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New England Studios

New England Studios broke ground during the summer of 2012 for construction of a series of sound studios where film crews will be able to shoot movies and television shows. The project is being built at Devens, Mass. on the site of a former military base. The project is envisioned to “bring Hollywood to Massachusetts” while providing 800 to 1,000 jobs to the local area.

The four sound studios measure 120’ x 150’ each. Bowstring Trusses span the 120’ and are designed to carry the roof loads as well as the ceiling loads, catwalks, lighting, etc.. Western Wood Structures designed and supplied the Glulam trusses and framing system. The trusses were fabricated and trial assembled in the shop and shipped to the site partially assembled. It took 19 long haul trucks to transport the trusses across the country.


Once the trusses were off loaded at the site they were assembled in their upright positions and lifted into place with a large crane fully assembled. They measure 120’ in length and have a 16’-6’ width.

The trusses were manufactured from Douglas fir Glulam and weigh ~ 34,000 lbs each including steel connectors when fully assembled.

The catwalks are being installed just after the massive trusses have been set.

LeMay Wins Award

Woodworks, an initiative of the Wood Products Council, was established to provide technical support, resources, and education related to the design and use of wood in non-residential projects.


Each year Woodworks recognizes outstanding projects for their use of wood in several categories. The 2013 award winners were announced at the San Francisco Bay area Wood Solutions Fair on January 29, 2013.

The winner in the commercial category was LeMay – America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington.

• Architect – LARGE Architect - Los Angeles, Calif.
• Engineer – Magnussen Klemencic Associates - Seattle, WA.
• Contractor – JTM Construction – Seattle, WA.
• Roof Structure Engineer – Western Wood Structures – Tualatin, Oregon

Western Wood Structures also supplied and installed the Heavy Timber roof structure.

Jordan Park

The Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District [THPRD] was founded in 1955 by a group of citizens who envisioned the future needs of their Beaverton, Oregon community. The mission of the THPRD is to “provide high quality park and recreational facilities, programs, services and natural areas that meet the needs of the diverse communities it serves”. THPRD serves 220,000 residents in an area covering 50 square miles. Within the 2,200 acres owned and/or maintained by THPRD today, they operate at least 90 parks containing 60 miles of paved and unpaved nature trails along with various recreation centers and swim complexes.


Recognizing a strong need to provide better citizen access to Jordan Park, a Landscape Architect from THPRD contacted Western Wood Structures to inquire about the use of timber bridges and boardwalks. Following several site meetings and consultations, plans were developed and a contract was awarded to WWS to supply pre-fabricated bridge materials.

Three structures were required to complete this project:

This 40-foor side girder bridge rests on diamond piers foundations manufactured by Pin Foundations, Inc. These piers are light weight, low impact, and easy to transport and install. The bridge deck as well as the post & rail system was manufactured from recycled plastic lumber.

This 20-foot short span bridge was constructed at the base of a stairway system and traverses a narrow drainage ditch. It connects to a pathway system that leads to an elevated boardwalk over an environmentally sensitive area. The boardwalk is 32’-6” in length and is also supported by diamond piers.

The Tioga Bridge

In May of 2010, authorization was granted by BLM to fund a project east of Roseburg, Oregon which provided improvements and modifications to the Susan Creek Day - Use Area. Components of this package included trail construction, improvements and modifications, the construction of new Gazebos, and the construction of a new 270 foot long pre-engineered Glulam Bridge.


The Tioga Bridge as it is known was placed on existing concrete piers which once supported a bridge that was once part of an existing road system that washed out in 1964. By utilizing the existing piers, the BLM realized considerable costs savings in the project.

The replacement bridge was advertised for bids and the specifications required design, pre-fabrication, and supply of all bridge components. Western Wood Structures was awarded a sub-contract by Timber Mountain Construction of Southern Oregon to design, supply, and install the bridge.

The original bridge was washed out in 1964.

The new bridge was supported by the existing abutments.

the bridge components were pre-fabricated and a coat of stain was applied in the shop following pressure treatment.

The center span of the new bridge was pre-assembled on site prior to installation.

The center span of the new bridge was lifted into place.

The new bridge is now in use.

The Tacoma Dome

Next April will mark the 30th anniversary of the official opening of the 530’ diameter Tacoma Dome which when constructed was the largest clear-span timber building in the world.


The idea for a multi-use stadium in Tacoma began with a group of citizens who envisioned a local facility that could host major athletic events as well as concerts and trade shows. “A dome of our own” became their battle cry. The group got their wish in March of 1980 when Tacoma voters approved a bond measure to fund their dream.

