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Diverse Infrastructure and Conservation Efforts Highlight Utah Water Resources

Recent projects highlight Utah’s push to better utilize water as experts in water resources share in cautious optimism.
By Taylor Larsen

So far in 2023, Utah’s water situation has been auspicious. It has been a wet season not seen in the state in well over a decade.

It has those involved in water infrastructure—from water conservancy districts and contractors and engineers to wastewater treatment engineers—excited about the possibilities in Utah to reverse the recent trends in water use. 

As water resource administrators keep a steady rhythm on an important note—water conservation—three projects from around the state highlight decades of effort to improve water infrastructure.

Rebuilding Old Tech

One of the recent projects is the Strawberry Water Users Association (SWUA) Forebay Structure rehabilitation and reconstruction of the previous 100-year-old forebay structure.

According to water engineering experts and project designers at Franson Civil Engineers, its functionality and footprint will be nearly identical while still improving technology and processes.

As Eric Franson, President of Franson Civil Engineers explained, “The structure was working, so we weren’t reinventing the wheel.” 

But you can make the (water) wheel better.

After completing the design, water was pulled out of the canal in the fall of 2022, allowing construction teams access to build the new structure. But construction brought some unique, weather-related challenges. The project’s restrictions limited work strictly to winter months. Bone-chilling winds whipped the WW Clyde construction team as they pumped massive amounts of necessary concrete.

Water from Strawberry Reservoir will pass through the new, more efficient forebay structure to drop off some of its sediment before reaching the hydropower plant turbines and the water’s ultimate destination: Spanish Fork River, serving water shareholders across Utah Valley.

After installing screening components for sediment removal, construction teams installed digital infrastructure like improved SCADA components to improve remote operability.

So far, Franson said that sediment removal capabilities have improved, resulting in cleaner water for both the hydropower turbines and irrigation and more efficient use of the valuable resource.

SWUA Forebay Structure

Owner: Strawberry Water Users Association

Designer: Franson Civil Engineers

General Contractor: WW Clyde

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Out with Old, In with the New


Improving the wheel is one thing, but the new Logan Valley Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility is akin to switching a handcart out for a Cadillac.


Lance Ota, Assistant Project Manager for MHW Contractors, said the new facility replaced the work of approximately 500 acres of open-air lagoons, ponds used to sink wastewater solids. However, the lagoons did not remove nitrogen and phosphorus and would require a treatment facility for the city to meet more stringent EPA laws to protect fish and other aquatic life.


The CMGC delivery method from MHW Contractors brought construction costs down to the campus with value engineering and scope reduction bringing about exactly what Logan City needed. 


One value engineering success came from Malcolm Drilling utilizing auger cast piles instead of steel-driven piles. This, Ota said, saved several million dollars on the project and allowed it to come in at $130 million, millions below the initially planned budget.


MWH Constructors divided the project into four scopes over the three-year construction timeline. Ota explained that 30 contracts were drawn up with different, local participants in mind to complete construction—foundations, masonry, building finishes, equipment, process piping, SCADA systems, and a healthy serving of concrete.


Ralph L. Wadsworth (RLW) Construction was heavily involved in all four scopes as the concrete contractor. RLW representatives said that the intricate nature of water infrastructure construction required smaller, more precise pours for the non-standard shapes the project required. Careful coordination between MHW Constructors, RLW Construction, concrete supplier LeGrand Concrete, and reinforcing suppliers and installers at Champion Fabrication and KG Steel made for a great team that poured and formed 24,000 CY of concrete.


Project completion on the greenfield site came out ahead of schedule to allow the owner to train an entirely new staff to run the facility. What was once a one-man operation has turned into a staff of 15 to better sample, test, and treat the 12-15 MG of wastewater influent from the Logan Valley before effluent cycles back into Cutler Reservoir.

