After diligent planning and years of preparation, the San Diego International Airport’s new Administration Building was completed. The building was the first essential project for a $3.8 billion Capital Improvement Program and was developed by TLC Engineering Solutions, a full-service engineering firm with HOK, a global firm for design, planning, architecture, and engineering.

The construction of this building took place on a greenfield site and included a 135,000-square-foot, four-story building allowing for a range of functions such as the Authority Board Room and administrative offices, the Airport Operations Center (AOC), a Security Operations Center (SOC), and an Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Public assembly spaces were also included in the design of the building.

In addition to constructing the new building from the ground up, TLC Engineering Solutions with HOK was also responsible for demolishing the previous administration facility. Furthermore, the team needed to assess existing systems and seamlessly migrate those systems for the several organizations operating within the administration building. Meanwhile, new systems were being integrated into the facility.

Since the construction of the new Administration Building was the first step in a series of planned airport projects, delays, budget issues, or other mistakes could have negatively impacted all subsequent projects. Moreover, the organizations that utilize the Administration Building are vital to the safety and functionality of the airport, so mishaps in this project could have put a strain on the San Diego International Airport’s operations and security.

Therefore, TLC Engineering Solutions with HOK considered the design and security system integration holistically, carefully considering how each system would affect the other.

Due to the precision and care required from this process, TLC Engineering Solutions with HOK relied heavily on constant communication and collaboration from key stakeholders.

Feedback was instrumental. Considering the schedule constraints, this project required active participation from all of the stakeholders throughout the entire process — even more so than a typical project.”

“Feedback was instrumental. Considering the schedule constraints, this project required active participation from all of the stakeholders throughout the entire process — even more so than a typical project,” says Frank Cauthen, Senior Project Designer at HOK. “We didn’t have the time to get feedback and then sit back and digest it, then speak to another stakeholder and digest their feedback too. But when we received feedback, we had the ability to pivot, which greatly contributed to our success.”

Albert Kaneshiro, Senior Regional Practice Leader at HOK, adds, “Due to the relationships that we have with the owner, the stakeholders, our build partner and our consultants, it was easier to be able to have conversations — and sometimes challenging conversations — about how to move forward. Because of those pre-existing relationships, we were able to have discussions without anybody holding back. So that allowed us to keep on schedule and together as a team, move forward and make those tough decisions to maintain and hit the primary goals for the project.”

Collaboration with the airport, design-builder, and lead architect were crucial to the success of this project, as the airport had specialized requirements that needed to be met.

Cauthen explains, “There are quite a few agencies involved in an airport, everyone from the FAA to the local building department, and making sure all of their requirements are clear at the onset of the project was crucial. That was part of our validation, identifying any gaps in that information and getting answers to those as soon as possible.”

Naturally, a project of this magnitude came with unique obstacles. The central challenge the team faced was ensuring unimpeded transition as the new AOC, SOC and EOC were developed while the existing centers stayed operational. These functions remained active 24/7 throughout the construction and migration processes. Guaranteeing the continued performance of these centers was critical, as they were foundational to the airport’s safety.

Nonetheless, the team prevailed. After dedicated research, preparation and planning, the design-build team was able to deactivate systems in the old administrative building and reactivate them in the new one within just one week of the project. To ensure the functionality of these systems, the team assessed all systems by allowing the users to test them in three-day trial periods. Afterward, the team gathered user feedback to make needed adjustments before final commissioning.

“The whole commissioning process was scheduled early, even when we were doing design, so that we could start earlier than normal and have the ability to test and confirm that everything was up and operational,” Cauthen explains. “Then training time for airport staff was incorporated so that day one, they weren’t looking through training manuals but were already fully trained once they started out of the new building.”

The project was able to finish on time and within budget; furthermore, there were no disruptions to the airport’s systems or operations. The success of such a complex project is attributed mainly to inter-organizational cooperation and communication.

“It’s always nice to have a little extra time to coordinate and plan things out, but that’s not always possible,” Kaneshiro points out. “That’s why those relationships are so critical, so that people can have open communication and hit those aggressive schedules. Having the ability to talk to each other as people first, as opposed to just as firms, has greatly benefited this particular project and overall team success.