The Nexus of Regenerative Design

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Architectural Nexus’ aims for a second bullseye with at the Living Building Challenge pushes past sustainability and into something better—regenerative design.
By Taylor Larsen

It is rare to find people willing to put their money where their mouth is time and again.

In a world full of bland corporate-speak and empty virtue signaling, Architectural Nexus went all in on their values by tackling the Living Building Challenge (LBC) with their Salt Lake City office.

The Choice to Renovate

A rich history permeates the building that sits near the base of Parley’s Canyon. What was originally built for the US Geologic Survey in the 1950s transformed into a manufacturing and sales plant for commercial digital audio equipment in the ’70s. Next, it was a medical office building before becoming a fitness center.

But after that, the most recent two remodels have been Architectural Nexus’ very own. The initial building was going to be a challenge to renovate into something that could project the company’s values. Julie Berreth, principal in charge of the new renovation and VP of Operations for Architectural Nexus, said that version of the building wasn’t initially pleasing to the eye.

“I remember walking in [before the renovation] and just groaning. It was dark and dreary,” she said. However, the design took off as the architects began to imagine what the space could be. “As soon as sketching started to happen, [what resulted] was genius.”

Adding courtyards and a lovely two-story lobby were two components that aided the renovation in earning LEED Double Platinum. “But we were merely sustainable,” said Kenner Kingston, a driving force behind the push for LBC Certification. He and the company wanted more.

Renovating into a Living Building

The renovation originally conceived was five remodels over five years. The Architectural Nexus team laughs at what that would have been like in retrospect—the pandemic allowed them to do the renovation in one fell swoop.

The architects enlisted previous partner Jacobsen Construction to oversee this second renovation—the same contractor that helped renovate the building in 2009. Matt Nelson, Project Manager for Jacobsen Construction, knew it would be demanding to create only the second LBC Certified building out of a renovation—the Architectural Nexus’ Sacramento office was the first project in California to earn that rarified designation.

One would expect that such a challenge would figuratively require blood, sweat, and tears to construct regenerative systems and meet stringent performance requirements. Nelson and others said that nicks, bruises, and long days may have made that sentiment literal, too. It started with the extensive demo plan—the most extensive demo plan Nelson and his team had ever seen.

“We couldn’t demo, we had to disassemble,” he said. Nelson said this “disassembly” process was a recognition of what materials were already present in the building and cataloguing them. Then, teams removed parts of the building before weighing those materials, which had been meticulously color-coded, before sorting aspects into demolition, salvaging, donation, or recycling, or landfill.

Sourcing

As the construction teams catalogued and removed building materials, new ones were on their way. But sourcing “clean” materials was a large part of the challenge.

“When LEED first came out, it was a big game-changer. It was hard to get VOCs, recyclables,” and other variables lined up to meet U.S. Green Building Council standards, according to Nelson. “And this is more aggressive than any LEED project I’ve ever been a part of. […] The industry doesn’t fully know how to accommodate a building like this.”

Much like a nutrition label on food, the LBC exposes what goes into our built environment. Sourcing materials like steel, wood, and concrete were no problem for Nelson and his team. They salvaged the old gym’s wood floors, one of the materials that has made it through the last two renovations. The project team also looked to localize their construction materials, finding high-quality products closest to the building’s location to cut carbon emissions from the construction supply chain—bringing “shop local” into construction’s vernacular.

Fixture submittals and other materials that required multiple components were the real challenges in sourcing. “Think about a faucet,” Nelson said, walking through the intricacies of what is necessary—sink tub, drain pieces, countertop, et cetera. “Now, do any of those pieces have chromium VI in them? Those are rejected.”

What is restricted from this building is impressive. The LBC “Red List” excludes the use of “worst in class” materials, chemicals, and elements prevalent in the building products industry—each known to pose severe risks to human health and the greater ecosystem.

As a result, there is an unexpected bit of comedy. Unlike a new book, car, or even house, “There is no smell in the new building,” according to Nelson.

Though the obstacles are evident, sourcing according to LBC standards isn’t a disadvantage—it is another way to be intentional about the choices that make up our built environment.

Creating Place

The company looked to nature for a critical component of the design.

“Nature doesn’t make single-purpose items,” said Kingston of the fundamental concept of regenerative design. Take a plant stem for instance, “It’s structure, it’s plumbing, it’s energy transfer.”