Logan Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility

Owner: Logan City 

Designer: Carollo Engineers

General Contractor: MWH Constructors

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Closing the Loop


Traveling south, Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility (CVWRF) in South Salt Lake has improved its capabilities to manage new EPA guidelines with the 3 Water (3W) Improvement project. The newest building not only helps bring the facility to code but allows the facility to utilize reclaimed water for campus operations, according to Bill Crowley, Project Manager for COP Construction


Wastewater influent from CVWRF’s seven member entities passes through multiple cleaning phases before reaching the 3W Improvement systems. While the overall facility treats 50–60 million gallons of wastewater per day, this building and its systems, Crowley said, constitute the treatment processes able to remove nitrogen.


Water tables from nearby Mill Creek required lots of dewatering to make construction and future operations as safe as possible for the new building, Crowley reported. With 30,000 tons of aggregate and 3,000 CY of concrete, the full structure extends 25ft underground, with a 1-MG tank taking up much of the excavated space. 


Water that enters the 3W Improvement facility passes through one of three state-of-the-art disc filters, producing 7 MG of reclaimed water daily. Treated water then passes through the UV ray system to kill the final bacteria. “It’s like we’re running the water through a tanning bed,” said Crowley. 


As the final treatment, Crowley said sewage has been entirely removed from the water to updated EPA standards. Then, water can discharge as effluent into Mill Creek or, with this project, recirculated via the 15 turbine pumps across the CVWRF campus for cleaning, maintenance, and machine cooling purposes—creating a self-contained system on site.


During golf season, 3W Improvement produces reclaimed water for the nearby golf course, Golf the Round. Sure, the course is next door, but Crowley foresees the benefits of reclaimed water going all over the Beehive State, watering parks, schools, athletic fields, commercial development, and residential landscapes. 


After all, he said, as long as the water is clean, “Grass does not care what water it gets.”

3 Water Improvement Building

Owner: Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility

Designer: Brown and Caldwell 

General Contractor: COP Construct

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New Ways to Water


From watering turf grass to watering the fields and farms that produce our food, Crowley is certainly correct, but efficiency is still the name of the game.


Paul Monroe, General Manager for the Central Iron Conservancy District (CIWCD) saw a decline in per capita use among the around 50,000 users serviced by the CIWCD. The biggest decline, he said, has been in agricultural use.


“Biggest bang for the buck has been helping agriculture conserve water,” he said. While agriculture accounts for over 80% of overall water use statewide, CIWCD took the challenge to bring efficiency to agriculture. The district incentivized a switch from standard center pivot sprinklers to  “LEPA” or Low-Energy Precision Application distribution bubbles to spray water closer to the ground and into the crop canopy.


“Drops aren’t missing out [on the crops] and blowing out to another county,” he said.


After converting 2,000 acres and saving 250-300 MG of water, Monroe is looking forward to converting another 8,000 acres in center pivots to the more efficient system. 


“We’re still in a rural area with lots of agricultural heritage,” Monroe said, “and we’re trying to help farmers get over the edge and implement [these systems].”


Improving yields and using less water—this is the beginning of a huge success for the area in and around Cedar City, with Monroe reporting that CIWCD stands to conserve around 1.5 billion gallons of water per year if the remaining acreage adopts these improved watering methods.


Residential Shift


Down the road in Washington County, Zach Renstrom said it has been a phenomenal year.


“We couldn’t have asked for better,” he said of the long, steady storms that have showered rain on the Beehive State.


And that’s just the weather.


As General Manager for the Washington County Water Conservancy District (WCWCD), Renstrom and his team witnessed a strong push from their community of 180,000 to fully engage in conservation over the last year. He reported a significant decline in overall municipal water use—200 million gallons less than the previous year. 


“People here care about water conservation,” he said. “They want to be good stewards."


One recent push, he said, came from the homebuilding community. Recent restrictions—the most stringent in Utah—prohibit non-functional turf in new commercial, institutional, and industrial builds. Residential lots are restricted to turf covering a maximum of 8% of the overall lot size and a cap of total turf on larger lots.


Yet homebuilders jumped aboard. How? The enticing color of green.


