WDP Principal Sees Hard Work Come to Fruition as New ASTM International Standard is Published!!News
New international standard ASTM E3223, "Standard Guide for Specifying and Testing Field-Constructed Exterior Building Wall System Mockups in New Construction," was published December 24, 2020. We are very proud of our own, Principal and CEO, Eric Peterson, P.E., for his role as the E06.55.13 Task Group Chair responsible for its development. For more information, follow the News Release .
WDP Staff Support Local CommunitiesNews
WDP partnered with the Georgetown South Community for our Community Service project again for the 3rd consecutive year. This community is within 3 miles of our Manassas office, has 860 homes and more than 4,000 people, many of whom are children, and they received help requests from over 180 families with almost 500 kids. Through successful in-house donations by WDP staff, WDP "adopted" two children during the holiday season and provided clothing, shoes, toys, and bicycles.
Due to the generous spirit of WDP staff, there were additional funds that were able to be used to make donations to the Haymarket Food Pantry. WDP donated 81 lbs. of food and needed items like diapers to the pantry during the holiday season. The Haymarket Regional Food Pantry serves over 800 individuals and families each month.
For more information on how to donate or volunteer, please visit:
<https://haymarketfoodpantry.org/
WDP AWARDED FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD CONTRACT FOR ECCLES and 1951 BUILDINGS RENOVATION AND NEW CONSTRUCTION EXPANSIONNews
Happy Holidays from WDPNews
We wish our clients and colleagues a very Merry Christmas and a joyous holiday season filled with peace and happiness. We sincerely thank you for your business, friendship, and support.
We have compiled some favorite holiday-time recipes from our staff to share in the hopes that all of our friends are able to enjoy the warmth, comfort, and love of one another, whether sharing in our traditions or those of your own.
Please click here to download our recipe collection.
WV Capitol Dome Repairs Projected to Finish Spring 2021News
WDP's work on the West Virginia Capitol Dome is in the news! As the project ending draws near, the following article takes a look back to the beginning.
In the November 26, 2020 edition of the Charleston Gazette-Mail, WDP Principal and Historic Preservation Engineer, Rex Cyphers, discusses what WDP discovered during the exploration and investigation of the project.
As the state prepared to put the Capitol dome repair and restoration project out to bid, consulting engineer Rex Cyphers discovered an even more critical issue: The tensioning system — a series of 60-foot steel cables that run from the exterior dome and hold up the interior dome — had failed.
He said engineers discovered the failure while examining water damage and discovered that the interior Rotunda walls were pushing out because they were bearing the weight of the interior dome.
Click here to read the full article.
WDP Awarded Fort Monroe Authority ContractNews
WDP has been awarded a contract to provide professional engineering services to the Fort Monroe Authority (FMA) for work on the Fort Monroe National Historic Landmark (NHL) District. The scope of services will include building envelope, structural, historic preservation, and geotechnical work.
This historic landmark dates back to 1607 and was originally named Cape Comfort by English explorers prior to the founding of Jamestown. The first fortifications were erected in 1609. Further exploration of the James River and Chesapeake Bay led to the early renaming as Point Comfort then Old Point Comfort, the current designation.
Among approximately 550 acres and approximately 150 buildings, sites, structures, and objects that reside on Fort Monroe and Old Point Comfort, the landmark includes special event venues, a 332 slip marina with 31,400 SF of support space, a travel park for recreational vehicles, and is home of the Casemate Museum.
WDP Wins the 2020 Outstanding Structural Engineering Project from NCSEANews
WDP is pleased to announce that the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) awarded the West Virginia State Capitol project with the 2020 Outstanding Project in the "Forensic, Renovation, Retrofit, Rehabilitation Structures under $20 Million" Category based on WDP's award submission. According to Carrie Johnson, Chair of the NCSEA Awards Committee, the winning entries were selected "based on creativity, complexity of the project and strengths, innovative application of materials or techniques, exceeding the client or owner's expectations, and suitability of the structure for its environment." NCSEA Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards honor the best of structural engineering, in both projects and people, and are awarded each year at the NCSEA Annual Conference.
The West Virginia State Capitol, designed by Cass Gilbert, the prolific architect whose portfolio includes the U.S. Supreme Court building, dominates the Charleston landscape along the banks of the Kanawha River. The steel-framed structure boasts a 292-foot tall dome gilded with gold leafing, but water infiltration issues have plagued this historic structure since its completion in 1932. In 2015, WDP was selected to investigate, design, and provide construction management for a multimillion-dollar rehabilitation of the building envelope and structural components. For more information about this award-winning project, check out our Project Spotlight.
