Project Description

Diaz•Yourman & Associates (DYA) provided geotechnical design services for an essential services facility, the LEED^® Certified Silver Command and Control Center.  The project site had several features that together posed significant and unique challenges to characterization, analysis, design, and construction.  These features included:

• Proximity (approximately 10 feet) to the existing Fire Station No. 15
• High earthquake ground shaking potential
• Man-made hydraulic fills of variable consistency and high liquefaction potential
• Buried rock dikes with rock up to 5 feet in dimension under the building footprint
• A perimeter rock containment dike approximately 45 feet high and 80 feet east of the building footprint

Because of the complexity of the site, DYA consulted with several university professors who are renown in the study of slope stability, liquefaction potential, cone-penetration test analysis, lateral displacement, and the resistance of pile foundations to large lateral displacement.  There was general agreement that the conditions of this project, particularly due to the buried rock dikes, were not effectively addressed in the technical and professional literature.  As design practitioners, we have used the methods available together with practical judgment to develop a unique solution to the site constraints.

Gary K. Gilbert, PE, GE – Geotechnical Manager

Allen M. Yourman, Jr., PE, GE – Geotechnical Principal