MACTEC Providing Materials And Testing Services To Environmental Center
First Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Building in Gwinnett County
Lawrenceville, GA — MACTEC Engineering & Consulting (MACTEC E&C) has been retained by the Gwinnett County Department of Community Services to provide a wide range of construction inspection and materials testing services for a unique educational center. Bruce C. Coles, president of MACTEC E&C and chairman & CEO of MACTEC, Inc., the holding company - made the announcement.
Known as the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center, the project is a collaboration of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, the Gwinnett County Board of Education, and the University of Georgia. The Center, to be located in Buford, about 40 miles north of Atlanta, is being developed on the site of the F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center, which also houses one of the nation's premier water treatment facilities.
The Center's design will use ecological materials and methods to allow the project to serve as a model of sustainable design and will be the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building in the county. The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-building national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. The Center will also employ ecological approaches to storm water management. More than 200 acres have been preserved for the Center and surrounding area. Plans include use of the site's natural areas for passive recreation opportunities. Pedestrian and bikeway trails will connect the Center's buildings to overlooks, outdoor classrooms, interpretive points, and an outdoor amphitheatre.
According to David Sikes, P.E, MACTEC's Lawrenceville office manager, over the next eight to ten months the firm will be providing engineering inspections and soil compaction testing for fill placed within the proposed building pad, parking lots, and utility trenches. MACTEC will also evaluate bearing conditions and observe reinforcing steel placement for the building foundations and slab; sample and test concrete, grout and mortar; observe stressing of post-tensioning for elevated slabs; perform bolt and weld inspections, and inspect metal decking and test new pavements.
"MACTEC is an important component of our construction team," said Gwinnett County Development Manager Bill Lunceford. "Their efforts will help make the Center a model of ecological design and will further demonstrate to the general public how environmentally friendly building technologies can be successfully incorporated into both the public and private sectors."
SOURCE: MACTEC Engineering & Consulting