Developers could conserve their dollars via decreased impact fees for projects and residences. But that decrease resulted from a change from much more efficient development, with the new level of service decreasing from 0.89 acre-feet of new residential construction to 0.59 acre-feet in 2022. The cost decrease per connection decreased from what would have been $21,209 to a WCWCD board-approved $13,500 per equivalent residential connection.


But they cautioned that this has been a long, repeated process to bring out such efforts from the development community and water customers.


“These processes haven’t happened overnight,” he said of countless meetings and countless years it takes to see noticeable results—there’s no magic button to get residents and businesses on board with conservation. “This is something that you can’t just propose or do immediately. It is a multi-year process educating multiple people who are interested in conservation.”


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Many Washington County developers and residents have ditched turf for more natural landscapes (photo courtesy Washington County Water Conservancy District), amounting to 200 MG less water used than last year with 5% more people living in the area.

Where is Water Trending?


Sure, those interviewed for this story are a little biased, but all said that water in Utah is looking up.


Franson, the civil engineer, cautioned against pinpointing just one area to tackle. Instead, finding the low-hanging fruit of efficiencies within each industry—landscaping, fixtures, farming equipment and practices—will move the conservation needle.

 

“We can make gains in every aspect and come up with ways to help everyone instead of creating a hierarchy,” he said. Holistically prioritizing what is most needed will help us better navigate the process.


He advocated for understanding the full cost and value of water. While it might bring out the pitchforks at city meetings across the Beehive State, moving forward will help citizens fully grasp the seriousness of the state’s water woes.


Crowley with COP Construction said Utah is starting to recognize the gravity of the situation, but where nearby states like Arizona and Colorado are leading the way in stretching all water as far as possible, Utah sits behind. State leaders have yet to pass laws to utilize reclaimed water on a large scale.


Monroe in Iron County said, “We’ve gotta buckle down and focus for an uncertain future.” Along with creating better partnerships between users and water suppliers, Monroe said the A/E/C community needs to be involved in making water development decisions—especially with how infrastructure takes years, even decades, to go from initial idea to finished construction. 


Case in point: his district’s plan to develop water for the district via the Pine Valley Water Supply Project (PVWSP). While initial planning began in 2006, Monroe reported that construction for the PVWSP will begin, at its earliest, in 2028. 


Amidst that caution, Renstrom in Washington County felt like both his area and the state as a whole are trending in the right direction, even if it has taken some refocusing.


“Historically, we’ve understood the importance of water,” he said of the monumental undertakings to organize water resources in the 19th and 20th centuries. “We got complacent, but we’re waking up.”


Water-related bills in the legislature, public meetings surrounding water resources, and even joining with neighbors to say, “How about the drought?”


“It’s a great discussion we are having right now,” said Zach. These discussions must continue, at every level, especially encouraging elected officials and residents to prioritize water as drought issues are sure to resurface.


The real attention, he said, will come from making a difference financially—incentives, grants, budgets, or, as Franson mentioned earlier, realizing the true cost of water and allocating resources accordingly. “We have to spend the money to make these decisions,” said Renstrom.


Hard decisions are waiting to be made, but the time to act is quickly drying up.

Robust Growth Fuels Lehi City's Development

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Mar, 2024
Adobe’s 680,000 SF Lehi Campus is an iconic project in Lehi that was completed in two phases, with the first phase opening at the beginning of 2013 and signaling a new era of development along the Silicon Slopes corridor. (photo by Dana Sohm) Inset: Aerial view showing an illustration of Texas Instruments’ new 300 mm semiconductor wafer manufacturing plant—referred to as “LFAB2”—which broke ground last November and marks the single largest investment (over $11 billion) in state history. (photo courtesy Texas Instruments)