With funding secured, the city advertised its RFP nationally in July of 1980 setting a December deadline for replies. The city spelled out specific criteria that had to be met for the arena such as seating, etc.. Six firms answered the RFP by submitting drawn up proposals and from this list three finalists were chosen to submit design-build bids by the following March.

The Tacoma Dome Associates [TDA], one of the three finalists, submitted a proposal that featured a timber dome and won the award over their two competitors: one group proposed an arena with an air supported fabric roof and the other group proposed a concrete dome that would have been supported by cables. The cost of the winning timber dome was $30.2 million, the air support fabric system bid was $35.3 million, and the concrete system bid was $35.3 million.

The TDA consisted of nine separate design firms and were headed by McGranahan/Messenger Architects of Tacoma. Five firms made up the construction team which was led by Merit Construction, a General Contractor out of Tacoma. Team member Western Wood Structures engineered, supplied, and erected the dome as a sub-contractor to Merit.

Ground breaking took place during the summer of 1981 and construction took just two years. The official opening was April of 1983.

The facility is still considered one of the best multi-use facilities in the country. The 30,000 s/f attached assembly hall has hosted numerous conventions and trade shows. The arena itself has served the community well by hosting many high school and small college football games as well as the state high school basketball tournament. The arena seats 17,000 for basketball and can be increased to 23,000 for football games and soccer matches when movable seating is employed.

On the professional side of the sporting world, the Tacoma Dome has been home to six professional sports franchises, The Seattle Super Sonics NBA team played at the dome during the 1994-1995 season while the Seattle Center was being renovated. It has also been home to professional soccer and ice hockey teams over the years.


The dome has also hosted such dignitaries as Billy Graham whose presence attracted 30,000 people every night he was there in 1991. In addition many popular rock groups and entertainers have performed in the dome including AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, The Tubes, and David Bowie.

In 2007 the city suspended a light and speaker grid from the dome. The total added load was 400,000 lbs! WWSI engineers determined the dome required minimal upgrades to support this increased applied loading.

The advantages of using wood in an application such as this are evident. Wood is nature’s oldest building material and a renewable resource. Cost is certainly an advantage as was demonstrated in this case. The acoustics in the Tacoma dome are of concert quality and insulation values of up to R-30 can be achieved. And finally, wood is more aesthetically pleasing than any other building material we can think of.

                                        Carpenters frame the cupola.

                                          The cupola is not yet framed in.

The flag pole is set with a helicopter.

                                         
                                                A view from above.

Bow Bridge of the Big Wood River

Land trusts have been in existence for more than 100 years with a purpose to protect, conserve, and restore land and water for future generations. The Wood River Land Trust of Hailey, Idaho was established in 1994 to serve such a purpose in Idaho’s Wood River Valley.


In 2007 the Land Trust acquired the Wood River Preserve from the state of Idaho in a trade. The 80 acre of parcel of land with ½ mile of frontage along the Big Wood River was once home to a dump and in cooperation with the city local volunteers representing the trust worked to remove 600 cubic yards of material in order to make it accessible.

Development of the site soon followed. An elevated boardwalk was constructed over sensitive wetland areas in order to allow access to the public without the threat of damage to the natural surroundings.

In continuation of this complex restoration project, a 160 ft clear span pedestrian bridge was built to provide access from the East side of the Big Wood River to the elevated boardwalk on the West side. The Big Wood River is hallowed ground with a rich history of the Nez Pearce and Shoshone Indian tribes who once thrived along the river. Drawing inspiration from these tribes, the Bow Bridge of the Big Wood River was designed to mimic a recurve bow that appears to have been dropped from the sky. Landing string side down, the bridge now connects the East and West banks of the Big Wood.

Leslie Howa of HOWADESIGN is responsible for the conceptual design of the bridge as well as its architectural features.

In an e-mail received from Leslie, she told me the project was spearheaded by the Wood River Land Trust but inspired by the Indian tribes that “thrived long before modern man neglected the once thriving river landscape and habitat. For all of us to remember that we borrow these protected lands from our children.”

Western Wood Structures engineered the “Pinned Arch” style bridge, fabricated the Glulam components in house, and installed it. The installation took just 3 weeks.

 Each frame was pre-assembled on its appropriate side of the river

   Cranes lifted each arch frame and pinned them to the abutments

      The arch frames were then pinned at the center

                               
     The deck system, posts, and rails were installed last