BDY Designs and Opens New Headquarters Building

Berger Devine Yaeger (BDY), a member of the Berger Group, prepared designs to renovate a 20,000-square-foot office building previously occupied by the Internal Revenue Service to serve as its new headquarters. The new exterior entrance is highlighted with a crescent-shaped entry canopy, a curved floor-to-ceiling window system and extensive landscaping. A sculptural feature wall draws visitors in with an ever-changing light show while four LCD screens with architectural renderings and finished works slideshows punctuate the path through the space. The facility is a colorful, modern feast for the eyes with architectural studio workspaces and storage for five teams of up to 10 people each. There are two lofts for informal meetings, several hi-tech conference rooms, a library, a full kitchen and dining area, patio and executive offices.

LBG Assesses Haiti Earthquake Damage

BGH affiliate the Louis Berger Group (LBG) conducted a series of pro bono assessments of Haiti's infrastructure following the damage from a recent devastating earthquake. Throughout Port-au-Prince and its surrounding areas, the Team evaluated roads and bridges, public buildings and the international seaport. The collected information will assist the U.S. government and the international community identify priorities both for Haiti's immediate assistance needs and long-term reconstruction. LBG also provided the U.S. military with raw data and summary analyses critical to its delivery of relief supplies.

KCBL Receives CEBC Award of Merit for Nam Theun 2 Hydro Project

Klohn Crippen Berger Ltd. (KCBL) of the Berger Group of Companies received an Award of Merit from the Consulting Engineers of British Columbia (CEBC) for the Nam Theun 2 Hydro Project, a long-term collaborative effort to develop up to 3,000 megawatts of hydropower energy in Laos for export to Thailand. The key technical components of KCBL's assignment included the innovative use of a roller compacted concrete dam to allow flooding during the wet season over the three years of construction and the unique bifurcation design, which consists of different steel types and thicknesses. The project, initiated in 2004, was in service by February 2010.

BergerAbam Earns ACEC Silver Award for Sauk River Bridge

BergerABAM (BA), a member of the Berger Group, and Snohomish County, WA, were awarded the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Washington Silver Award for the design of the Sauk River Bridge. The award program recognizes engineering achievements that demonstrate the highest degree of merit and ingenuity. Entries are judged on the project's original or innovative application of new or existing techniques; future value to the engineering profession; public perception; social, economic and sustainable design considerations; complexity; and exceeding client/owner needs. The assignment involved designing a new structure to replace the existing Sauk River Bridge, which had become functionally obsolete and structurally deficient since its completion in 1930. BA's design of the new Sauk River Bridge spans the raging white-water rapids of the Cascade Mountains River to provide the Sauk Prairie community and adjacent recreational and logging areas with safe and reliable access, even during seasonal floods. An innovative launch technique allowed the bridge to be constructed onshore and then cantilevered into place across the water. Hot-dip galvanizing and powder coating the bridge's steel was a first for the region and will protect the structure for a century. The incorporation of unusually long spans permits the river to "migrate" in the future, while extra-deep foundations strengthen the bridge from the river's powerful eroding forces.

Golf Course Restoration Master Plan

The Berger Group Golf Course Design Services Division is presently working on developing a course restoration master plan for the Glen Head Country Club in Glen Cove, New York. This private 18-hole course, which was built in 1923 by Devereux Emmet, Charles B. MacDonald and Seth Rayner for Marion Hollins, was formerly known as the Women's National Golf and Tennis Club, the first private women's golf club in America. Berger is currently developing plans for bunker restoration, reclamation of putting surfaces, tee leveling, fairway recontouring, cart path work and tree management.

Lansdowne, Ireland, Stadium

The Berger Group is currently serving as program manager for the construction of a 50,000-seat stadium in Lansdowne, Ireland. The $425 million facility will include 64 corporate boxes and 8,000 premium seats, as well as substantially improved behind-the-scenes facilities for players and spectators. The stadium will be home to the Ireland Rugby Football Union and the Football Association of Ireland and will be used as the national stadium for both teams.

South Tailings Pond Wetlands

Canadian Consulting Engineer and the Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada (ACEC) presented the Berger Group with a 2007 Award of Excellence for the South Tailings Pond Wetlands’ Millennium Mine in Alberta, Canada. Berger’s duties included preparing detailed construction designs and providing construction assistance. As part of this project, Berger, in association with subconsultant Riparia, also prepared a plan to compensate for wetlands habitat affected during the operational and closure phases of the tailings pond. Berger chose an environmental approach that would produce a sustainable and naturally integrated wetlands system. This concept was a conscious change from the conventional "ditch and constructed wetlands pond" approach presented in the environmental impact assessment.

Berger Receives Distinguished Award for Engineering Excellence

Berger received the Distinguished Award for Engineering Excellence from the Consulting Engineers Council of New Jersey for the New Jersey Safe Routes to School Urban Demonstration Program. The assignment involved assisting six urban schools in Newark, Trenton and Camden to develop safe methods of travel to and from the buildings. Each plan was reflective of the individual circumstances and challenges present in the communities.

Berger Nearing Completion on Emerson College’s Renovation Project

The Berger Group is nearing completion on Emerson College’s $70 million Paramount Center Expansion and Renovation Project in Boston, Massachusetts. Berger’s duties have included assisting in the demolition of an adjacent building to make room for the new 145,000-square-foot Performance Development Center, the rebuilding of the stage house and the complete reconstruction of orchestra and balcony seating levels.

Dulles International Airport

In the early 1960s, the Berger Group was selected as the prime consultant for the original 350,000-square-foot-terminal at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. Since then, Berger has provided structural engineering services for 11 major projects at the facility, including serving as the structural engineer on the expansion of the main terminal, the incorporation of the automated people mover system’s main terminal station and the replacement of Concourses C and D with a new 2,500,000-square-foot, 44-gate Tier 2 Midfield Concourse.