Forging Ahead

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Mar, 2024
Work continues to grind forward on the mammoth new Salt Lake City Water Reclamation Facility (WRF)—a critical $850 million project being built by a joint venture of the Salt Lake regional offices of Sundt Construction and PCL Construction that will replace the current facility in North Salt Lake once it's turned over to SLC's Department of Utilities (SLCDPU) in July 2026. As it stands, this is the second-largest project in City history, trailing only the recent $2 billion-plus Salt Lake International Airport Redevelopment (Phases 3-4 ongoing), and one of the most technically challenging projects in the state. "We are up for the challenge every day—the magnitude of this thing is unreal," said Manny Diaz, Project Manager for Salt Lake-based Sundt, as he drove around the massive 30-acre site in late-January, a worksite teeming with 300 current employees (it will peak at 400 workers this summer) and myriad complicated structures being built simultaneously. Diaz is a long-time veteran of the water reclamation facility industry—this project marks plant No. 26 in his own personal history—and he was brought in a year ago by Sundt because of his expertise. When he arrived in Salt Lake at the beginning of last year, it was right smack dab in the middle of what proved to be a record-breaking year for snowfall. "It was quite a welcome to Utah!" Diaz chuckled. "We keep very close tabs on the weather." And while crews haven't been subjected to the same inclement weather this winter, site conditions are still generally wet and muddy, and the difficulties associated with building the various structures are constant. Crews are nearing the halfway mark, so certainly it's a milestone worth acknowledging, even though a mountain of construction is still left to climb. "It's such a huge accomplishment to be this far," said Jason Brown, Deputy Director of Public Utilities for SLC. "We've faced a lot of challenges, Covid, material shortages [...] it's amazing to be part of a team that works so well together. We still have a long way to go, but we'll get there. We've made a lot of progress and should be proud, but it's hard to celebrate success with so much work still ahead." Diaz, along with PCL Project Manager Shayne Waldron, said crews recently achieved a major milestone: one million hours worked, a notable accomplishment. “Achieving the ‘one million hours worked’ milestone is a testament to the coordination and collaboration required of a project this size," said Brown, adding that the new WRF project benefits from regular and ongoing staff collaboration, under the watch of Sundt/PCL, designers AECOM and Jacobs, and SLCDPU leadership. “This [milestone] is the culmination of many different efforts,” added Mauricio Ramos, District Manager for PCL’s Civil Infrastructure Division. “From local engineers to pipe layers, journeymen, construction trade workers, foremen, and general laborers, every team member has been instrumental in reaching this benchmark. The collaboration between PCL and Sundt has been a testament to our shared commitment to excellence and innovation.” "Our crews are working together seamlessly to ensure that the final product meets the goals and needs of the community," said Sam Reidy, Senior VP and District Manager for Sundt. "Celebrating this milestone recognizes the hard work and commitment each member of the project team has made to this project and the Sundt/PCL partnership." Diaz and Waldron said soil conditions challenged the team right out of the gate and took significant time to stabilize the site. "At the very beginning, the project was designed to be built on top of where the sludge beds were at, but it turns out the sludge beds were on shaky ground," said Diaz. "This whole area is young in age, so it's all soft clays and sands," added Waldron. "Soft clays are compressible, so the big issue is settling. It would have [cost] $80 million in piles to shore it up, and then in between buildings you have all the pipe and utility duct banks, so they would almost need to be built on piles." Waldron said the idea came up to pre-load the whole site, where crews built a flat pad, installed wick drains, then pre-loaded 30 ft. of dirt, with drains going down 125 feet and providing a way for water to be pushed out of the clay. "We had over seven feet of settlement," said Waldron. Crews also set up sophisticated monitoring equipment "to see where ground was settling and what layers were compressing the most. It was really scientific—a lot more than I've seen before." Diaz said it took six months to haul in the fill dirt where it remained in place for eight months, then took another six months to excavate out—close to one million yards of total material. It was an exhaustive process, with an average of 400 trucks per day and close to 500 trucks hauling 18,000 tons on the best day. Having a cohesive, highly collaborative team of designers and construction experts has been a boon to the project schedule. Once completed, Salt Lake City’s new WRF will serve over 200,000 residents as well as those who commute downtown to work or visit Utah's capital. It will replace the City’s current—and only—wastewater treatment facility, which is over 55 years old and near the end of its service life. Maintaining reliable operations at the existing facility while constructing the new WRF nearby has been critical for the project’s success. Since breaking ground in 2019, the project team has completed approximately 65% of structural concrete work as well as soil mitigation, deep foundation work, and the installation of underground utilities. In late January crews began excavating dual 63-in. diameter pipelines, along with a 78-in. effluent pipe that is being hauled one giant piece at a time from Canada, a new type of corrugated HDPE with welded joints that should provide greater durability. All in all, crews will ultimately pour 93,000 CY of concrete and install 22 million pounds of reinforcing steel, along with 89,000 LF of underground pipe ranging in diameter from 1.5-in. to 78-in. "The camaraderie among the team members allows for a very cohesive team," said Diaz. "The only way you can tell who works for who is by the color of the truck. We have a 'one project' mentality. The complexity of the job and being trusted to lead this effort [...] have been [important] for me. It's been a great job so far." Diaz, who said his first wastewater treatment plant was in North Miami Beach in the late 80s right after he graduated from college, hopes to remain in Utah once this job is completed and turned over to the client by mid-2026. “I plan on staying here and continue to work on treatment plants in Utah,” he said. “There’s a lot of work here. We have vast experience, and we have a lot of people who want to be in Utah—it’s a great place to live. Let’s do it!”

