Members of the U.S. Armed Forces deserve state-of-the-art training centers to prepare them for active duty at home and abroad. With that mindset, Olsson undertook overseeing the design-build for the Army National Guard Readiness Center in Ardmore, Oklahoma.
As the AE1 for the project, we provided multidisciplinary engineering and architectural services. Along with our associated architectural and sustainability subject-matter-expert partner firm, Jones Design Studio, we identified the salient qualities of the new facility in terms of performance metrics, the creation of a request for qualifications (RFQ), and a request for proposal (RFP), which provided the means to select a Design-Build Team and to establish the structure for ensuring compliance with project requirements.
From the start, the goal was to provide the best possible environment to support National Guard soldiers in the most efficient manner possible, to design excellence that establishes a model for future Oklahoma Readiness Centers, and to give the state a world-class military facility.
Opening in early 2020, the new 82,568 square-foot (sf) Readiness Center houses three Army National Guard units and serves as a training center and armory for the State of Oklahoma.
Solicitation packages were written using the Design Build Institute of America’s Best Practices. The design incorporated sustainability, resiliency, and substantial energy efficiency considerations, and prepared for future renewables to achieve net-zero energy. The project is currently pursuing a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold status and will be the most energy efficient and sustainable building in the Oklahoma Military Department portfolio.
The Readiness Center features classrooms, training rooms, an armory, command and administrative offices, a wide-span multipurpose training and assembly area, a high-volume commercial kitchen and troop dining area, and staff locker rooms. The intriguing architecture of the project pays respect to the important history of the regional Army National Guard by simultaneously reflecting a modern design that is also reminiscent of a western frontier fortress.
Primary facilities also include a 550 sf Access Control Building, a 300 sf Controlled Waste Facility, a 200 sf Flammable Materials Storage Facility, and a backup/emergency generator. Collateral project components included the demolition of the former Ardmore Readiness Center site and all associated environmental aspects such as hazardous material abatement.
Extensive infrastructure improvements and supporting facilities for the Readiness Center consist of rigid concrete pavement for the main entrance and access control point; primary access roads and military equipment parking; flexible paving for parking and secondary emergency access roads; security fencing with access gates along the perimeter of the site; exterior security lighting; hydrologic and hydraulic modeling for stormwater management and storm drainage design in compliance with Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) Section 438 requirements; and extension of the site utilities to the Readiness Center.
Acting as the owner’s advisor, we performed predesign site assessments, including boundary and topographic surveying and subsurface investigations; coordination and incorporation of environmental studies and research into the Design-Build RFP; owner assistance for developing a Design-Build Done Right Source Selection model using narrative performance specifications based upon the UniFormat 2010 Element Classifications for Building Specifications, Cost Estimating, and Cost Analysis; performance of feasibility and concept studies; and the development of project program requirements, including anti-terrorism/force protection and security measures.
Work began on the new Readiness Center in February 2018, and the project is expected to be completed in February 2020.