Architectural Nexus took that analogy to create an architectural vision around essentialism, where everything in the building is here because it needs to be here—no fluff.

Kingston explained, “Essentialism says ‘What if I can have two things, but what if I can do it with one?’” Much like a flowering plant, their building aimed to be full of utility, purpose, and beauty.

The greater utility of the office’s items swerves away from being stuck on specificity or minimalism. “We meet the need, and we serve a [visual] purpose,” said Karen Cahoon, Associate Interior Designer and the lead interior designer on the project for Architectural Nexus. She pointed out the new office’s cabinets, which store objects in a clean and uniform way and do so without hardware—another nod to essentialism. So, similarly, things like whiteboards in the conference rooms double as projector screens, everything is multi-purposes.

What the Building Has Grown to Be

The pandemic provided an unexpected silver lining to today’s office. Berreth and fellow Architectural Nexus Principal Robb Harrop, lead designer on the project, each described the time working from home as one where everyone stuck to the essentials and made do with whatever they had while working remotely.

The new layout is a radical change in philosophy for the firm, even if their collaborative nature has always been present. “Everyone used to ‘live in an apartment,’ and everything in that apartment was what you owned,” said Harrop of the previous configuration. “Now we’re asking you to reside in a room but live in a house. You get to enjoy all of the amenities of the conference room and breakout rooms as opposed to living in your little cubicle.”

Today. people can “plug-and-play” in any of the different workstations around the 30,000-SF office, or just take their computers with them to the interior courtyards or the outdoor gathering spaces.

“It’s been fun to watch how employees act differently in the new building,” said Harrop. “People are in the courtyard sitting and moving around a lot more.” No more closed-off cubicles, no more people separated by seniority—just colleagues sharing space throughout the five neighborhoods in Arch Nexus SLC.

They can enjoy not just their firm's architectural labor, but the quiet majesty of the space. Cahoon chose a color scheme with pops of color to differentiate the six neighborhoods and provide visual interest for occupants. Chairs in the hoteling offices pay tribute to famous architects—Patricia Urquiola, Jens Risom, Frank Gehry—and furnish the right amount of whimsy for enjoying work.

Laboratory of Ideas

Those interviewed from Architectural Nexus described the new office functions as an experimental laboratory for building choices. The open concept with plug-and-play collaborative design was just one element. Natural ventilation was another.

“It’s taken us many decades to get us to think about [heating and cooling] this way again,” said Brian Cassil, Director of Communications for Architectural Nexus, concerning natural ventilation systems. It is refreshing to walk through the office and experience the natural breeze from the two indoor courtyards and their opened curtains of windows.

Beyond natural ventilation, experimenting with daylight simulation was time well spent. Solatubes and light wells in the interior courtyards provide bounteous sunlight throughout the office and help conserve the company’s electricity bill.

The firm’s desire to be the testing grounds for new ideas also turned the office into a bit of a greenhouse—just without the swampy humidity. Data from their Sacramento office encouraged the Arch Nexus team to insert lots of lush greenery. “The ferns have been crazy from day one,” said Cassil of the plant growth. “They just go gangbusters.”

There are seemingly endless examples that move the regenerative building conversation forward. “People can come into our building and see [these regenerative elements of a building]—they don’t have to sit in a conference room and hear us talk about it and imagine,” said Harrop. “They can experience it.”

Regenerative Systems

And there is a lot to sell to clients. Harrop explained the regenerative components inside the building include the gray water system, living walls, and Solatubes. Exterior courtyards, water capturing cisterns, and PV array make up the outdoor systems.

The solar panels atop the steel parking structures generate just over 115% of the building’s electricity needs and power some electric vehicles. It’s helpful in a multitude of ways and a special treat for Cassil and others who use the EV chargers. He will never have to go to the gas station again, “except maybe for some taquitos,” Cassil laughed.

Nelson was quick to praise the subcontractors, who elevated their intentionality on such a complex project. That creativity was especially evident in one of the more dreary parts of a building—wastewater collection. Vacuum toilets waste very little water, using the gray water system instead of potable water. That water goes through quite a process, traveling through UV lights, three filter tanks of sand and gravel, and another sump before it goes to flush toilets and water the living walls and outdoor landscaping.

Architectural Nexus’ Megan Recher, Regenerative Design Specialist with Architectural Nexus, works closely to make sure systems are running as designed. Whether it is donning waders to check the gray water system or checking energy usage, she’s an integral part in meeting LBC standards to make sure that this “home” can continue to support its residents.

