Livermore Electric Safety Academy Wins Multiple Awards

Livermore Electric Safety Academy Wins Multiple Awards

Aug 5, 2021

SUSTAINABILITY

Livermore Electric Safety Academy Wins Multiple Awards

DATE PUBLISHED: Aug 5, 2021 

Photos by Tyler Chartier

Dubbed the Training Center of the Future, the Livermore Electric Safety Academy is the recipient of a Green Project Award by Engineering News-Record (ENR), recognizing California’s Best Projects. The new training center won ENR’s Best Project of the Year 2020 Award for Northern California as well as the 2021 Richard A. Clarke Environmental Leadership Award Champion. The trifecta was achieved when it was announced the project also received a 2021 Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) Western Pacific Region Award.  

The Livermore Electric Safety Academy’s focus is on Transmission and Distribution safety training. The largest new addition to the academy is the electric substation and training building for operations and maintenance education. This new training site provides a safe environment to train, validate, and assess substation employees in realistic, simulated field conditions, complete with full-size training poles and mini-residential buildings.

The training center is comprised of more than 44 acres dedicated to electrical training and safety. Targeting net-zero, the 12,000- square foot, substation training LEED Gold building contains break-out training rooms and state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment. The 17,000- square foot, Main Building was awarded LEED Silver ID+C. This building project consists of the renovation of an existing building, including a new cafeteria, offices, classrooms, and meeting spaces. Other project components include a new transformer training building, photovoltaic canopies, and drought-resistant native landscaping.

SPECIAL FEATURE

A new seismically-sound glass floor brings maximum daylight into the first-floor café via a second-level glass floor feature. The glass floor minimizes noise levels for the administrative offices located between this feature and the café.

CHALLENGES

Since hundreds of apprentices were being trained and certified during construction, working around a busy, occupied training facility was especially challenging. Multiple projects occurred throughout the site with strategic phasing to keep onsite activities and circulation active and safe.

4 Myths About Architectural Services

4 Myths About Architectural Services

Aug 3, 2021

EXPERTISE FROM EXPERTS

4 Myths About Architectural Services

By James Dougherty, Managing Principal – Alaska
jdougherty@rimarchitects.com

DATE PUBLISHED: Aug 3, 2021 

When some people think of architects, they think of beautiful public-facing facilities that alter the skyline and aesthetic of cities and universities. Few architects are responsible for these visions that form our society’s collective history. Most architectural firms are busy with smaller, yet important, problem-solving services.

There is a good deal of misinformation, or myths, surrounding what services the architect provides, if not high-profile project design. Our intent is to dispel these myths and help guide potential clients in understanding what services the architect can provide.

Myth #1: Your projects are recognized and award‐winning; you must be very expensive.

University of Alaska, Anchorage, Consortium Library

While it is true that an architect’s advice is not free, what may not be common knowledge is that architect fee structures are very similar throughout the industry. However, while the hourly billing rate may be similar, what a given architect can do in that hour may vary widely.  

Expertise and ability should be the guiding factors in choosing services. An architect who specializes in a certain building type or process will know countless time-saving details, flattening the learning curve and providing greater efficiencies in problem solving. For this reason, high stakes clients like the federal and state government, universities, and larger entities that spend millions annually on buildings, select their architects on qualifications, rather than price, saving you money in the end.  

Myth #2: My project is too small for you to consider.

What problem is too small to be solved effectively? Problem-solving and expert advice don’t “scale” with a problem’s magnitude. The experience gained from exposure to a variety of complex issues is exactly what makes the architect’s experience relevant. Whether the project is large or small, the knowledge gained can be leveraged every day, with everyday challenges. 

Myth #3: I don’t need a professional for my type of problem. I have a friend.

The title “architect” has spread like wildfire throughout the business world. For example, there are “healthcare plan architects”, “software architects”, and even “solution architects”. The title of “architect” is applied to imply a broad understanding of complex systems. 

A real architect has gone through rigorous training, an internship, and passed a nine-part exam. A registered architect knows much more about how to identify, plan, and solve your issues than a client’s “friend”. 

Myth #4: I prefer the simplicity of a “one stop shop” approach to professional services. RIM just provides architectural services. How can I keep track of all the various disciplines necessary?

We hear this a lot. Well-trained architects are experienced in coordinating information from other professionals engaged in a project. What distinguishes RIM’s approach is that we select project team members based on the unique challenges of the project to ensure the work is suited to the client’s needs. We provide a single point of contact for the client—usually the project manager—to help ensure simplicity. 

