Confidential Client Data Center #3

Industry:
Mission Critical
Size:
121,000 sq. ft.
Location:
Santa Clara, CA
Year:
2020 — 2021
The new Adobe 100 Hooper campus is an addition to the company’s current historic facility located a few blocks away. The key project goal was to expand Adobe’s presence and operations in San Francisco’s Design District and promote an urban campus feel. The building’s design supports employees’ needs and reaches beyond the typical and boring desk set-up.
Being constructed from a cold shell, the new Adobe office building now covers:
Two lobbies and four floors of workspace
A dining area
A roof deck
Fitness center with meditation rooms and showers
“Media rooms” for those who are into music, games, and virtual reality
A library zone
A kitchen and a café
Multiple meeting rooms of different sizes located throughout the open floor plan
In terms of general BIM coordination, our biggest challenge was to establish the best possible processes unique for the Adobe 100 Hooper project.
Los Angeles International Airport is undoubtedly the engine of the regional economy, being the second busiest airport in the United States. In 2021, the construction of LAX Metro Connector began, aiming to elevate passengers’ experience and reduce the structure’s operational and embodied carbon emission. It’s a multi-phase aviation construction project involving the building of three at-grade light rail transit platforms that will be added to the Metro K Line at Aviation Bl/96th St.
Kilroy Oyster Point Phase I covers almost 660,000 sq. ft. of leasable research and development (R&D) facilities with associated parking spaces and the project's parcel of about 10 acres. Phase I construction consists of three towers offering lab and office areas over four levels of structured parking to the target tenants, which are companies' offices and life sciences focusing on biotech laboratories. The MEP infrastructure is designed for a "flexible" building to feature a 70:30 lab-to-office ratio.
With the LEED platinum certification, Kilroy Oyster Point is a popular destination for technological progress and discovery. The local history, landform, and the sea have impacted the facility's cutting-edge design, promoting energizing environment, wellness, sustainable efforts, and productivity. When working on this compelling commercial real estate project, VEC's most critical challenge was providing accurate budgeting and cost estimation and guaranteeing construction with the least possible clashes.
VEC experts participated in the Kilroy Oyster Point Phase I from 2019 to 2021 providing our reliable electrical BIM & VDC services, including 3D modeling of power, lighting, and fire alarm (FA) systems. During the project, we collaborated closely with Prime Electric as an electrical contractor and Hathaway Dinwiddie as a General Contractor, who also played the BIM facilitator role and managed the entire BIM process.
We collaborated with the design team and other trades during the pre-construction and construction stages. Thanks to such coordination and BIM software, VEC compared 3D models of various building systems and identified field conflicts seamlessly before installation. Our team assisted in reviewing and confirming that models were clean, accurate, and created according to the design. As a trusted BIM and VDC partner, VEC facilitated the exchange of 3D models by promoting collaborative document sharing.

The confidential customer’s brand-new data center in Santa Clara aimed to be delivered as a turnkey facility or a power shell with a critical power capacity of 10 megawatts. Moreover, this 121,000-square-foot carrier-neutral project has a strategic location with access to major fiber routes. It offers private and shared office spaces, secure staging and storage areas next to a loading dock, and enough on-site parking.

Besides, the project had the intent to increase the amount of data center inventory and competition in Silicon Valley. The latter is not only among the biggest and most crucial data center markets in the United States but one of the most challenging destinations to construct new facilities of this type. During the work on that mission-critical object, the biggest challenge for our team was guaranteeing the most efficient performance of electrical and power systems, considering the building’s primary purpose and size.

The experienced VEC experts played an important role in constructing such a modern data center facility at Comstock Street in 2020-21. In that case, our skilled team provided top-notch electrical BIM & VDC services, emphasizing power, lighting, and telecommunications systems modeling. Thanks to BIM technology, we ensured precise information and effective document management. That allowed the client to benefit from our 3D models after completing the construction process. 

Regarding project deliverables, we developed accurate and high-detailed native Revit models. Those contained no unnecessary data or clutter; they involved the proper drawing sheets and linked reference documents. So, VEC’s models covered all approved and validated field-related changes, specific construction details, customer-defined parameters, and other native files.

After an initial consultation period to assess their facility management (FM) operations, VEC provided campus-wide as-built and existing conditions mapping and modeling. Once this phase was complete,VEC was engaged to produce a visioning video demonstrating how a common-data structure could be implemented with existing FM systems and databases to build a Virtual Data Center FM program.

Services

Our client’s primary objective was to cater to numerous enterprise partners and customers. When working on this exceptional project, the most significant challenge for VEC experts was to develop robust 3D models of electrical systems along with providing high-level VDC coordination and onsite quality control services to assist the client in improving its business performance and offering digital transformation initiatives for businesses.

With VEC, you are free to choose the services your project requires in any order or package. Over the course of this versatile collocation data centers work, we contributed with:

Electrical BIM & VDC

VEC's professionals played a crucial role in the data center project in 2018—2021  by providing world-class electrical BIM & VDC services, mainly focusing on power, lighting, fire alarm (FA), and telecom system modeling.

