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Critical facilities design requires technical expertise and a heightened sensitivity to problems posed by events as well as close coordination with the operators to ensure the design enhances their operational effectiveness.

AREAS OF FOCUS

Fire Stations
Utility Facilities
Operations Facilities
Medical Facilities

Case Study

BPA Ross headquarters aerial view

BPA Ross Maintenance HQ

This SW Washington facility is the base for BPA regional transmission line and substation maintenance crews, substation operators, power system control technicians, and field engineers. The seven-acre site includes an office building and maintenance building for storage of vehicles and equipment. The design enhances cooperation between field crews and engineering staff and the LEED certified project achieves net zero energy use.

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“I was impressed by the thoroughness of the Soderstrom team and their commitment in seeing the job through to completion without additional design fees. Soderstrom delivered a great project while helping us to stay within budget. I would recommend them to other owners with similar projects.”

Christina Vinson, Project Manager – Design & Construction, OSU

“From the beginning of the project, Soderstrom listened to what the community, elected officials, and the firefighters wanted. They then designed a beautiful, functional, and efficient fire station that will meet the needs of the community and firefighters for decades to come. Specifically, Associate Principal Architect Erica Jankowski was an excellent partner in the project. She was extremely knowledgeable, timely, and creative but what stood out the most was her focus on delivering a high level of customer service to all the parties involved in the project..”

Shane Wooten, Fire Chief, Albany Fire Department

Tell Us About Your Project

Fire Stations

Minutes count. Fire stations have to enable the right mix of crews and equipment to leave the station as quickly as possible. Between events, the crews and equipment must be kept in top working order.

Design Principles
• Resilience for instant recovery after major events
• Rapid and safe equipment assembly and vehicle exiting
• Interior layout synchronized with how the crew is organized.
• Comfortable, stress-reducing crew quarters
• Exterior design that fits the community

Utility Facilities

Water and power are essential to modern life. Utility operations and maintenance facilities must be extremely resilient, able to quickly field repair crews after any major event, along with operating effectively before events.

Design Principles
• Resilient to the point of independence of grid-connected systems
• Durability
• Reflective of community design preferences
• Safe site circulation for work vehicles and bulk material handling
• Integration of engineering and field crews

Operations Facilities

Public works departments and universities need support facilities to keep their infrastructure running. Repair shops and parts warehouses provide the ability to rapidly repair or replace components of infrastructure. Data centers and control centers provide the digital infrastructure to maintain continuity of operations.

Design Principles
• Resilience for immediate recovery and operation after major environmental events such as fire, floods or earthquakes
• Flexibility
• Safe storage and circulation of maintenance vehicles

Medical Facilities

Medical facilities are the most critical of all. Human lives depend on them to restore health either in an immediate situation of injury or trauma or in a longer time frame with disease or chronic conditions.

Design Pinciples
• Efficiency of operation for rapid response to patients in crisis
• Infection control
• Applied environmental psychology to accelerate healing
• Trauma-informed design

TRUSTED EXPERTISE

Design Team Members

Our team excels at designing essential facilities that need to remain operational following significant seismic, wildfire, and emergency events. We balance complex technical understanding with a community-driven approach to design.

  • Dan Van Calcar

    Managing Principal
    Dan Van Calcar

  • Erica Jankowski

    Associate Principal

  • Eric Talbot

    Associate Principal

CONTACT US

Tell us about your project, we’d love to help.