Let the Good Times Roll

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Mar, 2024
It's been more than 45 years (1978) since The Cars released their debut album highlighted by the wildly popular song Good Times Roll, but if there was ever a tune to sum up the general sentiment of local A/E/C professionals regarding Utah's 2024 Economic Outlook, Good Times Roll would be up there. "Our members are expecting another good year," said Joey Gilbert, President/CEO of the 650-member Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Utah. "For our contractors in both the building and highway markets, the outlook is good. Many still have decent backlogs to keep them busy through 2024 and in some cases, even 2025. The public sector is strong, and on the private side, owners are still investing in some big projects." Robert Spendlove, Chief Economist for Salt Lake-based Zions Bank, reported at the AGC's Economic Outlook meeting last November that commercial construction was up 1.6%, while Utah as a whole reported 2.5% growth overall, and believes both will continue to fare well in 2024. "Utah also has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the U.S. [2.5%]; when it gets too low, you get real struggles of labor shortages," he said. "It prevents companies from growing and is one of those defining economic characteristics of this past cycle. If we get above 4-5% we get nervous that it's a sign of a recessionary environment." Spendlove said tailwinds include strong consumer spending, a strong labor market, and an overall robust economic Intermountain West region, while headwinds could include a lack of new workers, government shutdowns, energy prices, and international uncertainty. Another bonus is that Utah remains one of the strongest states economically, regardless of what is happening nationally. "I would say uncomfortably optimistic," countered Dejan Eskic, Senior Research Fellow for the Kem Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, citing a number of factors potentially slowing down the design and construction industry such as housing, labor, and material price fluctuations—basically the same post-Covid headwinds Utah-based firms have been battling the past couple of years. "On paper, we should have a decent economic year in Utah. Because it's an election year, it brings more optimism generally. Stock performance does better in an election year, jobs do better. You have to stick to those basics. Eskic has been with the Gardner Institute for eight years, including the past five in his current role, explained that some of the uncomfortableness facing the local economy stems from having virtually no labor pool in certain segments, including construction—which continues to face a dearth of skilled craftsmen in virtually all subcontractor trades. "We still have red flags," he said, noting concerns with still-high housing costs. "Maybe it's too early to call if we've cracked inflation. 2023 ended up way better than anybody expected—it was supposed to be a recession year, but the recession never came, and the labor market exceeded expectations. "I'm bullish on Utah," he added. "I look at the numbers and how we're going, and we're in a very strong growth pattern with the economy. Things will continue to expand." Indeed, despite nasty rising interest rates that put the brakes on some speculative development projects, Utah-based owners continued to plow ahead on projects, and by-and-large most market segments continued to see a healthy amount of activity as firms set about tackling healthy project backlogs.

