Lionakis is excited to see the Toyota TLS project nearing completion. This innovative 166,500 square foot facility is dedicated to processing over 200,000 auto imports annually at the Port of Long Beach, CA. On a recent job site visit, a group from our Newport Beach office joined members of the Toyota project team to see the progress. Randy Bichler, Project Manager, helped lead the team along with Chris Dai, from Oltmans Construction. We eagerly await the October completion for what will be the largest facility for Toyota on the West Coast. More observations from Randy in the Q & A below:
What was general reaction of the project team when being onsite for the first time?
Overall, the team’s reaction was just how immense both the site and main buildings appeared. Of special interest was the main building’s production area interior where the immense open-air volume allowed them to see all the main steel columns, open web steel joists and structural connections to concrete tilt-up walls.
How has team collaboration been beneficial to the project’s outcome?
At the onset of the project the Contractor was brought on board for an overall review of project development from a design, pricing, and constructability aspect. A specific value-engineering review midway through project development was included to provide further constructability and value-added input. Project communication between the team members has been great, which is always helpful in making informed decisions. The Contractor’s acceptance of the early ‘sketch’ detail format allowed larger coverage of details that are valuable in communicating design intent during construction.
What have you learned or have found to be the most unique part from working on this project?
The most valuable experience for me was having a knowledgeable contractor on board early to provide contractor/construction input.
What are the positive impacts of field visits for young interns in the profession?
Positive impacts of field visits for interns include the ability throughout construction to view how real our project documents are and the benefit of seeing different materials and systems work together to create a complete project. It is a very important part of all design professional’s training.
Lionakis is a multiple discipline architecture firm providing design services for High Tech Manufacturing, Life Sciences and Institutional Research and Development via their Science & Technology studio.