We created accurate and detailed as-built native Revit models which were free from unnecessary clutter or extraneous files and included drawing sheetsand linked reference documents. These models encompassed final approvedand validated field changes, specific construction details, and unique client-defined parameters.

VDC Coordination Management

One of the stages of the data centers expansion project involved VEC’s BIM Coordination and Management services for the two-story structure with a steel frame and precast concrete elements, supported by six emergency generators and mechanical and electrical rooms. The abundant sunshine of Silicon Valley fuels the building’s solar collection panels mounted on the roof.

Our skilled BIM & VDC team provided advanced VDC coordination management services, including contract language assistance, creating a well-detailed BIM Execution Plan (BEP) and coordination schedules, along withthe coordination platform setup. VEC directed all the efforts at creating one seamless collaborative space for all the contractors involved.

Onsite Quality Control

The project implies the construction of the data center buildings with a totalof about 411,000 square feet in size on an approximately 18-acre site. The latter will also be enforced by the electrical substation as an additional power source.The building network of this complexity and level of significance demands for the advanced accuracy in evaluating the jobsite to spot and avoid deviationsat the earliest possible.

The VEC team powered the construction crew with our exceptional Onsite Quality Control services. Utilizing drone technology and 3D laser scanning allowed for capturing site conditions in all available dimensions rather thanonly from a ground level observation. Photo and Video documentationof the gathered data in 360° drove the precision in decision making throughoutthe project overall.
The T3W project aims to augment revenue opportunities by extendingthe unique passenger experience in Boarding Area E and Terminal 3 East. All the mentioned improvements to Terminal 3 West will align with the latest building fire safety code, which entails reconfiguring the security checkpoints. For VEC, as an experienced contractor having already delivered successful outcomes for SFO, the biggest challenge was ensuring the proper performance of all electrical systems, mainlysecurity ones.
VEC’s specialists started working on this state-of-the-art aviation building project in 2020. Since then, our professional team has provided outstanding electrical BIM & VDC services that cover 3D modeling of power, lighting, telecom, fire alarm (FA), and security systems.

Our services involved developing a BIM Execution Plan (BEP) that was shared with other project contractors. The relevant approach proved efficient as it facilitated effective management of BIM deliverables, swift detection of clashes, and overall improvement in the coordination process. By utilizing Revit, VEC’s experts generated robust 3D models providing seamless construction coordination among all trades.
Our scope of work at LAX encompassed the design and 3D modeling of the underground utilities across the airport’s 530,000-square-foot terrain. A task of such scale requires immense responsibility in terms of the structure’s safety and long-term functionality.The skilled civil team at VEC gravitates towards ambitious projects as they enable innovation to flourish. With our communities in mind we took on the challenge to “lay grounds” for other construction teams contributing to LAX infrastructure expansion.

KEY OUTPUT

Our general BIM coordination specialists helped all the involved project parties stay focused on creating a constructible model.
VEC brought clear shop drawings and layouts to the general contractor and client.
We cut down the number of RFIs and reduced carbon emissions.
Thanks to detailed, real-time cost data, like schedules, pricing, and quantities, our team estimated and predicted the potential project ROI.
With exceptional general BIM coordination services, VEC contributed to building a modern Adobe 100 Hooper Campus that achieved two key sustainability certifications — LEED-CI v4 and Fitwel,  supporting green building best practices and delivering to employees’ health.

ONSITE AT LAX

At the LAX job site, we stick to our detailed shop drawings to ensure the flawless installation of prefabricated materials. With VEC, LAX will get its infrastructure expanded with the best design and the accessibility of critical construction information.

The client’s expectations are VEC’s guiding light towards the project's successful completion. During the LAX expansion, we aimed at exceeding the results on set goals, as involving BIM and VDC technology in a project this demanding in terms of scale and safety standards was a venture for our client.
Acknowledging our client's trust and confidence in us, the VEC team was dedicated to providing clear and precise 3D models for the airport’s civil underground utilities. Using Revit, VEC BIM & VDC experts created 3D coordination models for each project phase.

3D models are digitally correct spatial and dimensional representations of the future object. Due to its shared ownership, the coordination model facilitates the overall project management and ensures the discovery of conflicts prior to issuing final construction drawings. Being able to walk the job site provided the VEC crue with invaluable insight into the other project trades bringing our virtual models to life in the field.

KEY OUTPUT

Having the responsibility to lay the foundation for the whole structure’s operation, VEC needed to be able to detect clashes and conflicts at the early stages of the project to then solve them within a reasonable timeframe. There is no greater assistant with such a goal as BIM & VDC technology that allowed us to:
Design a complex system of underground utilities for LAX Metro Connector, maintaining a high accuracy of pricing throughout the project;
Exceed our client’s expectations, creating the project’s coordination ecosystem that invited for entrusting us with more scopes of work;
Reduce the number and magnitude of issues that distract from project’s momentum;
Provide seamless functionality of the Metro Connector’s critical systems ensuring enjoyable airport’s passengers’ and staff experience.
Alongside being highly operational and aimed at facilitating passengers’ trip, Los Angeles International Airport Metro Connector is also a fascinating travel maze including Automated People Mover, bus plaza, bicycle and Metro Hub. The VEC team is proud to have contributed to the design of the core underground utilities of the central aviation construction project.

