Walter P Moore Projects Recognized by ENR as Best of the Best

Engineering News-Record released their list of Best of the Best Projects for 2020. Culminated from top projects across the nation, winners represent the pinnacle of design and construction achievement. Each project is examined in terms of teamwork, safety, overcoming challenges, innovation, and quality, representing top tier facilities in their respective categories.  

Walter P Moore is honored to be a part of two Best of the Best Projects: Mission North Tower, located in Asheville, North Carolina (healthcare); and Chase Center, located in San Francisco, California (sports/entertainment). The 20 winning projects will be celebrated as a part of the ENR Award of Excellence virtual awards celebration held on April 9, 2020. 

Mission North Tower
As Mission Health’s flagship facility, Mission Hospital was ranked by Business North Carolina as the “No. 1” best hospital in the state in 2017 and 2018, and was among the top 1% of “Best Hospitals” ranked nationally by Healthgrades in 2016. In 2015, Mission Health embarked on a major expansion program to add the North Tower which includes 220 patient rooms, consolidated operating rooms with support space, an expanded emergency department space, interventional cardiology and interventional radiology, as well as indoor and outdoor gathering areas—a facility built with the community in mind. 

The design challenge included a steeply sloping site, coupled with extensive rock excavation, which required a customized foundation solution and constant communication during construction. As the structural engineer, the team designed the building to accommodate future vertical expansion with minimal disruption during prospective construction activities. The concrete framing system was optimized to accommodate same-handed patient rooms, floor depressions, and floor penetrations while maintaining regular formwork modules and consistent, efficient reinforcing.

“This is something that has been discussed for 10 years. We are so excited to see our community and our staff be able to utilize the technology and expanded capabilities. There’s nothing like it in the entire country,” said Chad Patrick, CEO of Mission Hospital. 

Mission Hospital offers patients across Western North Carolina a new, modernized facility with increased capacity and improved patient experience. At the time of opening, this transformative construction project was the largest in western North Carolina’s history. 

Chase Center
Serving as a year-round sports and entertainment venue in Mission Bay, San Francisco, Chase Center is an 11-acre mixed-use development featuring an 18,000-seat, multi-purpose arena for the six-time NBA Champion Golden State Warriors. Providing enclosure, waterproof and roofing consulting, as well as parking consulting, Walter P Moore served as a design partner to MANICA Architecture and Kendall-Heaton Associates on the multi-use development, which opened September 3, 2019. 

The complex swooping geometry presented a significant challenge that required expertise in structures, glass and metal panel systems, and geometric resolution for a complete building enclosure. Walter P Moore explored multiple design options, striking a balance between design and budget. 

The ambitious arena is clad with a complex, metal-perforated rain screen skin and large glass-clad atria at the plaza and waterside entries. The skin of the arena was designed as a complex multi-layered surface that intersects and offsets, creating unique folds and hoops that allow LED lights to highlight the façade. These surfaces are clad with three different primary materials: insulated glass for the atria, Neolith Sintered Stone panels for the base of the building, and a pearlescent white painted metal panel for the majority of the surface area that gives the arena its signature look.

“Today is the beginning of an exciting new era for the Warriors and our franchise,” said Joe Lacob, co-executive chairman and CEO for the Golden State Warriors at the opening ribbon-cutting ceremony. “We’ve officially transitioned from a basketball team to a sports and entertainment company with this incredible state-of-the-art arena.”