Orange County Sanitation District

Building Engineering

We Deliver Highly Integrated Facilities that Improve the Human Condition

Designing highly integrated facilities requires clear thinking and deep knowledge of the relationships between our clients’ mission, people and environments. Our engineers understand these relationships and access global talent to bring the best thinking to every project. We skillfully blend our deep bench of technical expertise and the experiences of our multidisciplinary engineering teams to deliver world-class facilities across all markets.

We continually investigate new ways to leverage data and predictive analytics to improve outcomes for our clients and support real-time decisions early in our projects. We’re rethinking how we design and operate our built environments. We study the impacts of our changing climate and appreciate the urgency placed on our industry to respond.

We understand how to balance the environmental and economic needs of highly integrated facilities to provide reliable, sustainable and resilient engineering solutions that improve the human condition for present and future generations.

World's Largest Hydroponic Farming Facility

Vertical farming presents a future where food can be sustainably grown in spaces within our urban landscape. Ron Mathew, senior engineering project manager, explores the many benefits of hydroponic farming and shares his experience on our design and delivery of Bustanica located in Dubai.

Smart Engineering Solutions

Holland Energy Park
Mechanical

Our mechanical engineers deliver thoughtful, integrated designs that are energy efficient, cost effective and maintainable. In addition to system design for all systems and building types, services also include life cycle cost analysis, system investigation and troubleshooting, facility condition assessments, energy studies, commissioning support and heating and cooling infrastructure such as central utility plants.

How has building design been impacted by the COVID pandemic? First Response: What Can We Do Now?

Methodist Health System
Electrical

Our team designs for power distribution, both low and medium voltage, standby power and uninterruptible power supply systems. We self-perform short circuit analysis, coordination studies and arc flash calculations at the inception of our projects and maintain them through the project life-cycle. We produce sustainable designs that not only meet and exceed minimum energy codes, but go beyond to take advantage of newer technological integrations that support our data-driven design philosophy.

A net-zero approach to ‘greening the grid’ prepares the city of Los Angeles for the future of electrified vehicles. LADWP Hoover Street Power Yard

PennFIRST Construction
Structural

Our innovative structural design solutions serve our clients’ needs for serviceability, sustainability, constructability, functionality and form. Working collaboratively with architectural designers, we provide well-coordinated cost-effective design solutions within the shortest possible timeline. Whether the project consists of high seismic design, seismic rehabilitation, anti-terrorism/force protection or design of high-rise buildings, our structural engineers are ready to solve the most complex issues facing our clients.

Piloting advanced construction technology improves hospital design. Inova Loudoun Hospital North Patient Tower

Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Plumbing & Specialty Gases

Our plumbing and specialty gases group specializes in design and inspection for complex buildings. Familiar with all applicable codes, standards and facility guidelines, we focus on the sustainable design of systems including compressed air, vacuum, lab and medical gas, purified water, lab and medical waste drains/treatment as well as domestic water, sanitary and natural gas. Fire protection system design includes wet, dry, pre-action, foam and special systems.

Considerations for specialty gases are essential to the optimization of semiconductor facility design. Semiconductor Facility Design Optimization

Global Bench of Specialized Services

Holistic Approach to Instrumentation & Controls Optimizes Efficiency

At the core of our smart building designs is a dedicated team of instrumentation and controls engineers. We understand the nuances of an ever changing industry and the attention to detail required to integrate all the systems throughout a facility to a single operator interface. The control strategies we develop operate our clients’ facilities in a holistic manner, ensuring that all mechanical systems operate in concert to optimize energy efficiency year-around.

Fire & Life Safety Expertise Ensures Safe Work Environments

Our diverse skills and backgrounds on a wide variety of asset-types offers a blended perspective on how best to engage a wide array of stakeholders, manage risk, develop creative design solutions and foster a safe work and patient-care environment.

We look forward to bringing our diverse specialties together to best serve our clients; this ranges from code consulting, CMS/life safety compliance support, fire suppression system design, fire alarm and emergency communication system design, hazardous materials consulting, fire/smoke modeling, smoke management system design, regulatory enforcement and insurance design coordination, and emergency response and fire safety planning.