Sometimes Less is All You Need

Our goal is to become our client’s trusted design partner, building relationships as well as bricks and mortar. While not every client is in the market for a sparkling new building, we want to surprise our clients with other ways we can add value through partnership and collaboration. 

Some lesser-known services that RIM can offer clients include the following:

  • Fixing leaky roofs, windows, and walls
  • Addressing mold issues
  • Roof/wall, or window replacement
  • Re-stacking a business for better efficiency
  • Promotional brochures
  • Branding
  • Energy-efficiency audits
  • Noise, vibration troubleshooting
  • Custom furnishings
  • Building management
  • Corrosion control
  • Feasibility and environmental impact studies and site selection studies

Entry Designer – HI

Jul 14, 2021

LOCATION Honolulu, HI
CONTACT Rachael Palompo  rpalompo@rimarchitects.com

Qualified candidates may submit their resume accompanied by a cover letter, work samples  and a completed *Voluntary Self Identification Form to:  Rachael Palompo  rpalompo@rimarchitects.com

Entry Designer

Full Time, Exempt

Position Location: Honolulu, HI

 

RIM Architects is hiring an Entry Designer to join our growing team at RIM’s Honolulu, HI office.  If you meet the qualifications below, have a passion for the profession of architecture and desire to be a collaborative, creative member of a team who consistently exceeds expectations of our clients, we look forward to reviewing your resume package.

 

RIM has five offices strategically located in Hawaii, San Francisco and Tustin, California; Guam; and Alaska. Our ability to deliver excellent design starts with excellent people, in every department, committed to superior performance and professional growth. We like to have fun while we work, contribute to our communities, and nurture a workplace providing opportunity, inclusion, and challenge.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Authorized to work legally in the United States without restrictions
  • Bachelor or Masters’ Degree in Architecture from an accredited program
  • 0-3 years post graduate experience in similar position at a design firm
  • LEED Accreditation a plus
  • Positive attitude, dependability and willingness to work and grow in team environment
  • Proactive listener
  • Time efficient self-starter; enjoys fast paced project work
  • Basic understanding of:
    • Design solution development
    • Building systems, detailing and technology
    • Applicable codes, regulations, and standards
    • Differing building types and project delivery methods
    • Programming and planning methods
  • Proficiency with Revit and AutoCAD
  • Working experience with InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop
  • Effective verbal and written communication and presentation techniques

 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Utilizes appropriate communication techniques for positive collaboration
  • Accountable for completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of work assigned
  • Coordinates design details with production team; participates in document production, specifications and construction administration as assigned
  • Develops technical solutions in support of design intent under the direction of a licensed architect
  • Responsible for design refinement of specific aspects of project
  • Responsible for work performed on smaller projects or specific aspects of larger projects under the direction of a licensed architect
  • Supports Project Designer/Project Manager developing design concepts and solutions

 

Qualified candidates may submit their resume accompanied by a cover letter, work samples  and a completed   *Voluntary Self Identification Form to:  Rachael Palompo rpalompo@rimarchitects.com

 

This Job Description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees and is not an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required for this position. It does not establish a contract for employment and is subject to change at the discretion of the employer.

 

 

Regions with Highest and Lowest Number of Registered Architects

Regions with Highest and Lowest Number of Registered Architects

Apr 1, 2021

Regions with Highest and Lowest Number of Registered Architects

DATE PUBLISHED: APR 1, 2021 

Nikko Wedding Chapel in Guam

Regions with Highest and Lowest Number of Registered U.S. Architects

Through its annual Survey of Architectural Registration Boards in June 2020, NCARB found that California leads the country with the highest number of total architects (both resident and reciprocal licensure-holders) with 21,528 people. While the number of architects continues to grow, the smallest number of architects practicing today is in Guam (99) and the Northern Mariana Islands (39).

RIM Architects is fortunate to have registered architects in each of these regions (California, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands) as well as Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

RIM’s Guam Office Is Very Active

In an article written for the Marianas Business Journal, Maureen Maratita, Journal Staff, wrote: “There are not many businesses that prosper in Guam and are then able to export their skills to elsewhere in the U.S. RIM Architects is one of them, with offices in Guam, Hawaii, Alaska and California. CEO David L. McVeigh, who is based in Anchorage, Alaska, was in Guam from 1988 to 2000, and at the forefront of the group’s development.”

McVeigh commented, “We started the company in 1986 and I was one of the original hires. In Guam — where Brent L. Wiese is the managing principal — all staff have been with RIM for more than a decade. Close to 40% of its total staff have been with RIM for more than a decade. “We’ve been really fortunate to have staff that believe in us, that like our culture, our work environment; they stay with us quite a while—particularly in Guam.”