Resiliency

The firm’s renovated headquarters is advancing the concept of resiliency, a value gaining steam as lakes dry out around the state and temperatures oscillate between extremes.

The battery storage and solar array alone can keep the essential systems running for a week without external power. To Kingston, it’s an obvious solution beyond the self-described “hippie” concepts.

“There is a business reason for these decisions,” he said. That reason is the potential loss of thousands of dollars every hour the systems aren’t up and running to meet client demands. Recher is heavily involved in making sure electrical systems and usage are closely monitored. Various controls shut power completely off for the office computers after the last employee is out of the office for the night—no standby power usage here.

“The difficulty isn’t in concepts or technology,” according to Cassil. These systems aren’t novel, but rarely are so many used together at once. “The difficulty is getting everything to work in harmony.”

These are all concepts and systems that are readily available and whose price is very similar to standard systems—the issue is change. Recher mentioned that the ceiling for clients is imaginary. But going above and beyond today’s standards requires curiosity and intentionality that isn’t always prioritized in the breakneck scheduling that has become the A/E/C norm.

The intentionality here feels at once unique and achievable, .

It goes back to that multi-purpose nature mentioned earlier. This building serves not just as an office but as a new way forward. A regenerative built environment is possible.

“All these things we are doing … They are not novel. They are not hard. They are not expensive,” said Kingston. “But they are critical.”

ARCH NEXUS SLC

Owner: Architectural Nexus
Architect: Architectural Nexus
General Contractor: Jacobsen Construction
Civil Engineer: Meridian Engineering
Electrical Engineer: BNA Consulting
Mechanical Engineer: Capital Engineering Consultants
Structural Engineer: ARW Engineers
Interior Design & Furniture: Architectural Nexus
Plumbing Subcontractor: Budd Rich Plumbing Inc.
HVAC Subcontractor: Rocky Mountain Mechanical
Electrical Subcontractor: Arco Electric
Concrete: Jacobsen Construction
Steel Fabrication & Erection: Clegg Steel
Glass/Curtain Wall: Mollerup Glass & Alder Sales
Masonry Subcontractor: RJ Masonry
Drywall/Acoustics: HD Acoustics
Painting: Fisher Painting
Tile/Stone: JRC Tile & Stone Inc
Other Specialty Subcontractors: Jacobsen Flooring Services, Layton Roofing, Guaranteed Waterproofing & Construction, DJ Johnson, A-Core Concrete Specialists

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Innovative Education

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Apr, 2024

It's not every day that an architect designs a project around a native flower, then again, the new Career and Technical Education (CTE) High School in St. George is far from your standard K-12 school. "Essentially, we patterned the floor plan around the Bear Claw Poppy," said Bryan Dyer, Director of Facilities for Washington County School District (WCSD), and one of the primary designers of CTE from 2018-20 while at St. George-based NWL Architects prior to joining the District. "The courtyard is the center of the poppy; the rooms represent flower petals. I think it turned out nice—the courtyard is heavily used and is a unique part of the project. The school board tasked us to do something unique to the District—it's the only building of its kind in the state where students have educational and vocational all in one." "It was kind of a philosophical departure for the District—they recognized the need to pick up the students that fall into a category of not being traditional students—they wanted something different and arrived at the need for a career and technical emphasis," added Terrance White, Principal-in-Charge for NWL. As the first standalone career and technical education facility in Utah, the revolutionary $29.6 million, 126,000 SF school offers eight pathways for the nearly 500 students enrolled at the school (capacity is 800), including: business, construction, culinary arts, engineering, education, graphic design, health science, and information technology. The two-level design prioritizes functionality, creating a dynamic environment where students can explore their chosen fields with purpose and passion. WCSD officials and architects from NWL were inspired by similar CTE schools they toured in Houston and Las Vegas and were able to successfully translate the vision inspired by those schools into a tangible space that fosters true collaboration between students and sets a new standard for a career-focused educational platform. "We toured a school in Houston [...] and recognized the architecture of that building took on more of a junior college feel—it felt like it was something more than a high school but not quite a university," said White. "It's great to see a school district recognize where they can take better care of their students."