Commissioning Fine-Tunes Integrated Systems

We have experience in commissioning a wide range of building types. Our experience includes initial commissioning and retro-commissioning of new construction and renovations of office buildings, teaching facilities, research laboratories and hospitals. In the last six years we have completed, or are currently executing, over 150 commissioning and retro-commissioning assignments totaling 10 million square feet of facilities, and over 30 projects for which we are providing test, adjust and balance services. Commissioning Operations

Integrated Energy Modeling Improves Metrics

Our building energy modeling approach is integrated into the sustainable design process. From pre-design through final design, we provide and evaluate energy efficiency measures, and ensure those EEMs are correctly designed and implemented. Our team influences our architects and designers by challenging them at an early stage to exceed minimum energy targets. The goal is to improve energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality to meet Federal and local mandates, and achieve LEED certification.

Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling Helps Make Better Design Decisions

Data-driven design strategies have become the norm in the architectural-engineering industry. Today, we use predictive analytics, advanced simulation software and modeling in conjunction with big-data to make better design decisions for our clients.

Computational fluid dynamics modeling is an integral part of our data driven design capabilities. The analysis uses a three dimensional building model with a mathematical unitized grid to generate the discrete movement of fluid temperature, moisture, contaminant and velocity over time. Used properly, this analysis helps our clients explore valuable options, in early design stages, that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of building systems.

Solving Resiliency & Reliability Challenges

Now more than ever, our communities are faced with increasing threats to our natural resources and infrastructure systems due to a myriad of hazards, both old and new. Risks such as extreme storm events, climate change and variability and seismic activity challenge our livelihood. With this in mind, never has the need for long term resiliency and reliability been greater. We’ve crafted a holistic approach for considering long-term community and environmental resiliency. Viewing resiliency actions through this model of human-environmental-infrastructure governance systems gives our clients an effective strategic tool for taking action. Resiliency

Cybersecurity Threats Have Real-World Impacts

Cybersecurity is something that most people know they should care about. However, because of the complexity of the topic and the ever-changing nature of both the threats and security requirements, it can quickly become overwhelming. 

Cybersecurity is mostly associated with protecting important data on information technology systems or the Internet. However, industrial control systems including process control, distributed control, and building control systems — also known as operational technology systems — are vulnerable too. These systems have become a vital component to operating critical infrastructure, industrial manufacturing and buildings, however they are increasingly at risk of cyber-attack with reported incidents on the rise.

Lighting Design That Brings Architecture to Life

Light is the lens through which our environment is experienced. Light brings architecture to life, evoking both emotional and physical responses. Our designs give form and character to spaces while promoting a sense of security, accommodating maintenance needs and forming sustainable environments that are respectful of their surroundings and our natural resources.

We create beautiful spaces that also carefully consider visual performance, energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, maintainability and safety. We understand both the art and science of illumination, and are at the forefront of emerging technologies and daylighting strategies. As lighting designers, we have a responsibility to create spaces that are functional and enduring, while representing the local heritage and connecting the community through our designs. Lighting Design

Sustainable Solutions Good For Your Business and the Planet

Sustainable solutions offer many opportunities, not only to achieve compliance with new legislation, but also to reduce future building operational costs, provide greater resilience, and be a part of creating a better world.

Our industry leading sustainability consultancy services cover the lifecycle of assets and we adopt the triple-bottom accounting framework which considers environmental, social and economic impacts. Taking a holistic approach means sustainability solutions are integrated the moment we engage with you — from acquisition and due-diligence, through concept, planning, design, construction, occupation, and operation, to end-of-life dismantling and decommissioning. Sustainability

Building Engineering Leadership

Dave Kurten
Building Engineering Services Regional Director
North America
Richard Whitaker
Building Engineering Services Managing Director
EMEA
Garry Wall Photo
Building Engineering Services Managing Director
Asia-Pacific
Andrew Yosten
Building Engineering Services Central Region Director
North America