NARA's Operating Costs
Aardex applied its "User Effective?" methodology to improve the productivity of NARA's staff. During the programming phase, this involved evaluating building systems, design and environmental elements including: noise levels, the need for collaboration space, light, shared workspace, private offices, sectional or departmental space planning, use of color, privacy, odor, temperature controls and feasibility of office/storage/loading area communication. For example, NARA's public and office areas had to be customer-oriented, providing a fresh, contemporary, "library" feel with as much natural lighting as possible. Providing natural light elevates human productivity, and in this case, it reduced the cost of operations.

By applying the User Effective? approach, efficiencies were implemented to optimize loading dock and storage bay operations. The process of retrieving storage boxes consisted of obtaining boxes from as high as 15 feet, loading and transporting the boxes to a control room, extracting the requested document and delivering documents to the viewing room for the customer. This process required considerable time and effort. The space covered by the physical movement of the documents, in conjunction with security measures, suggested that a re-configuration of the areas would significantly enhance productivity. By altering the layout of the building, closer proximities between loading docks, storage bays and viewing rooms reduced the time needed to retrieve boxes, and lowered operational cost.

A plan to extend the ceiling height of the tilt-up concrete building to 23 feet was developed. This added height allowed shelving units to reach a maximum of 15 feet high, a feat first achieved in this facility. Borroughs, custom fabricator of the shelving system for NARA, used its architectural software program to adapt and test the new shelving configurations during the design phase. They fully tested the product to meet seismic, code, fire suppression and safety requirements. The shelving was placed on super-flat floors with only 1/16 inch tolerance between units. To Borroughs' credit, the shelving installation was completed a full 60 days ahead of schedule.

Unique Technical Requirements
Protection of the documents from fire at this new shelving height was independently tested. A live trial was set up using duplications of storage materials placed in exact stacking order. Through the use of a 21-inch water line, the fire system delivers 0.3 GPM per square foot, far exceeding NARA's 2009 requirements for the building. The fire suppression system was independently certified. As a result of the team's efforts, this NARA facility will house 850,000 cubic feet of documents, making it uniquely proficient. If all the boxes were stacked on top of each other, they would reach a height greater than three times the world's tallest building.

In analyzing the agency's requirements for the preservation of documents, an HVAC system was chosen that exchanges the air in the storage bays six times per hour and has a 50-year life expectancy. The system monitors levels of particulates within the storage and processing areas. It identifies hydrocarbons and acid compounds, as well as regulates temperature and humidity. To demonstrate the tight protocol for NARA facilities, the plight of the bug exemplifies the agency's rigorous restrictions. When a bug is found inside a storage bay, it is exterminated, then logged into an historical file with specifics on location, time of day and weather conditions. These procedures are part of an integrated pest data management program. Any infiltration of pests could potentially destroy hundreds or thousands of historical documents.

Aardex handed over the keys to the building December 1, 2004. Shortly thereafter, the first trucks rolled up to the loading docks, beginning the "move-in" process. From building permit to completion, the project took seven months to complete.

Judy Sealock has been marketing commercial development, construction, real estate, architectural and related services in the Denver area for 20 years.

For more information

Aardex Corp
www.aardex.com