WSP led a tri-venture design team and served as the designer of record for the preparation of a Design-Build Request for Proposals package for the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group (WEG) under Zone 3 at Tyndall AFB on the flight line side, which was severely destroyed by Hurricane Michael in 2018. WSP’s design includes the new WEG headquarters and squadron operations, an F-16 aircraft maintenance hangar, a subscale drone facility, and parking aprons. Those facilities include administrative and secure spaces, a fuel cell facility, a corrosion control facility, special devices workshops, pod shops and chute towers. WSP’s multi-disciplinary design team is spread across several geographic locations and offices, consisting of over 60 professional engineers, architects, interior designers, environmental scientists, and cybersecurity experts.
Scope of services included in-person design charrettes held at the base with stakeholders to validate the DD1391 space program. The team coordinated with base planners, airfield managers, and security officers to capture all user and base requirements and comply with United Facilities Criteria guidelines and Installation facility standards and Air Force design memorandums. The scope also included explosive safety and anti-terrorism/force protection, compatibility with existing adjacent hangars and future proposed facilities and utility corridor, fire access lanes for emergency fire response, parking capacity and pedestrian circulation across campus, load requirements for parking apron pavement design, site and security lighting, and environmental analysis of existing IRP sites and wetlands impact and soil and underground water contamination within the limits of disturbance of Zone 3. Continuous extensive coordination with adjacent construction zones, privatized utility owners, and regulatory agencies was required in order to analyze utility infrastructure requirements and capacity evaluation, comply with state and federal permit requirements for drainage and airfield stormwater management plan, and delineate underground utility demarcation points between zones. Value engineering workshops were conducted for each of the three tasks under this contract, and a market condition and a post-COVID-19 analysis was completed to assess the impacts on construction costs and schedules.
WSP delivered the interim, final, and ready to advertise packages for the WEG complex, parking apron, and subscale drone facility tasks, including technical requirements and specifications, concept design drawings, full structural interior design including furniture, fixtures, equipment and audio-visual packages, cost estimate and notional construction schedules. WSP’s Future Ready® approach aligned with the client’s goal to achieve reliable high performance and resiliency through energy efficient systems and building materials, renewable energy sources, moisture and corrosion control, and durable, low maintenance materials.