A Quarter Century of Leed

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Apr, 2024

It's been more than three decades—1993, to be exact—since the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) was co-founded by S. Richard (Rick) Fedrizzi, David Gottfried, and Michael Italiano, which ultimately spawned the revolutionary Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in 1998, a points-based rating system that offered legitimate third-party verification of green buildings. The goal of the fledgling association was simple: Increase overall sustainability of new construction projects including improved energy efficiency and creating a better, healthier environment for building occupants—all with the goal of reducing construction's carbon footprint. At the time, it was considered a bold initiative, with significant potential real-world benefits to the A/E/C industry. It took several years for the LEED initiative to get off the ground, but by the turn of the 21st Century, the phenomenon started taking root in the design community. "When LEED began in the late 90s/early 2000s, it was an incredible ambition to transform the building industry and to bring sustainability into the conversation," said Whitney Ward, Principal with Salt Lake-based VCBO Architecture and one of the firm's leading sustainable design experts. "[USGBC] had some big hurdles to overcome, including a general lack of knowledge about or mistrust of global warming and climate change." Ward said the U.S. Green Building Council and the LEED rating system had an immediate and profound effect on: —Creating more transparency in material manufacturing and getting manufacturers to care more about developing more sustainable/greener materials (carpet, flooring, paint, textiles, etc.) —Highlighting the true value of sustainable buildings through "incredible marketing efforts" and spurring owner demand. —Becoming the "go-to" third party certification agency for sustainable buildings. "The environmental consciousness of designers, builders, and owners [...] has really evolved to (where we say) 'we're going to do the best we can'," said Ward. "LEED has been an incredible tool in reshaping the industry and helping manufacturers, contractors, architects, and other industry partners understand the impact that their decisions have on the environment and on energy use," said Peter McBride, Principal with Salt Lake-based Architectural Nexus. "The conversation 20-30 years ago used to be 'how much does this cost?' or 'what is the percent increase cost in doing (LEED) vs. the baseline?' As each version of LEED established itself as an industry standard, the answer has been that LEED Certified or LEED Silver costs no more—or slightly more—than a baseline design. With each subsequent version release, LEED continues to push the boundary—sustainable design is now the baseline." "LEED has increased awareness for sustainability and energy conservation in buildings," added Chris Cox, Building Performance Program Manager for the State of Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM). "As far as the biggest pro, LEED brought the integrated design process to the forefront—user groups, owners, maintenance teams, architects, engineers, and builders work together in achieving the best outcomes."

Q&A w Bryan Turner

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Apr, 2024

UC+D: How was it working with Gary Payne for so many years? Turner: His impact on the Davis School District will last many years due to the buildings that were constructed during his time. Rather than being satisfied with the status quo, we worked to develop school buildings that would accommodate innovate teaching styles and would be safe, economical, and exciting places where children would want to be. UC+D : It's been 10 years since Odyssey Elementary was completed. What is the analysis of how it has performed? Turner: It is not very hard to create a truly Net-Zero building. We can produce enough electricity to offset the electricity used, plus the natural gas usage—however, the power company will not give us credit for electricity generated above what we use. An energy model was used to estimate the Energy Use Index (EUI) of Odyssey Elementary. It predicted that our EUI would be 22. The first year it was actually 17. An ideal Net-Zero building would not have any natural gas usage. We elected to install a gas boiler in the building to help control the "demand" charges that would occur on cold days when all the heat pumps would start up in the building. For 2023, the PV array produced 213,066 kWh; we used 188,088 kWh in electricity. We used 421 decatherms of gas, giving us a cost of $0.33/sf for energy usage, compared to an average building in the district (about $1.25/sf). UC+D: What is the greatest success with Odyssey? What would you do differently? Turner: Odyssey Elementary, with all its energy-efficient features, provides an excellent educational experience that benefits both teachers and students. The building accommodates different learning styles, collaboration, and individual exploration. First and foremost, the building is a school, albeit one that is very maintainable. There is not anything I would do differently. Since this was the first of a series of prototypes, a lot of thought from a lot of people was put into it.