The Guam office has always had a lot of resort work, he added. “We’ve probably touched most of the hotels on Tumon Bay.” Most recently, RIM was the Guam Partner of Record for the Tsubaki Tower and heavily involved. “We worked with the architect [in Japan] to do all the design drawings and the construction administration, and to get it permitted.” McVeigh said. “It’s a beautiful building and a great first-class addition to Guam’s inventory,” he said.

RIM Architects is the Architect of Record for The Tsubaki Tower. – Photography: Mike Arty

“Top Guam projects include the $44-million design-build MACC task order awarded in early August to the Black Construction Corp.-Tutor Perini joint venture for ordnance facilities at Naval Base Guam; the $180-million Tsubaki Tower in Tumon in Guam, for which RIM was the Architect of Record; and Isa Villas affordable housing on Capitol Hill in Saipan.

Other work in the Mariana Islands includes school retrofits and additions in Saipan and two projects in Guam and one in Saipan for the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints.

Bank Pacific Guam – Photography: Mike Arty

RIM has also acted for off-island companies who are unfamiliar with Guam. “You can’t undervalue the importance of having boots on the ground, particularly in places like Guam where anything from logistics to the design environment itself – when you get companies that are from somewhere else — they don’t always understand that it’s the little things that make a big difference. Some of the difference is cultural, he said. “Some of it is the way the entitlements work and development works. … It’s always wise if they hook up with somebody local.”

Architectural rendering of Soka Gakkai Buddhist Center in Guam, by RIM Architects

McVeigh said he is proud of his time in Guam. “I feel it had a lot to do with where I am today.”

To read the full article, please click here: https://www.mbjguam.com/2020/09/07/architectural-firm-draws-on-skills-to-develop-broad-business/

Architectural Preservation on the Big Island of Hawaii

Architectural Preservation on the Big Island of Hawaii

Apr 1, 2021

Architectural Preservation on the Big Island of Hawaii

DATE PUBLISHED: APR 1, 2021 

Paula de la Cruz interviews Eric Nelson of RIM Architects

by Paloola Podcast - Paula de la Cruz | Architectural Preservation on the Big Island in Hawaii

Hawaii’s historic Volcano House is one of RIM Architects’ early renovation projects.

Architectural Preservation on the Big Island in Hawaii

Paula de la Cruz interviews Eric Nelson of RIM Architects in her recent podcast. In it, she explores the significance and challenges of renovating Hawaii’s Big Island projects including the Mauna Lani Resort and the historic Volcano House (shown here).

Paula de la Cruz: The whole of the Big Island is a mountain (or five mountains actually) offering breathtaking yin and yang experiences. Eric Nelson of RIM Architects, Architect of Record for Mauna Lani’s renovation, discusses making bold choices to highlight, not just views of the Pacific, but an ocean of lava and magma—and the influence of modern Hawaii-based architects on his work. His motto has always been “jump and the nets will appear.”

The architecture of Vladimir Ossipoff, a Siberian-born, American architect who brought modern architecture to Hawaii, transformed the lanai into a building in itself. I am sure that throughout your career you have used a variation of the lanai. Also, do you feel that you were influenced by Ossipoff’s work?

Eric Nelson: Yes. I think every architect in Hawaii is. I was also influenced by Charles W. Dickey. This is, you know, an older architecture, but for Hawaii, it was a big influence on the double- pitched roofs. I had the opportunity of designing the renovation of Volcano House at the Volcano National Park. That was really fun! It wasn’t one of Dickey’s greatest buildings, but it is well loved. It sits right on the Caldera. When you’re in the building, you look down into the Caldera.

So, my challenge really was to go in and reconfigure the whole thing in order to get back to the original spirit of the building. And originally there was a deck, so we added a new deck. Somebody put the retail in the worst position. Where you would really want to sit and look at the Caldera, you were in a retail space. So we took that out, redid the restaurants, put a new kitchen in, renovated all the rooms, and it’s really nice. A lot of people were nervous about what we were doing because they love that building so much. That’s maybe another example of being bold and not being afraid to do what’s right. And you know, sometimes that takes bold action.

Paula: Yes, and Hawaii is very protective of its land.

Eric Nelson: Exactly, exactly. But what they see is not really the landmark that it once was. It had been modified and changed so much that they had no real idea of the beauty of the building when it was originally built.

Note: Paula de la Cruz is a botanical artist and writer based in New York. A link to her entire podcast episode follows: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/paloola/id1539854570#episodeGuid=1b442423-aa5f-4adb-b2f5-b078580194aa