News

Construction is about to get underway with Whiting Turner on Kaiser Permanente’s Moreno Valley Expansion, a CO Architects-designed project that includes a new seismically separated two-level Diagnostic and Treatment (D&T) building as well as an addition to the Moreno Valley Medical Center (MVMC) campus. In total, the effort encompasses 93,192 square feet of new construction and 20,300 square feet of demolition/make-ready work. The D&T building will be steel framed with composite metal decks, and lateral systems include ConXtech bolted moment frame connections. The lower level is a half basement and utilizes special concrete shear walls. To support the D&T, a new 20,244 square foot, one-level central utility plant – also known as the Energy Center (EC) – will also be constructed with an open equipment yard. The EC will have a steel framed roof with composite metal decks supported by perimeter CMU walls detailed as Special Masonry Shear walls for lateral resistanc

The ZGF-designed William and Linda Frost Center for Research and Innovation on Cal Poly SLO’s campus is about to get out of the ground! Approximately 75% of the footings are complete, and concrete walls and columns are beginning to be poured. The project is located just across the street from the Baker Center, another JAMA/ZGF effort, and when complete will house three colleges under one roof: College of Science and Mathematics: Supported by William and Linda Frost will be 13 modern laboratories designed for students to perform cutting edge research with their faculty mentors in each of the College’s disciplines. A new plant conservatory will be constructed on the hill overlooking Poly Canyon Village at the intersection of Village Drive and Poly Canyon Road. College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences: The Boswell Agricultural Technology Center will facilitate research and discovery in seven cutting edge laboratories to educate tomorrow’s leaders in food innovatio

We’re just a month or so away from completion of the Montclair Place AMC Theater Shell and Core. Rooftop equipment was placed at the end of March and the structure’s main waterproofing was completed on April 10th. Escalators were placed in position just last week, and as of the publishing of this post, installation of the aluminum facade was about 50% complete.  Kudos to the JAMA project team, which included Scott Willard, Kurt Clandening, Parbi Boodaghian, Eric Jimenez, Richie Lubas, and Art Padilla on this terrific looking project!

JAMA Project Manager Kent Kaewwaen wins the award for the best Zoom call ever. As part of his role in ACE Mentoring he, along with his mentee and team leader Luis Berrios and other regional and national representatives, awarded Pasadena High School student Obehb Hernandez a $10,000 scholarship this month via Zoom. This was part of the 2020 CMiC – Allen Berg Memorial Scholarship, an ACE scholarship program. Although it was awarded over Zoom rather than in person, the message (and surprise) was just as sweet.

JAMA is pleased to welcome Associate Principal John Nissen to its ranks this month. John has a 20-year history on the West Coast as owner of his own firm and brings technical expertise and deep experience with local and national commercial and institutional sectors with an emphasis on telecommunication projects to the firm. With particularly adept relationship-building skills that span disciplines and time zones, John will be instrumental in leading JAMA’s continued growth. We took some time to ask him about his background, including the following: What is the strangest / most interesting project you’ve ever worked on? My career is littered with strange and interesting projects…..riverboat casinos, buildings inside of buildings, buildings over existing buildings, internal structures for sculptures, artwork….. It has been a very cool ride. What drew you to JAMA? I worked for JAMA many years ago and joint ventured on efforts in the recent past. I knew that while the staff had change

What do you do when you have to perform a site inspection during a pandemic? Get resourceful, of course! JAMA engineer Cindy Qian used protective gear from our office-issued earthquake safety kits on site during an inspection of the foundations at LAX’s Tom Bradley Vertical Cores project. Who knew those face masks, gloves and protective goggles could come in so handy!

It isn’t our preferred strategy, but JAMA has been remotely onboarding new employees during the pandemic. One of the latest is Project Engineer Srikar Gunisetty, P.E.. We caught up with him (online, of course) in order to share some of his current and recent efforts. What’s kept you sane during the COVID-19 Safer From Home order? I’ve been holed up in my apartment trying to save the world, but I finally found time to finish that book I’ve been wanting to read, I caught up on multiple Netflix series, and I’ve spent loads of quality time online with friends and family. What’s the most interesting project you’ve ever worked on? John Burroughs Middle School, a 3-story steel moment frame instruction building divided into two wings connected by an outdoor bridge. With cool features like site specific response spectrum analysis, ConXtech moment frames, friction piles due to bad soil conditions, my very first DSA project had a bit of everything. What team ha

In such bleak times it’s nice to receive some uplifting news, particularly about projects that support our collective learning and community-building. The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County expansion is the second large-scale effort undertaken for this institution by JAMA Partner Jackie Vinkler, this time in collaboration with Frederick Fisher and Partners. Referred to as the Natural History Museum Commons, the $60M project creates a new front porch for the museum and the Coliseum, located directly to the south. Additional components include a 400-seat theater, event space, a second cafe and outdoor gathering spaces. Approximately 53,000 square feet of the project will be renovated space, and 22,000 square feet is new construction.