Literacy Level-up

By Talia Wolfe • 01 Apr, 2024

Before the Logan Library ribbon-cutting ceremony began, two children eagerly ran past the staff toward the children's section. Inside the children's area, two girls, with their arms linked, skipped past the shelves of books while a little boy raced along the cobblestone path that weaves through the bookshelves. A young girl in the reading nook called her mom over to see, and a little girl with pigtails used the miniature-sized door into the children's section to enter the playhouse. The ribbon-cutting began in the lobby and adjacent community room, which were filled with patrons of all ages despite the stormy weather outside. As they entered, a string quartet greeted people with lovely music, and cameras lined the walls for press coverage; even the local firefighters came to show their support. Before the library's opening, Mayor Holly Daines shared how the facility was designed and built with modern and historical intentions. The mayor and various library donors spoke excitedly about the new library before the giant scissors were used to cut the ribbon. Immediately after, patrons with arms full of books were perusing the bookshelves. Children read in the aisle, too excited to move to a table, while parents formed a line waiting to check out books for the family. Quiet laughter emanated from the "teen and tween" section, and Utah State University and the Logan Latter-day Saint Temple are visible from the third-floor windows. From 1985 to 2021, the previous library was in an old and converted Sears building. For the last 20 years, Logan City leaders have discussed providing residents with a modern library. "The library was old and dark, and the systems were failing. It never was a purpose-built library," said Daines.

Landmark Lehi Hospital

By LADD MARSHALL • 01 Apr, 2024

Since its inception more than a century ago in 1922, Primary Children's Hospital has set a standard for pediatric healthcare excellence by continuing to produce world-class facilities throughout the Beehive State. The latest cutting-edge offering is the Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital, Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Campus in Lehi (PCH Lehi), a project of significant importance to this burgeoning city, one that ranks among Utah's fastest-growing communities. Aided by a $50 million gift from the Miller Family Foundation, this landmark five-story, 486,000 SF, 66-bed project features the latest and greatest in medical technology in a building that is fun, playful, and energetic, with colorful design elements playing a vital aesthetic role throughout. The value of a project on this level is beyond measure, said Blake Court, Vice President of Salt Lake-based Jacobsen Construction. "Primary Children's really has a special place in my heart—they are a very special entity," said Court, a veteran healthcare professional with nearly 35 years of overall experience, including 19 years at Jacobsen along with stints at the State of Utah Division of Facilities Construction and Management and the Department of Veteran's Affairs. "It has been embraced by the community. Lehi and the surrounding areas are growing so fast. It's just amazing to see what's going on there." "It's a once-in-a-lifetime project," said Jeff Pinegar, Principal with Salt Lake-based VCBO Architecture, who partnered with Page Southerland Page of Houston on an exhaustive 19-month detailed planning and design process to create a comprehensive hospital and clinic in one congruous structure. "To see these kids have the spirit they have [...] it's a life-changing project. I'm so glad I had the chance to be part of it. I love the challenge of healthcare." As with most construction projects that originated during the pandemic, PCH Lehi kicked off in August 2020, which proved immensely challenging from the onset in regard to worker health and volatility of material cost and availability. "Everyone knows the story—people got sick, it spread to co-workers, and we would lose entire crews [of subcontractors]," said Court. "We would constantly be down manpower. And then [material] lead times just skyrocketed. Materials that we normally get off the shelf went to a year-and-a-half overnight because manufacturing plants were shutting down. Add in price escalations and it was just a trifecta."

Taking Another Shot

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Apr, 2024

At an age when most folks are kicking off their post-retirement "golden years", 66-year-old Cal Wadsworth is attacking this chapter of his life with the zest of a man reborn, having fired back up his general contractor firm in 2020 with a vision of eventually turning it over to the next generation. It speaks to his resolve as a businessman and construction lifer, as a parent who wants to do right by his children, but even more as a person who has rallied/is rallying back from a challenging period personally, which coincided with the great recession and led to him shuttering Cal Wadsworth Construction in 2010. "I'm realizing more with time that I'm not in control as much I thought," said Wadsworth. "There is the realization that you've got to give up control. You can't base all your happiness on the money that comes from this business. Learning to live with disappointments is something I'm getting better at. Learning to live with them and not let them ruin my confidence, or my ambition. I live by the 'Serenity Prayer'."