Building Blocks

By Reuben Wright • 01 Mar, 2024
Crews working on bridge sections of the project did the majority of heavy-lifting—as seen with these giant cranes lifting heavy girders—during the wee hours of the night, part of UDOT’s expectations of keeping traffic moving by limiting road closures. (night photos by Kjell Gerber, BuildWitt)

Heart of a New City

By Brad Fullmer • 01 Mar, 2024
It's been a long time coming for elected officials and the citizens of Millcreek City, but their beloved $45 million, nearly 80,000 SF City Hall is finally complete, ending a lengthy five-year process that tested all parties involved but produced an awe-inspiring six-story building that will serve as the public heart of this rising community southeast of downtown Salt Lake. "It's awesome!" gushed Jeff Silvestrini, in reference to his view as he peered out across the Salt Lake Valley from his fourth-floor corner office, with captivating views via a complex glass curtain wall system highlighted with an intricate, highly functional screen shade. As the only mayor Millcreek City has known during its brief seven-year existence (it was incorporated Dec. 28, 2016), Silvestrini was recently re-elected for another four-year term (he ran unopposed) and has been a driving force behind this new project. "I could see this [view] was going to be amazing when I climbed up the crane when the concrete structure was going up. Standing on the exposed sixth floor before the curtain wall went up, I was humbled at this monumental undertaking for a new city. What we do as a city government is serve the people. We can serve the people much better in a facility like this." Unique Municipal Design Fosters Public Engagement with a "Downtown" Feel Millcreek City Hall builds upon the momentum created by the adjacent Millcreek Common to the east (opened in December 2022) to create an actual "Downtown" or "City Center" space at the bustling area of 3300 South between 1300 East and Highland Drive, which includes a host of exciting new nearby multi-family and mixed-use developments under construction. The project leverages a public-private partnership (PPP) with a local developer on an adjacent shared parking garage, along with the much-needed residential housing. Silvestrini said City leaders "did not contemplate putting City Hall here" initially, but public feedback made it clear residents wanted a downtown area to call their own. Millcreek Common—replete with an ice ribbon, splash pad, and room for food trucks—was planned as a public plaza space and has been wildly popular since its completion in late 2022. Residents also wanted City Hall to have real spaces for the public, not just a strictly-government facility, which provided exciting design opportunities for Salt Lake-based MHTN Architects, which initially worked with City officials in 2017-18 on a City Center Master Plan, which came about via a grant through the Wasatch Front Regional Council, according to Ryan Wallace, Principal-in-Charge for MHTN. "It's located roughly in the geographic center of the community and easily accessed by vehicle, transit, and active transportation—it's something that can unite the community," said Wallace. "The client has created four projects in one," aided by a vertical building mixed-use approach on the narrow footprint, a key to allowing optimum future adjacent development. "We realized early on that there was an opportunity to build a true civic center," added Silvestrini. "The more we thought about it, the more it made sense." The commitment to having a true community building is evident on the first floor, which includes a coffee house, a restaurant, and a flex public market with rotating businesses. "[City leaders] wanted an activating ground floor use that would support their idea of a downtown," said Wallace. "They didn't want City Hall to only be active 8-to-5 and then a dead zone at night." City officials and MHTN staff also drew inspiration on a tour of the new City Hall in Lenexa, Kansas, which includes adjacent common space and a ground floor retail/public market. "Everyone seemed to be thinking on the same wavelength," said Peggy McDonough, MHTN President who served as Project Executive on Millcreek City Hall. "We all felt like this was a completely unique project, unlike any other city hall that we've been a part of, and the second that has a market level. It's being looked at as an example of good development." While level 1 is sure to be a hit with Millcreek residents and visitors over time, levels 2 through 5 showcase the versatility and functionality of the project, with all essential government functions for Millcreek City, along with Unified Police and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Unified Police is housed on level 2 and utilizes a one-level sally port/private garage under the building (another bonus of the PPP parking garage). Millcreek City is housed on levels 3-5, with the top floor—level 6—serving as prime community space highlighted by the Grandview community room and its opulent Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) roof that evokes a natural warmth throughout the space.