No items found.
The ZSFG’s Building 5 seismic retrofit will eventually affect 200 locations on all seven floors of the facility fulfilling the long-term vision to convert Building 5 into the new Outpatient Care Center. VEC’s client was leading this large-scale structure strengthening project and needed an unrivaled confidence in data presented on the project’s shop drawings and layouts. Nothing suits better for such a task than VEC’s BIM & VDC Coordination services, so our accomplished crew joined the mission.
Our biggest challenge on the project was to meticulously process the construction documents (CDs), existing site conditions, required schedules and budgets to identify and hit the project-specific milestones. On the path to fulfilling this task, VEC provided contract language assistance to identify what BIM standards had already been considered and followed by developing a construction-focused, well-structured, and transparent BIM Execution Plan (BEP). We also set up the coordination platform to ensure that constant communication, data transparency and accountability are ever present across all project teams. Our work resulted in a coherent system of concrete shop drawings foundations across all 7 floors of the ZSFG Hospital’s Building 5.

CUSTOMER VALUE

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital houses unique research programs of the University of California at San Francisco which cater to patients improving surgical techniques and developing injury prevention routines. Reinforcing the Building 5 seismic upgrade project with our BIM & VDC Coordination services, VEC:
Ensured all project stakeholders were aligned and focused on delivering a constructible model.
Minimized the number of RFIs securing the project from the sign-off time increase and cost overruns.
Facilitated VDC coordination using a user-friendly platform, enabling stakeholders to access accurate project information and stay updated on the progress.
ZSFG is the county's sole Level I trauma center and the largest facility for acute inpatient and rehabilitation care for psychiatric patients. Being a part of its seismic reinforcement embodies  VEC’s vocation
in the AECO industry — helping the best build (and care) better.
No items found.

KEY OUTPUT

The VEC team contributed to this bayfront area project with our first-class electrical modeling services, covering a state-of-the-art life science campus with commercial office spaces and a pleasant marine environment. We achieved all project goals and addressed crucial emerging concerns.
The VEC team enhanced design and construction activities by increasing transparency, seamless data access, and facilitating data exchange among stakeholders.
Thanks to advanced 3D system modeling capabilities, the client could achieve greater cost certainty and scheduling, resulting in improved project delivery.
Our professionals developed fully clash-detected models that assisted in reducing the number of RFIs on the facility location and avoiding numerous clashes.

Key output

With our top-notch BIM & VDC services, VEC contributed to constructing modern data center facilities, helping our confidential client target LEED Silver certification by creating energy-efficient systems.
Our exceptional 3D modeling services granted the customer to have achieved schedule and cost certainty, improving project deliveryand outcomes.
VEC developed fully clash-detected models to minimize Requests for Information (RFIs) regarding object locations, mitigatingthe deviations effectively.
Closely collaborating with our client, the VEC team created model shop drawings within the relevant timeframes, and met allthe project’s requirements.
VEC’s contribution to the Silicon Valley data center expansion project enabled seamless campus cross-connectivity to other facilities, making it a perfect location for those seeking interconnection with prominent network and cloud service providers.

CUSTOMER VALUE

CUSTOMER VALUE

With our world-class electrical BIM & VDC services, we helped the customer to break ground in Santa Clara and continue offering the best possible wholesale data center leasing in the whole state.
The VEC team enhanced design and construction activities by increasing transparency, seamless data access, and facilitating data exchange among stakeholders.
Thanks to advanced 3D system modeling capabilities, the client could achieve greater cost certainty and scheduling, resulting in improved project delivery.
Our professionals developed fully clash-detected models that assisted in reducing the number of RFIs on the facility location and avoiding numerous clashes.
As a responsible BIM & VDC partner, we keep all our project documentation construction-oriented, well-detailed, and transparent.

VEC thoroughly examined the existing contract language to gain understanding of the BIM standards already applied. Making improvement suggestions relevant to the project, our team enhanced the contract’s effectiveness. Followed by a well-defined BEP and phase specific schedules, Campus Building 22 project secured a solid start.
VEC’s contribution to constructing such a state-of-the-art campus helped our confidential client to maintain its strong connection with the Menlo Park community. With a glass facade structure showing attractive design features like specific staircase connections and a long skylight, the facility became a landmark in the neighborhood.
VEC, as a first-class BIM & VDC provider, became a crucial part of the construction of this modern commercial office building with an enormous parking garage.
By correctly modeling power and lighting systems, our team made it easier for installers to build them on-site, ensuring time and money savings.
Being involved in this campus building project, our specialists assisted the general contractor and other trades to construct an energy-efficient facility representing the client’s innovative practices and sustainability efforts.

VEC Team Reviews

Omar Hussien

"It's amazing how fast and how much the bluff has receded over the last year. To capture and analyze this data opens my eyes to what this technology can be used for."

Jesus Chavez

"It was a pleasure working alongside AECOM to analyze the corrosion of the bluff using Laser scanning Technology and Drone Photogrammetry. The data we captured is essential as it will provide insight into the stability and safety of the bluff."