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In February 1910, the Wright Brothers of Kitty Hawk flying fame opened one of the world's earliest flying schools at a Montgomery, Ala., site that would later become Maxwell Air Force base.
In May of that same year, the first recorded heavier-then-air night flight occurred at the field. Two days later, the Wrights decided to close the school, ending a short but eventful period in Alabama aviation history.
But it was the only the beginning of Maxwell's life on the cutting edge, a trend that continues with next year's opening of its Integrated Operation Support facility.
"It's a big box, actually," said Ted Fery, an architect with the Orlando, Fla., office of VOA Associates Inc. and designer of the IOS.
With the aesthetic design and landscaping of a modern corporate office building, the IOS will be an attractive addition to the air base. When completed, it will be a state-of-the-art, two-story facility designed to house a host of computer-related activities crucial to the operations of the U.S. Air Force.
The 52,000-sq.-ft.-plus building is scheduled for completion at the end of June at a cost of $13.3 million.
The technological issues that arise with the construction of modern office buildings and the security considerations inherent in any military construction project have presented a unique set of design requirements.
"Trying get a handle on all the different technical aspects alone has been a challenge," Fery said. "The design keeps changing because the technology keeps changing. It's been a moving target.
"Then the security requirements have been another wrench in the works. We've done a lot of military work all over the Southeast, but every base interprets security issues in a slightly different way. Maxwell Air Force Base was no exception."
When completed, the building will house a number of activities that support U.S. Department of Defense communications organizations. The basic design calls for a central command suite surrounded by open areas that extend to the exterior walls.
Among the components slated for the IOS facility are a network infrastructure support office, the Air Force Network Operations Center, communications security monitoring, remote system administration, remote database administration and contingency system remediation support.
VOA is providing architectural/construction administration on the IOS project while Bear Brothers Inc. of Montgomery is serving as contractor and VOA's design-build partner. The two companies were awarded the bid in August 2004 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, but only after developing a joint detailed analysis of the architectural concept designed by VOA.
"They (VOA) came up with a design and we came up with a price," said Bear project manager Rush Stallings. "We were given in-depth criteria and definite parameters by the Corps of Engineers, and that's what we worked with. There were three or four other bids that were short-listed along with ours, but we wound up with the job."
Company owner Clyde Bear said before the building could be erected a fair amount of site preparation was needed. The instability of the soil on the site called for 30,000 cu. yds. of engineered fill.
"We had to undercut and put in a clay pad," he added.
The foundation is concrete with spread footings and grade beams. Bear said the structure above is "quite a large" structural steel frame erected by a 135-ton crane. The size of the frame was necessitated by the building's open interior design, which calls for 50 ft. of clear span.
The supply of steel beams available for the job was a concern from the beginning. But the key was to anticipate a shortage before it became a reality.
"We ordered them right off the bat when we were awarded the contract," Stallings said. "Some of the largest beams were not rolled except every few months, so it took some careful planning to make sure we had what we needed."
Other structural elements include 7-in.-thick precast exterior wall panels, blast-resistant glass on the lower floor (there are no windows on the second floor), a modified bitumen roofing system and a raised access flooring system that will make future space and/or computer network reconfigurations easier to achieve.
Bear said close to 75 percent of the flooring in the building falls under this system.
Stalling said one of the most important and complicated aspects of the facility is the electrical system, including backup emergency power.
"We've had to be security-minded with both the mechanical and electrical systems, but this building has to have an uninterrupted power supply," he said. "It is designed to function in all kinds of situations and once it opens up it is a 24/7 building."
Also critical to any building that houses a large amount of computer equipment is the heating and cooling system.
"The building has to be kept at the right temperature for the equipment to operate efficiently," Bear said.
Besides providing the designer with a fair share of complications, the technological aspects of the project haven't made life easy for the contractor, either. Bear said the changes in technology along the way have been a headache for the construction team.
His project manager agreed.
"We've built more complicated buildings, but working with the design/build aspect in regard to something that changes as quickly as computers has been a challenge," Stallings said.
In addition to the building, the project involves exterior improvements such as parking, sidewalks, walkways, a pump and all the utility upgrades necessary to support the new facility.
A final phase of the project calls for the demolition of nearby office space that is being replaced by part of the space provided by the new ISO. Stallings said personnel from various sites around the base will be moving into the new facility but even then, it won't be full.
"This building is also designed for future excess capacity, and it's definitely designed to do business," he said.
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