AIA Utah 2024

By Fran Pruyn • 01 Mar, 2024
For the first time in its 103-year history, The Utah Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Utah) has a fully female executive leadership team. It wasn’t intentional, as Past-President Jessica Hoffman stated, “That is who stepped up.” And more importantly, these women have an aggressive plan for serving the entire, very diverse, association. "I'm very excited—we have a great team!" said Chamonix Larsen, Salt Lake City/Denver Department Manager for Morrison Hirschfield, who will serve as 2024 President. "They are all very passionate about what they do, and how architecture can make positive changes in our community." AIA Utah also has a new Executive Director, with Angie Harris Roberts coming on board last spring in a part-time role that transitioned to full-time in October. She is charged with overseeing industry legislation and streamlining AIA services such as providing standard contract documents, sponsoring educational events, and hosting conferences that communicate new design ideas, technologies, and initiatives. Larsen has targeted adding value to members and increasing public outreach scope as her focus for the upcoming year. One particularly exciting (and needed) project proposes a mentorship program that utilizes the talents of the AIA fellows and partnering organizations. The staff and board have applied for a grant and approached local firms for matching funds to build a long-term, multi-generational program, that assists mentees to achieve licensure faster and stay in the profession. Working through the Young Architects Forum and the American Institute of Architects Students, the program will enlist the talents of Utah AIA Fellows, the National Organization of Minority Architects, and Women in Architecture, connecting seasoned architects with emerging professionals. They will answer questions and give guidance and counsel on matters ranging beyond making design decisions and locating answers to technical questions, to how to craft career paths and find professional satisfaction. "We've been through some changes, and having a new executive director is exciting as well," added Larsen. "Coming out of the pandemic, it's been about reconnecting with everybody and improving our organizational excellence. It's important to me that we run as efficiently as possible, given that we rely on volunteers. We have an opportunity to dive into what firms need, and how we can better serve our members." Larsen addressed staffing, having access to quality talent, and attracting more skilled architects to the state as key topics. The outlook for Utah remains solid, she said, albeit with some tempered expectations in some markets (multi-family, industrial) which may see projects put on hold until interest rates soften. Utah's continued growth, steady economy, and the prospect of another Salt Lake Winter Olympics raises optimism for the foreseeable future. Leadership is also committed to helping sister organizations with programs aimed at stimulating interest in architecture from outside the industry and providing a pipeline of talent from a diversity of backgrounds into the industry. This includes encouraging programs in elementary schools to educate children about the role of architecture in a community, collaborating on youth mentoring events, and fostering NOMA’s effort to bring architects from underrepresented groups into the College of Fellows. 2024 AIA Utah Leadership President – Chamonix Larsen, AIA is an experienced architect with a diverse professional background with 20+ years of experience including building envelope consulting, architectural design, technical design lead, project management, owner’s representative, and commissioning authority. She joined Morrison Hershfield’s Building Science Division in 2017 and manages building envelope consulting teams in Salt Lake and Denver. While at the State of Utah, Larsen oversaw the development and implementation of the DFCM's High Performance Building Standard and state-wide operational sustainability efforts. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Utah College of Architecture and Planning. President Elect – Whitney Ward, AIA, LEED AP is a Principal at Salt Lake-based VCBO Architecture and has been with the firm since 2007. Ward embraces a holistic design approach and is an advocate for both community engagement and sustainable design. She also teaches Sustainable Development as an Adjunct Professor with the University of Utah City and Metropolitan Planning Department. Secretary – Natalie Shutts-Bank, AIA, RIBA is an experienced architect who thrives when navigating between the vastness of all creative possibilities and the real-world constraints of any design problem. She has worked multiple design typologies at a range of scales on higher education, civic, hospitality, healthcare, and large-scale residential projects. Treasurer – Libby Haslam, AIA, RIBA, LEED AP, NCARB is the founder of Studio Long Playing, an architectural firm that practices many typologies of spaces. The firm’s current focus is on higher education. Studio LP is also engaged in restaurant design and residential work, with the intent for collaboration with different artisans and art forms. She has been teaching studio as an Associate Professor (career-line) at the University of Utah School of Architecture since graduating from the U in 2001For the first time in its 103-year history, The Utah Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Utah) has a fully female executive leadership team. It wasn’t intentional, as Past-President Jessica Hoffman stated, “That is who stepped up.” And more importantly, these women have an aggressive plan for serving the entire, very diverse, association. "I'm very excited—we have a great team!" said Chamonix Larsen, Salt Lake City/Denver Department Manager for Morrison Hirschfield, who will serve as 2024 President. "They are all very passionate about what they do, and how architecture can make positive changes in our community."

