of building site constraints, there were certain
aspects of the programming that ended up being
located out in the boat bay. The total programming
for the two stations is very similar, but they’re
different in that respect.
Station 15 is a single-story building, and the site
constraints resulted from the port planning a lot
of future construction around the station. Station
20 is two-stories and was initially planned at
several different locations before the port settled
on its current final location. Both stations will have
substantial concrete stationary docks for the boats
with shore power, general utilities, and powerful
emergency lighting, so the docks can be used in
triage situations.
In addition to the stationary dock, the stations also
have a floating dock that’s actually where the boats
moor. There’s power, communication, and water
utilities that go to this floating dock. The boat bays
at both stations are naturally ventilated, which was
important because it simplified the design. We were
concerned about engine exhaust filling the space as
boats start-up to depart from or arrive, to the bay.
Still, the design of the structure allows exhaust to
escape without the need for mechanical ventilation,
making the boat bays much easier to maintain.
The bays are about 50 feet tall, and most of the
area is over water, so ventilation equipment placed
at such heights would be challenging to access
for maintenance. Equipment would have also been
exposed to the corrosive effects of saltwater, which
would have created problems down the line.
Did you design any of the specialized systems for
the stations?
CC: Yes. Fire stations have a special station alerting
system that relays emergency calls and dispatches
firefighters. Studies have found that ringing a bell
and flicking on all the lights automatically during
the middle of the night when people are sleeping,
isn’t the best way to get personnel ready to be
deployed. The station alerting system at the new
stations will use specialized pathway lighting that
features colors that are easier to handle in the dark
after you’ve been abruptly woken. The lights will
gradually turn on to ease people into the situation,
which helps to make call times faster and more
efficient, although they still have to deal with the
annoying bells.
requirements related to the city’s internal
broadcasting system. The stations also have a
tighter security system, which we had to coordinate
with the port’s security team. The specialty systems
required a lot of coordination with different city
and port departments, as well as with equipment
manufacturers.
Speaking of specialized systems, the POLB’s
Automated Vehicle Battery Exchange Building is
one of only a handful in the world. What was your
involvement in this project?
CC: When we started the project, it was a shell and
core that had already been built. The automated
guided vehicle company (AGV) that we worked with
is called Terex. They had this big empty warehouse-
type building, and they came in to complete an
industrial tenant improvement. They put in the
racks for the batteries and all the associated
infrastructure. P2S got involved because the Terex
team was from Germany, and they recognized
early on that they need would local help to get
plans through the City of Long Beach. The port
referred Terex to us, and we partnered with them to
get the design documents through plan check. We
coordinated through their local project manager
with their team in Germany to make sure they
were complying with all local codes. The result was
a completely automated facility where the AGVs
that move containers around come in to get new
batteries. Automated facilities like this are very
expensive to install. There are other shippers at
both San Pedro Bay ports who are looking at the
Long Beach Container Terminal (which the Battery
Exchange Building is a part of) to see the results.
There’s a lot of interest in it, and I think it was the
first automated terminal anywhere in the United
States.
Because the stations are City of Long Beach
fire department stations, there are also telecom
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