California Berkeley Memorial Stadium | Berkeley, CA

The project was to provide a seismic upgrade of the historical Cal Memorial Stadium. The existing historical façade was preserved while the west side seating and concessions were replaced. All in all, the design and contractor team had to work collaboratively in a design-assist manner to accomplish the common goal of opening the stadium on the first game day, which was a major accomplishment.

Project Requirements

  • Approximately 150,000 sq. ft.
  • New steam heat exchanger to provide domestic and heating system
  • New BMS system
  • Water cooled VAV units, heat pumps, and grease exhaust systems to condition and ventilate concessions, locker rooms, and suites
  • The project required multiple shifts to ensure project completion was ready by the first home game

What ACCO Delivered

The biggest challenge of this project was the schedule. The project was originally planned to be a two-shift, six-day per week project. When design challenges or changes came, there was no opportunity to extend the schedule to accommodate the increased scope.

Another challenge involved the logistics. Receiving materials on a job site where there was little to no laydown space meant prefabrication and just-in-time deliveries were critical. One example of those precise logistics was the prefabrication and hoisting of the grease duct risers. Even more challenging was the fact that since the building core was isolated from the surrounding structure, the grease duct riser also had to be supported with spring isolation rather than traditional rigid supports.

All in all, the design and contractor team had to work collaboratively in a design-assist manner to accomplish the common goal of opening the stadium on the first game day, which was a major accomplishment.

Project Team

Owner: University of California, Berkeley
Architect: HNTB
General Contractor: Webcor
Mechanical Engineer: WSP F&K
Mechanical Contractor: ACCO Engineered Systems