Robust Growth Fuels Lehi City's Development

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Mar, 2024

Adobe’s 680,000 SF Lehi Campus is an iconic project in Lehi that was completed in two phases, with the first phase opening at the beginning of 2013 and signaling a new era of development along the Silicon Slopes corridor. (photo by Dana Sohm) Inset: Aerial view showing an illustration of Texas Instruments’ new 300 mm semiconductor wafer manufacturing plant—referred to as “LFAB2”—which broke ground last November and marks the single largest investment (over $11 billion) in state history. (photo courtesy Texas Instruments)

Forging Ahead

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Mar, 2024

Work continues to grind forward on the mammoth new Salt Lake City Water Reclamation Facility (WRF)—a critical $850 million project being built by a joint venture of the Salt Lake regional offices of Sundt Construction and PCL Construction that will replace the current facility in North Salt Lake once it's turned over to SLC's Department of Utilities (SLCDPU) in July 2026. As it stands, this is the second-largest project in City history, trailing only the recent $2 billion-plus Salt Lake International Airport Redevelopment (Phases 3-4 ongoing), and one of the most technically challenging projects in the state. "We are up for the challenge every day—the magnitude of this thing is unreal," said Manny Diaz, Project Manager for Salt Lake-based Sundt, as he drove around the massive 30-acre site in late-January, a worksite teeming with 300 current employees (it will peak at 400 workers this summer) and myriad complicated structures being built simultaneously. Diaz is a long-time veteran of the water reclamation facility industry—this project marks plant No. 26 in his own personal history—and he was brought in a year ago by Sundt because of his expertise. When he arrived in Salt Lake at the beginning of last year, it was right smack dab in the middle of what proved to be a record-breaking year for snowfall. "It was quite a welcome to Utah!" Diaz chuckled. "We keep very close tabs on the weather." And while crews haven't been subjected to the same inclement weather this winter, site conditions are still generally wet and muddy, and the difficulties associated with building the various structures are constant. Crews are nearing the halfway mark, so certainly it's a milestone worth acknowledging, even though a mountain of construction is still left to climb. "It's such a huge accomplishment to be this far," said Jason Brown, Deputy Director of Public Utilities for SLC. "We've faced a lot of challenges, Covid, material shortages [...] it's amazing to be part of a team that works so well together. We still have a long way to go, but we'll get there. We've made a lot of progress and should be proud, but it's hard to celebrate success with so much work still ahead." Diaz, along with PCL Project Manager Shayne Waldron, said crews recently achieved a major milestone: one million hours worked, a notable accomplishment. “Achieving the ‘one million hours worked’ milestone is a testament to the coordination and collaboration required of a project this size," said Brown, adding that the new WRF project benefits from regular and ongoing staff collaboration, under the watch of Sundt/PCL, designers AECOM and Jacobs, and SLCDPU leadership. “This [milestone] is the culmination of many different efforts,” added Mauricio Ramos, District Manager for PCL’s Civil Infrastructure Division. “From local engineers to pipe layers, journeymen, construction trade workers, foremen, and general laborers, every team member has been instrumental in reaching this benchmark. The collaboration between PCL and Sundt has been a testament to our shared commitment to excellence and innovation.” "Our crews are working together seamlessly to ensure that the final product meets the goals and needs of the community," said Sam Reidy, Senior VP and District Manager for Sundt. "Celebrating this milestone recognizes the hard work and commitment each member of the project team has made to this project and the Sundt/PCL partnership." Diaz and Waldron said soil conditions challenged the team right out of the gate and took significant time to stabilize the site. "At the very beginning, the project was designed to be built on top of where the sludge beds were at, but it turns out the sludge beds were on shaky ground," said Diaz. "This whole area is young in age, so it's all soft clays and sands," added Waldron. "Soft clays are compressible, so the big issue is settling. It would have [cost] $80 million in piles to shore it up, and then in between buildings you have all the pipe and utility duct banks, so they would almost need to be built on piles." Waldron said the idea came up to pre-load the whole site, where crews built a flat pad, installed wick drains, then pre-loaded 30 ft. of dirt, with drains going down 125 feet and providing a way for water to be pushed out of the clay. "We had over seven feet of settlement," said Waldron. Crews also set up sophisticated monitoring equipment "to see where ground was settling and what layers were compressing the most. It was really scientific—a lot more than I've seen before." Diaz said it took six months to haul in the fill dirt where it remained in place for eight months, then took another six months to excavate out—close to one million yards of total material. It was an exhaustive process, with an average of 400 trucks per day and close to 500 trucks hauling 18,000 tons on the best day. Having a cohesive, highly collaborative team of designers and construction experts has been a boon to the project schedule. Once completed, Salt Lake City’s new WRF will serve over 200,000 residents as well as those who commute downtown to work or visit Utah's capital. It will replace the City’s current—and only—wastewater treatment facility, which is over 55 years old and near the end of its service life. Maintaining reliable operations at the existing facility while constructing the new WRF nearby has been critical for the project’s success. Since breaking ground in 2019, the project team has completed approximately 65% of structural concrete work as well as soil mitigation, deep foundation work, and the installation of underground utilities. In late January crews began excavating dual 63-in. diameter pipelines, along with a 78-in. effluent pipe that is being hauled one giant piece at a time from Canada, a new type of corrugated HDPE with welded joints that should provide greater durability. All in all, crews will ultimately pour 93,000 CY of concrete and install 22 million pounds of reinforcing steel, along with 89,000 LF of underground pipe ranging in diameter from 1.5-in. to 78-in. "The camaraderie among the team members allows for a very cohesive team," said Diaz. "The only way you can tell who works for who is by the color of the truck. We have a 'one project' mentality. The complexity of the job and being trusted to lead this effort [...] have been [important] for me. It's been a great job so far." Diaz, who said his first wastewater treatment plant was in North Miami Beach in the late 80s right after he graduated from college, hopes to remain in Utah once this job is completed and turned over to the client by mid-2026. “I plan on staying here and continue to work on treatment plants in Utah,” he said. “There’s a lot of work here. We have vast experience, and we have a lot of people who want to be in Utah—it’s a great place to live. Let’s do it!”

