LEAP Sandblast!

On Saturday October 8^th, Dome employees teamed up with RMW Architects, Forrell Engineering & West Portal Elementary School to participate in this year’s 28^th annual LEAP Sandcastle competition. The sandcastle competition is the Bay Area’s largest sandcastle building event and is made up of teams of architects, engineers, contractors, designers, corporations and local elementary school students.

Following in theme for this year’s competition of “Sandblast!” the team constructed a giant boom box with a break dancer’s shoe and was awarded the Most Massive. Photos of the teams’ sandcastle and an interview with one of the Dome masterminds behind the sandcastle, Kevin Firenze, were featured in the San Francisco Chronicle.

This year, the Dome Construction team was able to raise $12,500 which will go toward providing learning experiences in the arts to students in over 27 schools across the Bay Area.

Case Study: Material Repurpose

Genentech Building 2 Demolition Project

This project began in April of 2011 and involved the demolition of Building 2 on Genentech’s South San Francisco campus. The building walls, slab and foundation are ground-up in a mill, similar to what would be used in a quarry. The mill processes the concrete into recycled base rock, which were used on our site under the new parking lot paving. This recycling on site avoids not only the off-haul and disposal of 175 truckloads of concrete debris. It also saves the import of 3,850 ton of fill rock, another 160 truck trips on Grandview.

In addition to this recycling of concrete, the project team redesigned the landscape and paving grades to create a “balanced site,”meaning that 900 cubic yards of onsite soil were reused on site. This saves an additional 90 truck trips from the job to the dump site. Figuring fuel usage of diesel trucks at 7.5 miles per gallon and each trip at 30 miles, we saved 1,700 gallons of diesel fuel.

The demolition portion of the project was completed within 4 weeks and continued with site grading and paving for a parking lot.

 

Dome Constructs a Robotic Pharmacy at UCSF

NEWS RELEASE – UCSF’s robotic pharmacy went online late last year and is now pumping out 5,000 or so doses of tablet medications a day. This summer the assembly lines will start handling intravenous meds, and later this year, chemotherapy drugs.

The  pharmacy, which relies on a central hub of robots to distribute almost all meds to hospital patients, is only the second of its kind in the state – the first was at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, [says Lynn Paulsen, head of  UCSF's pharmaceutical services]. But applying automated technology to pharmacies has become increasing popular in the past decade. (read more on SFGate…)

Cleantech Entrepreneuers Face Challenging Issues in Building Facilities

NEWS RELEASE – Companies face numerous obstacles in building cleantech facilities—from permitting hurdles to equipment challenges—but extensive planning and using experienced talent can help entrepreneurs effectively implement their alternative energy goals. That was the message this week that emerged from a conference of project managers, architects, engineers and contractors who have collectively built more than 20 cleantech facilities in Northern California. “Cleantech involves new technology and the requirements for construction are evolving and just being understood by municipalities, designers and owners,” outlined Mark Bley, President of Dome Construction Corporation of San Francisco.

“It’s easier said than done, but most problems can be anticipated if you can get all the players into a room very early in the process,” veteran contractor Melody Spradlin, leader of Dome’s South Bay operation in San Jose, told conferees at an event called “Creating Cleantech Facilities—The Right Way.” (read more…)

Pixar Animation Studios – West Village Project

The Pixar West Village Phase 5 Project included a build-out of the remaining 35,000 s.f. of Pixar’s 57,000 s.f. West Village building. The project converted an old bakery into an amazing open, light filled space for Pixar’s employees with  exposed wood trusses and mechanical electrical systems. The build out included the following:

- A structurally isolated, acoustically-rated viewing / screening room & projector room.  
- A new gym, cardio room & yoga room along with new locker rooms
- A new central gathering area and café as well as offices and conference rooms throughout
- A new 1,200 S.F. server room that included
             o Over 30 server racks with 150 mega watts each.
             o 60 tons of cooling using chillers, condensing units & 80 local air handlers 
             o All new PG& E distribution equipment to support the new electrical room with
                    transformers, switchgear, generator and UPS back up.
             o The fire protection system included pre-action sprinklers & FM 200 system to
                    provide added protection to Pixar’s servers. 
- Exterior upgrades included brick restoration, stucco, storefront doors & windows along with new paint to renovate the 1940s building.
- This phase included the completion of a substantial seismic upgrade to the structure.
 
All work was performed while Pixar occupied the remainder of the space and with a concurrent project immediately adjacent created extremely limited staging and access.  We are pleased to have been able to transform this building into an efficient space that Pixar will use and enjoy.