CFC Supply 25th Anniversary

By LADD MARSHALL • 30 Nov, 2023
(left to right) Gene and Sue Larsen, their son Blake, and his wife, JaLynn, at the CFC Supply Christmas Party, made extra special this year with the firm’s 25th anniversary. (photos courtesy CFC)

The Real Business Never Changes

By Taylor Larsen • 30 Nov, 2023

UMC Announces 2023 Excellence in Masonry Awards

By Brad Fullmer • 30 Nov, 2023
Commercial Project--Honor 95 State at City Creek

High-tech Hexcel-lence

By B. H. Wright • 30 Nov, 2023
The days of the commercial industrial market consisting primarily of boring, staid (read: ugly) warehouse and manufacturing buildings are long gone, as employee-conscious corporations and forward-thinking real estate developers have been realizing the value of housing employees in spaces that sizzle with stylish interior designs with loads of on-site amenities. Hexcel Corporation did just that with the design of its most significant recent project in West Valley City, a $34 million, 105,000-SF facility dubbed the Center of Research & Technology Excellence, which includes the largest high-performance carbon fiber manufacturing plant in the world, along with housing Hexcel's aerospace matrix operations. The center is "designed to encourage and inspire our team to dream big and ensure that our customers are awarded the strongest, lightest weight, most durable advanced composites that the world has ever seen," said Nick Stanage, Hexcel Chairman, CEO and President. He said that when the Center opens, “you will be surrounded by everything it means to be a leader in advanced composites technology. You will see high-tech labs and cutting-edge research and testing equipment. Our lobby will showcase advancements and innovations that are propelling the future in commercial aerospace, space and defense, and industrial markets.” Sharp aesthetics and providing optimum working conditions are a must for employers in a market with a current state unemployment average hovering just over 2% and in a society where the workforce is increasingly opting to work remote (at home) either full-time, or with a hybrid/flex schedule. The primary objective of the facility is to serve as a catalyst for research and development in advanced composite technology, with a specific focus on aerospace, space, defense, and industrial applications. According to Mike Phillips, VP of Project Development at R&O Construction's Salt Lake office, the fast-track design-build seamlessly blended a tilt-up laboratory with a two-story Class A office building, illustrating the owner's attention to high quality and optimum design. "The entire team was focused on schedule and cost throughout the process, while meeting owner's requirements and needs. It was a very successful project." The facility's design transcends conventional manufacturing and research spaces. Instead of a stark separation between these functions, the building integrates both—fostering an environment where scientists and production personnel can collaborate seamlessly. This approach underscores Hexcel's commitment to innovation and how diverse functions can coexist within the same space. One of the project's most noteworthy contributions lies in its commitment to sustainability. Hexcel actively recycles carbon fiber prepreg composite cutoffs to produce composite panels that find applications in commercial markets. By upcycling and repurposing materials, the project demonstrates a forward-thinking approach to resource utilization and waste reduction. In a resourceful move, the tilt panels were utilized as the crane path to avoid potential soil issues. This approach was executed after thorough consultation with engineers, resulting in a seamless process with all panels standing within a short timeframe, without any compromise to structural integrity or aesthetic appeal. Exterior Trespa panels were strategically oriented to create a dynamic carbon checkerboard pattern, aligning with the aesthetic of Hexcel's innovative products. This deliberate choice not only showcases a visually striking design element but also reflects the company's commitment to excellence in composite materials. Tilt-up panels underwent a meticulous sandblasting process to enhance their carbon-like appearance. This technique, applied after curing and installation, contributes to the overall visual effect and reinforces the project's dedication to craftsmanship.
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