Manassas Office Wins City of Alexandria ContractNews
The Manassas office has been selected to be one of the firms to provide Engineer of Record (EOR) Structural Engineering services for a variety of Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) and maintenance projects related to the design and construction of new facilities and infrastructures, as well as upgrades or repairs to existing facilities and infrastructures.
WDP has been privileged to provide A/E Services for Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Services on our previous term contract with the City of Alexandria/Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS). Our commitment to providing exceptional service to the City is deeply held by the Principals, Associates, and staff. We have continually sought to engage the best practices of our industry to the benefit of the City of Alexandria and ensure that taxpayer dollars are well spent while providing superior educational facilities, athletic fields, and infrastructure.
WDP's Manassas Office Begins 2nd Phase of Work at the Ford House Office Building in D.C.News
WDP has obtained approval to conduct the second phase of the exterior building envelope investigation on the Ford House Office Building in Washington, DC. Based on WDP’s original investigation, the Architect of the Capitol has approved limited destructive openings to evaluate observed deterioration at the brick masonry and roof copings. Built in 1939, this brick masonry building served as one of the first FBI buildings and was actually the location where the parents of our project manager, Jason Yates, met in 1956.
New York Office Wins NYC School Construction Authority ContractNews
The New York City School Construction Authority (NYC SCA) has awarded WDP’s New York Office the Contract for Design and Construction Services in Connection with Building Envelope Commissioning (BECx) Services. WDP will support the NYC SCA in their effort to utilize innovative green building practices, features, and technologies for new building projects and existing building renovation projects. As part of the BECx process, WDP will provide documented assurance that newly constructed facilities or improvement projects at the facilities involving building envelope components, assemblies and systems fulfill the design and performance requirements of the 2019 NYC Green Schools Guide as well as conformance to the latest edition of the NYC Energy Conservation Code.
WDP is very excited to continue working with the NYC SCA. Over the last five years, we have earned two term contracts for NDT services, during which WDP has investigated structural and/or envelope conditions, diagnosed problems, and provided reports with repair recommendations for the City’s schools. In addition, WDP assisted with developing their building enclosure commissioning program - developing recommended specifications and details to implement an enclosure commissioning program to improve the built quality of the water, air, thermal, and vapor management of the exterior walls of new schools, in addition to meeting the requirements of New York City energy code, LEED Enhanced Commissioning credits, and NYC local laws.
WDP Provides Third-Party Special Inspections & Testing for the Construction of Haymarket's New Hilton Garden Inn HotelNews
WDP has begun third-party inspections on the new Hilton Garden Inn (Haymarket Hotel) located at the corner of Washington and Jefferson Streets in downtown Haymarket, Prince William County, VA.
WDP also provided the design phase geotechnical investigation and is the Special Inspection Engineer of Record (SIER) on the 79,580 SF, 4-story structure. The project is expected to take 6 months (est.) to complete.
WDP Employee Promoted to Staff Engineer IINews
WDP is pleased to announce that Akshay Beniwal, EIT, of the Manassas Special Consulting Division has been promoted to Staff Engineer II. Akshay joined the firm in February 2019, and since joining us, he has been an integral team member involved in the material testing and structural analysis of coconut reinforced plaster used at the West Virginia Capitol dome, recent US Capitol utility tunnel assessments and repair projects, and most recently, with the Quantico Base middle/high school remediation project.
We would like to congratulate him on his well-deserved promotion, and we look forward to his future success with WDP.
WDP Staff Donate Blood News
WDP Charlottesville staff (pictured left to right - Kelly Crocker, Chris McKinley, Adam D'Alessandro, and Shannon Scolforo) donated blood to the American Red Cross on their lunch break on July 13th. Shannon coordinated the effort with her co-workers by searching for a local donation spot through the Red Cross website (https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/dlp/covid-19-antibody-testing.html). Currently, the Red Cross is testing blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies and provides test results to those who donate. There is an urgent need for blood donations right now, and each donation has the potential to save three lives.
We commend our employees for their spirit of community giving and encourage others to do the same.
WDP Awarded Contract with the GSANews
The GSA has selected WDP & Associates to provide roofing, façade, and building envelope engineering and design services throughout the GSA Mid-Atlantic North Service Center area. This area encompasses Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware but also work in the South Service Center area (West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland). Most of the work will involve occupied buildings, some of which are historically significant. The scope of engineering and design services will include performing comprehensive studies with an emphasis on moisture intrusion and physical condition assessments, development of design-build RFP packages, design of building envelope and roofing systems, and building envelope and roofing inspection and construction administration services including commissioning. WDP & Associates is excited to be working with the GSA.
