Crews work on steel and masonry on the new AAA office.

The different departments in the open work area have street signs hanging over them to identify that department.

The new AAA Oregon Idaho office building in Boise gives the travel related company a strong street presence.  Located near the Boise Towne Square Mall on Denton Street, the office is easily accessible and can be seen from the I-184 connector.

The new facility was designed by Lombard Conrad Architects of Boise and constructed by general contractor Benchmark Construction of Nampa.  The 14,265 sq. ft. structure is a steel beam column style structure with plywood sheer walls on steel studs.  The use of the exterior walls for lateral support helps keep an open feeling to the structure.

"We have achieved the clients goals and provided them with an excellent work area and strong visual presence in the community" said Steve Christiansen of Lombard Conrad Architects.  "It has been great having a client that has let us do our own thing" he continued.

The new AAA office features vivid colors throughout the work area and A-frame metal through the central core.  Serpentine radius walls add a unique architectural highlight to the structure.  They are on both sides of the front entry of the building and along the rear entry.  There is exterior lighting to accent the architectural feature.

The building is divided in half by an central lobby core with skylights.  The lobby area is lighted with cove and suspended fixtures.  AAA will be using about 8,000 sq. ft. of the facility for their offices and will be leasing the rest out.  Restrooms are located just off of the central lobby.

There is a gift shop where you can purchase all kinds of travel accessories from maps to luggage.  The different departments in the open work area have street signs hanging over them to identify that department.

Construction of the $1.2 million project began in late June with a ground breaking ceremony.  Site excavation started in early July and concrete crews were pouring mud within a few of weeks.  Structural steel and masonry work started during the third week of August.

The steel beam column style structure was chosen due to it being more economical than an open frame or brace frame system, and still providing an open feeling.  Special shear connections were used to hide the columns in the exterior walls.  Drag struts were used to help distribute the loads due to the large number of windows.

Steel stud framing began in late August and the roof was on the structure before the first of October.  Electrical and mechanical rough-ins progressed during this time.  Insulation and drywall work started in late October.

Work on the entry way steel and masonry was done in mid October.  All of the A-frames used in the entry and lobby were assembled on site.  The skylights for the central lobby core arrived in early December.  Once they were in place the whole structure was finally dried in.

The lobby core is A-framed and has a skyroof.

Ron O'Neil & Valmarie Price   The serpentine radius walls were very time consuming to complete.  Precast caps had to be sorted and numbered to make sure they fit just right.	The serpentine radius walls were very time consuming to complete

"It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle" said Pete Mickelsen, the masonry contractor.  "It was a typical project in that there were several ups and downs" said Benchmark Construction Project Superintendent Ron O'Neil.  "Most all of the subs and suppliers were great to work with.  The owner has been exceptional to work with"  About the only real challenge crews faced during the project were in deliveries of materials that had to be special ordered. Crews worked quickly on the interior finishes and the project was completed on January 14, one month ahead of schedule.  AAA moved in and was open for business on January 21. "It came together very well and the owner is delighted" said Benchmark Construction Project Manager Valmarie Price.

Teamwork and cooperation amongst Benchmark Construction, the design build team, the owner, and the subcontractors and suppliers is what made the new AAA Oregon Idaho building project successful.  Below is a little bit about what some of the team members did on the project.

Benchmark Construction has done an outstanding job according to the owner and all of those involved with the project.

Lombard Conrad Architects designed the 14,265 sq. ft. structure.  They enjoyed the fact that the owner let them use their artistic flair to help make this project a landmark to the community.

Call Engineering handled the structural engineering for the project.  They worked with Lombard Conrad Architects on a design that would have a very open feel to the building and work areas.  They used a steel beam column style structure with plywood sheer walls on steel studs.  Using the exterior walls for lateral support helped keep an open feeling to the space and was more economical than an open frame or brace frame system.  Due to the large number of windows drag struts were used to help distribute the loads.  Special shear connections were used to hide the columns in the exterior walls.

EHM Engineers did the civil engineering.

Eidam & Associates was the electrical designer on the project.  They designed an under floor distribution system for the power, voice and data systems.  The lobby features cove lighting and the exterior lighting really accents the architectural features of the

Engineering, Inc. handled the mechanical engineering.  They designed the plumbing and HVAC systems.