DOME TEAM – Mike Firenze, Iris Boulware, Wendy Wang, Carlo Piazza and Lane Baker

ARCHITECT – Huntsman Architectural Group

ENGINEER – Taylor Engineering, Engineering Enterprise, and Rutherford & Chekene

SOUND CONSULTANT- Charles M. Salter Associates, Inc.

Introducing Dome’s New Focus Group Leaders

MATT HEATHWOOD

Seismic and Special Projects Focus Group Leader

We are pleased to announce Matt as our new Seismic and Special Projects Focus Group Leader! A U.C. Berkeley graduate, Matt has been in the construction industry for over 18 years, at Dome for 14 years, and has been focusing on seismic and special projects for the last ten years. His varied and rich experience includes work for companies such as Bayer Healthcare, Genentech, Wareham Development, Goodwill, Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation, Sakti International, San Francisco Credit Union, and many more. “I strive to develop a collaborative team environment, where contractors and consultants are motivated to work together to ultimately provide the best product for the client’s needs,” Matt says. We look forward to seeing more of his tremendous talent.

WENDY WANG, LEED AP

Tenant Improvement Focus Group Leader

We welcome Wendy to her new position as Tenant Improvement Focus Group Leader. Wendy graduated from U.C. Berkeley and continued on to Stanford University to complete her master’s degree. She has worked in the construction and commercial real estate development industry for 9 years and has completed over 1 million square feet of tenant improvement and renovation projects. Her diverse experience includes projects for Pixar Animation Studios, Citrix Online, Wareham Development, Nordstrom, Tishman Speyer, San Francisco Ballet, and Coresite amongst others. Wendy is often praised for her detail-oriented nature, maintenance of good relationships, proactive problem solving, and exceptional leadership. The future looks bright with Wendy leading.

LEED Gold – UCSF Pharmaceutical Packaging Facility

The UCSF Pharmaceutical Packaging Facility project was recently awarded with LEED Gold certification. This project was built out of a warm shell building approximating 15,000 square feet which was comprised of half office and half robotic lab space. The project includes oral and intravenous filling robotic equipment  as well as clean room areas. The build-out also included fume hoods, bio-safety cabinets, a specialized glass clean room wall system, Italian robotic clean room equipment, BMS equipment monitoring system and new air handlers required extensive coordination efforts. This was a design-build MEP project built to LEED Gold standards. Work was performed without any disruption to the operational Orthopedic Surgery Center.

Met LEED Credits by:

• Site Selection: LEED Certified Building
• Development Density & Community Connectivity
• Alternative Transportation – Public Transportation Access, Bicycle Storage & Changing Rooms
• Water Use Reduction – 20% Reduction
• Minimum Energy Performance
• Fundamental Commissioning of the Building Energy Systems
• Fundamental Refrigerant Management
• Optimize Energy performance Lighting /  HVAC / Equipment & Appliances
• Green Power
• Storage and Collection of Recyclables
• Tenant Space: Long Term Commitment
• Recycled Content / Regional Materials
• Construction Waste Management – Divert 75%
• Construction IAQ Management Plan
• Indoor Chemical Pollutant Source Control
• Controllability of Systems: Lighting / Thermal Comfort
• Low-Emitting Materials – Adhesives & Sealants, Paints & Coatings, Flooring Systems, & Composite Wood
• Daylight & Views
• Innovative in Design: Ergonomic Policy, Exemplary Energy Star, Exemplary Performance WEc1
• LEED Accredited Professional

 DOME TEAM| Rod Overstreet, John Kelly, Ed Medeiros & Debbie Watt

OWNER | Alexandria Real Estate Equities

ARCHITECT | BFHL

ELECTRICAL ENGINEER | AMS

MECHANICAL ENGINEER | Western Allied

 

Dome Wins Multiple CEA Awards

Safety Director Frank Zamora accepts his Most Improved Safety Program Award

This year, Dome received CEA’s Excellence in Safety Award, the Most Improved Safety Program Award, and the President’s Safety Award. Safety Director Frank Zamora and former Vice President and Director of Field Operations and Safety, Sergei Bogatsky, proudly attended the CEA Awards Dinner on January 25th, where they received their awards and were accoladed for their efforts:

Excellence in Safety Award

Firms meeting three of the following five criteria were awarded:

• Total Incident Rate 25% Below Industry Average
• Lost Workday Incident Rate 25% Below Industry Average
• Experience Modification Rate < 1.0
• A Flat or Negative Experience Modification Trend
• An Active Safety Training Program

