Doral Buick-GMC Expansion Nearly Complete





Sierra Engineering Group (SEG) served the structural engineer-of-record for this major addition and interior remodel of the Doral Buick-GMC Dealership in Miami, Florida, currently nearing substantial completion. The expansion calls for an additional 7,000 square feet of enclosed space to increase the showroom size as well as the service area.  It also included the expansion of a second level parts storage mezzanine.  SEG provided structural engineering design services as well as construction administration services during construction of the project.   SEG worked closely with Offerle-Lerner Architects and the City of Doral as well as the ownership to expedite the permit process.   The structural system includes the use of CMU perimeter walls and open web steel joists for the roof and floor framing systems.  Despite the unique phased construction, the contractor, AutoBuilders Inc. has managed to maintain schedule with minimal disruptions to day to day business operations.  It’s an example of how a good working relationship between the design team and the construction group can make for a successful project.

Structural Engineer: Sierra Engineering Group

Architect:  Offerle-Lerner Architects

Contractor: AutoBuilders Inc.

Client: Doral Buick-GMC

Construction Cost: $1.8 million

Yes!! A Belated Moving Announcement

After 19 years in Union City, Sierra Engineering Group has moved. Fortunately, we didn’t go too far, our new offices are located in Fremont, about five miles south of our old location.  The new lease deal allowed us to renovate the existing ground level space to incorporate a new conference room, new lighting system, kitchen and all new finishes. The windows all around the perimeter of the new location lets the natural light flood the interior space creating a much more comfortable and energetic working environment. We’ve signed a five year lease and look forward to staying a while.  Please feel free to stop by any time, we’ll be glad to show you around.  Our new address and contact information:

Sierra Engineering Group

39812 Mission Blvd.

Suite 100

Fremont, CA 94587

510-445-0550 ph

510-445-0440 fx

info@sierraeng.com

2995 Middlefield Completed

Sierra Engineering Group was the structural engineer-of-record for the recently completed office building at 2995 Middlefield in Palo Alto, CA.  Hayes Group Architect’s distinctive modern approach has resulted in a unique structure.  Though the footprint is limited, the lines expressed by the use of horizontal shade elements along the front façade and recalled along the south elevation’s triangular trellis evokes the image of a much larger structure, giving it a sense of belonging without overpowering the surroundings. Varying roof lines and the architect’s desire for shallow structure at the overhangs presented some unique structural opportunities.  Working closely with Hayes Group, we chose a horizontal steel truss system to brace the full height round steel columns along the Middlefield elevation. In keeping with the steel brace theme, the building’s lateral load resisting system makes use of a concentric braced frame system concealed within the elevator and stair walls, leaving plenty of room for the use of glass along the exterior walls resulting in an inviting interior space.

Structural Engineer: Sierra Engineering Group

Architect: Hayes Group Architect’s

Contractor: South Bay Construction Inc.

Owner: GVA Kidder Matthews

SEG Now Licensed in Utah

In order to better server our clients Sierra Engineering Group is now licensed to practice structural engineering in the state of Utah expanding our capabilities to 30 states.  Please refer to our website for a complete listing of the states in which we are licensed to practice structural engineering.

299 Valencia Begins Construction

It will rise five stories above the intersection of 14th and Valencia Streets in San Francisco and will provide this thriving community with additional retail and restaurant space at the ground level along with four stories of residential condominiums above. The design includes an underground parking garage which will accommodate all of the residents and minimize impact on street parking. Due to the slope along 14th street the building design incorporates a number of elevation changes as it steps its way down from Valencia down to Mission. The foundation makes use of a poured-in-place concrete mat slab over a grouted soil base. The ground and second floor decks use post-tensioned slab construction to minimize the structure thickness and meet the building height restrictions. At the second floor the structure transitions to wood framing. The design will also accommodate a roof deck for use by all the tenants. The 14th street and Valencia Street elevations will also include floor to ceiling windows. Currently the mat slab has been poured, the perimeter retaining walls have been shotcreted in place, parking level walls and columns are slated to be poured by mid-April.

Sierra Engineering Group Now Licensed to Practice in Iowa and Minnesota

In our continuing effort to expand our services throughout the United States, Jesus Sierra, President at Sierra Engineering Group has obtained his license to practice structural engineering in the states of Iowa and Minnesota.  We are now able to provide structural engineering services in 29 states.  Please refer to our website for a complete map. 

 

Taking Small Steps Towards a Greener Practice

It is not secret that our business generates a lot of paper. After a numbers of years the sheer quantity of paper generated starts to encroach on our work space. It begins to expand to where the need for additional storage space becomes not only evident but imperative. For our office, that took the form of leasing offsite storage space to house our older files. Now even those spaces are filled and the content continues to grow, pushing the limits of the space. It became clear that we needed to adopt a different tact and we considered simply discarding the oldest files. Purging some of the old files is an obvious solution. But how many times have we thrown out an old project only to receive a call soon after regarding that very job. The client suddenly decides to revise the old design or any number of requests. We have to consider a different way.

In our office we have examined every one of our processes to try and come up with a way to minimize paper use. The industry currently will not stand the complete eradication of paper so the goal is to minimize it whenever possible. For example, we do not throw out old prints; we keep the paper and use the reverse side when making check plots. We do the same with old reports, calculations etc. Using both sides of the paper has reduced our consumption of new paper thereby also reducing costs.

Our most recent and most ambitious goal is to scan all the old drawings and project files, including those that are in storage so that eventually we are able to lease less offsite storage space or eliminate it altogether.

Given the state of the technology and all the on-going innovations, it won’t be long before paper becomes archaic. It won’t be long before construction documents are issued in digital form only. We may as well embrace the future of this technology now and position ourselves accordingly.

Besides, we like the idea of saving trees.