Jensen-Belts Associates was the landscape architect on the project.  They designed a wonderful entry feature, as well as the rest of the land-scaping to enhance the 1/2 acre site.

ABCO, Inc. supplied and installed the reinforcing steel on the project.

ADA Acoustic Specialists performed all the metal stud framing and drywall work on the project.  They also installed the exterior sheeting and insulation on the new building.  The unique part of the project for the crews was installing the unique sand drift acoustical ceilings in the building.  ADA Acoustic Specialists was on site about five months and did an excellent job on this outstanding project.

Cascade Pipeline Corporation installed the underground piping and the storm drain system on the site.  They also did the site grading and asphalt paving of the parking area.

Commercial Glass, Inc. furnished and installed the Kawneen Store front entry system and the interior door glass for the atrium on the project.  They also installed 1 inch insulated glass windows on the new building.

Commercial Painting Company did and outstanding job on the interior and exterior painting for the project.  They used polyurethane enamel for the entry way and the drop cloud ceiling shows outstanding workmanship.  Columbia Paint supplied the materials used on the project.

Cox Mechanical was the HVAC contractor on the project.  The project utilizes rooftop units for the HVAC system.  They installed seven Bryant rooftop units, all between flour and six tons each.  They hung a lot of duct and even have some of it running underground.

DeBest Fire Protection designed and installed a wet standpipe system for fire protection.  The system utilizes approximately 220 sprinklers.  Work on the entry was a challenge as crews had to tuck the pipe behind the A-frame to keep it from being seen.

Designer Floors, Inc. supplied and installed 780 square yards of carpet tile, 300 sq. ft. of vinyl composition tile, and about 1,000 feet of rubber base.

Division 5, Inc. supplied over five tons of steel joist and 13,500 sq. ft. of metal decking for the building.

H & H Cleaning performed all the construction clean-up and final finish clean-up for the project.  This work included sealing the grout on the ceiling, waxing floors, and wiping down all the windows and woodwork on the building.

Howells furnished and installed approximately 6,000 sq. ft. of 2 1/2 inch raised Nexus flooring including electrical components in the new facility.

Iron Head Constructors & Fabrication furnished about 100,000 lbs. of structural steel for the project including steel columns and trusses.

Kessler Excavation & Concrete performed all the structural concrete and floor slab work on the project.

The Masonry Center furnished a translucent panel skylight system manufactured by major industries.  The skyroof covers approximately 10% of the entire building and 100% of the lobby area.  It is one of the single largest projects of its type in Idaho.  The 41 ft. x s4 ft. insulated skylight features a thermally broken grid with a 24 R-factor and 20% defused lighting transmission.

Mesa Tile and Stone installed about 1,500 sq. ft. of ceramic tile for the lobby and two public restrooms in the building.  They also installed some glass tile for some of the columns in the lobby area of the project.

Monroc Inc. provides about 300 yards of ready-mix concrete for the footings, foundations, walls and the floor slabs on the project.

Moonlight Landscaping installed the site irrigation system for the 1/2 acre site.  They brought in top soil and planted trees and shrubs throughout the site.  It was a challenging job for the crews because of the weather.

Pete Mickelsen & Sons handled the masonry contracting on the site.  Their crew placed about 7,200 blocks and 56,000 bricks on the project.  The most challenging aspect of the project for them was the serpentine radius walls.  The radius walls were very labor intensive and time consuming.

Pro Tech Roofing handled the roofing duties on the project.

Pro Tech Systems installed all the underground electrical systems and the site lighting for the project.  The building has a 122-208 three phase electrical system.  They used upgraded indirect lighting fixtures and a lot of access flooring wire.  The entire project used 10,000 lineal ft. of conduit and over 60,000 lineal ft. of wire.  It was a challenging job for the crews because of the specialty fixtures and working around the exposed beams in the building.

RM Mechanical was the plumbing contractor on the project.  They installed domestic hot and cold water, bathroom and break room fixtures, natural gas piping, waste water lines, and roof drains.  The building utilizes a hot water heater that they installed.

Smithcraft furnished all the casework for the project.  They also did column wraps, slat walls in the display area, and the wood window sills for Benchmark Construction.