Most Improved Safety Program

Dome Construction was the only company to receive this award! All firms who qualifed for the Excellence in Safety Award were considered for the Most Improved Safety Program Award. This award was designed to recognize a firm who has shown significant improvement in all areas of their safety program. The award was determined using last year’s and the current year’s applications for the following:

• Percent Reduction in Total Incident Rate
• Percent Reduction in Lost Workday Incident Rate
• Percent Reduction in Experience Modification Rate
• A Decrease in the Experience Modification TrendA Demonstration of an Active Training Program that includes the number and names of employees trained in the following with approximate dates of training: OSHA 10 Hour, First Aid/CPR, Competency in Scaffold, Excavation, and Fall Protection, Other Training

President’s Safety Award

The President’s Safety Award recognizes member firms whose safety programs far exceed the industry standard. All firms who qualified for the CEA Excellence in Safety Award were considered for the President’s Safety Award.

All applications meeting four of the five following criteria received the President’s Safety Award:

• A Total Incident Rate that is 50% Below the Industry Average
• A Lost Workday Incident Rate that is 50% Below the Industry Average
• Experience Modification Rate < or equal to .70
• A Cal/OSHA Recognized: California Voluntary Protection Program – Construction (Cal/VPP) Participant or a Cal/SHARP – Construction Participant
• Demonstration of an Active Training Program that includes the number and names of employees trained in: OSHA 10 Hour, First Aid/CPR; Competency in Scaffold, Excavation, and Fall Protection; and other training provided by the firm, including approximate dates of training.

Dome’s Cleantech Initiative

Dome Construction began in the technology field building our first biotech pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in 1985.  From there we have built laboratories, pilot plants, and research facilities.  We have also collaborated on several biofuels research and pilot plants in the Bay Area with much success. We have long and successful relationships with companies dedicated to the advancement of science such as Genentech, Amyris, Bayer, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Bayer, Novartis, LS9, BioMarin, and Gladstone.

With a strong background in biotech, we have begun to transition our expertise into clean-tech building. Over the past year we have successfully completed work for two clean-tech based pilot production facilities:

CLEANTECH LAB & LED PILOT PLANT FACILITY

The new cleantech fab and offices in Fremont is approximately 50,000 square feet of space constructed within an existing 80,000 square foot building.  The project is made up of a large office area that is built on the second floor of the facility. Non clean room dry labs take up 50% of the first floor. A large cleanroom lab area comprised of one class 1,000 lab encompassing 600 square feet and three class 10,000 rooms each 750 square feet, cover the remainder of the first floor. The cleanrooms are separated by utility service chases that house the majority of the electrical, mechanical and piping components that supply the fab. We constructed a steel mezzanine above the clean lab areas to support multiple air handlers that supply the fab with HEPA filtered air.  A large utility yard was also installed including chemical storage and containment areas, a chiller, a waste treatment skid, an H2 tank, N2 tank, PCW skid, scrubber, gas cabinets and gas monitoring system, RO/DI water skid, a backup generator and other equipment. Chemicals installed included ammonia, silane, disilane and chlorine.  The construction also includes a shipping and receiving area, maintenance shop and an upgrade to the existing electrical service from 2,000A to 4,000A. 

CLEANTECH BATTERY PILOT PLANT

 Project consisted of a 16,000 SF conversion of existing spec lab to a new headquarters, research labs, and pilot plant. The project features wet and dry process rooms, RO/DI system, waste water treatment system, CDA and vacuum systems. Distribution of lab gasses including: N2, CO2, HPN2, HPHe, and HPA. Dome also provided and installed all new lab casework, fume hoods, glove boxes, and bio safety cabinets. The permitting, hook up, and seismic bracing of specific lab equipment including several large furnaces and bio reactors was also part of the scope.

The Connie Frank Transplant Center

The Connie Frank Transplant Center at UCSF Medical Center’s Parnassus Campus is a state-of-the art kidney transplant facility. This new 12,460 square foot center is complete with offices, a conference room with a high tech AV system, restrooms, work areas, and a reception area with panoramic views of San Francisco. The project also includes exam rooms handling pre & post operative transplants. Finishes include wood veneer panels, venetian plaster, eight various decorative glass types, acrylic glazing, glass wall tiles and quartz countertops. Privacy is achieved with the installation of new SHOJI screens. This was the first facility at UCSF Medical Center permitted to have exam rooms along the exterior of the building so patients can enjoy the sights of downtown San Francisco.

ARCHITECT | Design Partnership

ENGINEER | Cammisa & Wipf

OWNER REPRESENTATIVE |

Design & Construction Project Manager

Carol Shea, UCSF Medical Center