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sustainable

Water Works: Blending Design and Function to Bring Water to Communities

October 20, 2020 By admin

At the heart of all architectural design projects is the combination of function and design…or how to make a building design look good while serving a specific purpose. Most people don’t think much about how water arrives to their faucet, but the facilities required to make this happen account for a good portion of Platt/Whitelaw’ work over the past three decades and some of our most lauded buildings.

When working on public projects, including water- and wastewater-related projects, the design vs. function dilemma is intensified by the need for the processes housed in the project to be accommodated in an efficient and cost-effective manner while also complementing the surrounding environment. Platt/Whitelaw finds ways to resolve these demands while also working in sustainable strategies in all our water and wastewater treatment plant and water reclamation projects. Natural daylight and ventilation, as well as material choices, help reduce the impact of the buildings on the environment while also supporting wellness in the workplace.

Of utmost importance, we have to consider how the flow of the process housed in the building needs to be considered in design. We work very closely with water experts to accommodate pipes, basins, filtration systems, treatment equipment and more. The extent of these requirements can present myriad complexities and require compulsive attention to detail.

“We may have to think about unique challenges like how to take valves and tanks in and out of buildings for maintenance,” said Naveen Waney, AIA, Principal at Platt/Whitelaw Architects. “For one project, we designed large, removable skylight hatches to provide access for a crane that can pull a valve out of its receptacle nearly 20 feet into the earth.”

Whether it is a wastewater treatment, potable-water or pure-water project, additional challenges always present themselves, and each job has unique issues. For example, chemicals such as acid are needed to clean and descale equipment on some types of projects. To purify water, some projects use filters while others use a heating process to create steam before recondensing it back to liquid water, leaving any impurities behind. Architects who work on water treatment and reclamation projects must face issues that they don’t face in most other types of building design.

Fortunately, the collaboration that goes into designing and building water and wastewater facilities is robust. Typically, the civil engineer lays out the facility. That professional knows where the water comes from and where it needs to go and makes specifications about distances, bends, pipe sizes and more accordingly.

With this information, the architect is programming, space planning and problem solving, while working closely with the engineers. The architects and engineers have to be flexible, inventive and work hand-in-hand. It’s helpful to consider the water as our mutual client and design to accommodate its demands.

Naveen and Platt/Whitelaw Associate Thomas Brothers  have worked closely together on several water and wastewater projects over the course of decades. Some of our firm’s projects include Operations and Maintenance buildings at the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant, Encina Wastewater Facility and South Bay Water Reclamation Facility.  Along with pump stations at Scripps Ranch and one at the new North City Pure Water Facility in University City and Chemical buildings at the Alvarado Water Treatment Plant in Mission Trails Regional Park – all in San Diego – and a Desalter Facility in Camarillo.

As with most types of architecture, the location of a project is fundamental to the architectural design. The Desalter project, for example, is industrial, located adjacent to the city of Camarillo. The challenge for Platt/Whitelaw is in making it look approachable. The Platt/Whitelaw team typically works with the city or county where the project will reside to find an aesthetic that isn’t hidden but also isn’t overwhelming for the surrounding community.  

Sometimes, the water flow itself determines the location. Due to the topographic configuration of San Diego, the Point Loma North Operations Building and Grit building our firm designed sits where wastewater flows – to a low point, in this case right at the ocean edge. After it’s treated, the water travels to an outfall location several miles into the ocean.  

An important task for our firm was to design a facility that respected the flow of the water and the process required to treat it while celebrating the remarkable location at the bluffs leading to the ocean. We accomplished this through a multi-level building design that complemented the natural topography and accommodated the water flow; with sustainable strategies that reflected the importance of the area’s natural resources; and with material and color selections that would complement the site.

Public art can also help bridge function with design and is used by Platt/Whitelaw in many of its public projects. “It’s a way of saying to a community that there is civic importance to the project,” says Thomas. “And we help celebrate that by making a space for public art.”

Thomas also points out that public art is a way to communicate the purpose of a project. “Lay people don’t typically know what the process is behind the project. An artist can present it in a way that is visually interesting while making it more accessible and sometimes educational.”

Working with water projects also allows Platt/Whitelaw to be a part of cutting-edge technology, including pure water projects, where instead of sending treated wastewater into the ocean or irrigation lines, the treatment facility can make it drinkable. It’s a process that involves making the water so pure that it’s then returned to the regular treatment facility and then sent to storage and distribution tanks for potable use.

The innovative approach lets the region take less water from natural resources (like the Colorado River), which are diminishing, while making the community more resilient to drought and other changes.

“We take pride in working on something very important for the community and knowing we are a part of it,” says Naveen.

Thomas adds, “With water and wastewater architecture, you are thrust into realizing that your design is part of a greater system.”

Filed Under: news Tagged With: Architectural design, building design, Desalter, Naveen Waney, pure-water project, sustainable, Thomas Brothers, wastewater treatment, wastewater treatment plant and water reclamation

Retirement

December 4, 2018 By admin

Did you hear our big news? Last week, we announced that 2019 will see a changing of the guard at Platt/Whitelaw as the oh-so-talented @NaveenWaney and @SandraGramley take the management reins from @AlisonWhitelaw as she phases into retirement over the next year. Expect the same great service and skills, though! Thanks to our friends/family/clients/colleagues who joined us at the Lafayette Hotel. #PWAdesigns #succession #founded1955

Filed Under: news Tagged With: Alison Whitelaw, Architectural design, Founded 1955, Green Design, Naveen Waney, Platt/Whitelaw Architects, Retirement, Sandra Gramley, Succession, sustainable

Gramley SDBJ Interview

November 8, 2018 By admin

Where does San Diego rank as far as certified, sustainable buildings? Platt/Whitelaw Architects’ Principal Sandy Gramley was recently interviewed by Ray Huard at San Diego Business Journal about the state of sustainable design in San Diego.

According to the article, in a recent study by commercial real estate services firm CBRE and Maastricht University in the Netherlands, San Diego was ranked 18 among the country’s 30 largest metropolitan areas in having green-certified office buildings. The study ranked these areas based on the amount of office space that’s been Energy Star or LEED certified. More than 41 percent of commercial space in the 30 top metropolitan regions of the U.S. has been certified as green, but only 29.8 percent of the commercial space in San Diego has been certified.

In San Diego’s defense, Gramley shares that San Diego’s lack of corporate headquarters and mild climate may have something to do with it.

Sandy shared, “There’s a lot of people here (in SD) doing the right thing and working at it. There’s a lot of us in the industry that realize there’s a moral imperative to do the right thing and keep our buildings green and our cities more sustainable.”

Recent changes in California state law and building codes, including the California Green Building Standards Code that took effect in January, are likely to move this process forward significantly. The new code imposes standards that are nearly equal to those required for green certification.

For more about what Sandy and others had to say on this topic, San Diego Business Journal subscribers can read the full article here.

Filed Under: news Tagged With: California Green Building Standards Code, green buildings, Platt/Whitelaw Architects, San Diego, San Diego Business Journal, Sandy Gramley, sustainable

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