Let the Good Times Roll

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Mar, 2024

It's been more than 45 years (1978) since The Cars released their debut album highlighted by the wildly popular song Good Times Roll, but if there was ever a tune to sum up the general sentiment of local A/E/C professionals regarding Utah's 2024 Economic Outlook, Good Times Roll would be up there. "Our members are expecting another good year," said Joey Gilbert, President/CEO of the 650-member Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Utah. "For our contractors in both the building and highway markets, the outlook is good. Many still have decent backlogs to keep them busy through 2024 and in some cases, even 2025. The public sector is strong, and on the private side, owners are still investing in some big projects." Robert Spendlove, Chief Economist for Salt Lake-based Zions Bank, reported at the AGC's Economic Outlook meeting last November that commercial construction was up 1.6%, while Utah as a whole reported 2.5% growth overall, and believes both will continue to fare well in 2024. "Utah also has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S. [2.5%]; when it gets too low, you get real struggles of labor shortages," he said. "It prevents companies from growing and is one of those defining economic characteristics of this past cycle. If we get above 4-5% we get nervous that it's a sign of a recessionary environment." Spendlove said tailwinds include strong consumer spending, a strong labor market, and an overall robust economic Intermountain West region, while headwinds could include a lack of new workers, government shutdowns, energy prices, and international uncertainty. Another bonus is that Utah remains one of the strongest states economically, regardless of what is happening nationally. "I would say uncomfortably optimistic," countered Dejan Eskic, Senior Research Fellow for the Kem Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, citing a number of factors potentially slowing down the design and construction industry such as housing, labor, and material price fluctuations—basically the same post-Covid headwinds Utah-based firms have been battling the past couple of years. "On paper, we should have a decent economic year in Utah. Because it's an election year, it brings more optimism generally. Stock performance does better in an election year, jobs do better. You have to stick to those basics. Eskic has been with the Gardner Institute for eight years, including the past five in his current role, explained that some of the uncomfortableness facing the local economy stems from having virtually no labor pool in certain segments, including construction—which continues to face a dearth of skilled craftsmen in virtually all subcontractor trades. "We still have red flags," he said, noting concerns with still-high housing costs. "Maybe it's too early to call if we've cracked inflation. 2023 ended up way better than anybody expected—it was supposed to be a recession year, but the recession never came, and the labor market exceeded expectations. "I'm bullish on Utah," he added. "I look at the numbers and how we're going, and we're in a very strong growth pattern with the economy. Things will continue to expand." Indeed, despite nasty rising interest rates that put the brakes on some speculative development projects, Utah-based owners continued to plow ahead on projects, and by-and-large most market segments continued to see a healthy amount of activity as firms set about tackling healthy project backlogs.

Building Blocks

By Reuben Wright • 01 Mar, 2024

Crews working on bridge sections of the project did the majority of heavy-lifting—as seen with these giant cranes lifting heavy girders—during the wee hours of the night, part of UDOT’s expectations of keeping traffic moving by limiting road closures. (night photos by Kjell Gerber, BuildWitt)