11.02.2021 — The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) selected MKA’s Chase Center project in San Francisco to receive a 2021 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement (OCEA) Honor Award.

The 1.74-million-square-foot, LEED-Gold Chase Center—a remarkable new landmark for the city’s growing Mission Bay neighborhood and the Bay Area at large—showcases unprecedented engineering solutions and innovations on a highly challenging site to deliver multi-dimensional community engagement. The complex project is home to the NBA Golden State Warriors’ 18,000-seat arena, team headquarters, and practice facility. In addition, the site includes two office towers, 29 retail locations, multiple plazas, foundations for a future hotel, and many other features and amenities. All these elements are integrated successfully into a common podium.

As the engineer of record for the entire Chase Center development, some of MKA’s engineering innovations include:

• A Hydrostatic-Resistant "boat" substructure and graduated-pile foundation system to address extreme soil and groundwater conditions;
• Custom tools to simulate and analyze seismic ground motions for more reliable earthquake-response predictions and nine high-performance concrete cores to provide earthquake resistance;
• A super-truss, long-span roof system creating a 90’-by-60’ "hole" at the center of the span to "garage" the largest scoreboard in the NBA;
• Placement of Chase Center’s loading docks, practice facility, team headquarters, and other non-public elements below grade to create a dynamic, 360-degree, public-facing "front door" that engages and activates the surrounding neighborhood.

Presented during the organization’s annual convention—held virtually on October 8—the 2021 ASCE OCEA Honor Awards annually recognize the top nine projects that best illustrate superior civil engineering skills and represent significant contributions to civil engineering progress and society. More information is available online here.

» MKA’s Chase Center Earns ASCE-OCEA Honor Award for Engineering Achievement

07.02.2021 — This summer, MKA was pleased to learn the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) selected Chase Center to receive a Grand Award during the organization’s 54th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala. The virtual event was held in June and honored more than 170 of the engineering industry’s most notable achievements in innovation, complexity, value, and design.

This is the second time this year ACEC has honored the Chase Center project. In February, the organization’s Washington State chapter selected the project to receive the 2021 Engineering Excellence Platinum Award.

Located in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood, the 1.74-million-square-foot, LEED-Gold Chase Center is home to the NBA Golden State Warriors’ team headquarters, practice facility, and 18,000-seat arena. The site also includes two office towers, 29 retail locations, multiple plazas, and many other features. MKA was the engineer of record for the entire Chase Center development.

Read more about MKA, Chase Center, and the ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards here.

» Chase Center Earns ACEC Grand Award

02.11.2021 — This month, our staff was delighted to learn the American Council of Engineering Companies of Washington (ACEC-WA) selected MKA’s Chase Center project in San Francisco to receive the organization’s top honor—the 2021 Engineering Excellence Platinum Award.

The award recognizes projects that represent a wide range of engineering achievements and which demonstrate the highest degree of skill and ingenuity. In the case of Chase Center, high degrees of skill and ingenuity were needed to build this iconic, world-class, mixed-use, mega-development project on the city’s waterfront.

Adjacent to San Francisco Bay and near the San Andreas and Hayward Faults, the development site had many soil and groundwater challenges, such as layers of 1906-earthquake fill, Bay Mud, and weak soil all ranging from 40’-to-130’ deep before reaching bedrock. In addition, the water table was located just five feet below grade. As the project’s Engineer of Record, MKA overcame these challenges by creating a water-tight “boat” structure below grade, designing a graduated-pile foundation system, building a “cocoon” to protect utilities in liquefiable soils, and utilizing nine high-performance concrete cores to provide earthquake resistance.

Additional design innovations included a super-truss, long-span roof system that created a 90’-by-60’ “hole” at the center of the span to “garage” the largest scoreboard in the NBA, allowing for an incredibly adaptable venue for a variety of events and audience sizes. Chase Center’s loading docks, practice facility, and team headquarters were also placed unconventionally below grade to create a dynamic, 360-degree “front-door.”

Today, Chase Center’s 1.74 million square feet include an 18,000-seat NBA arena, Golden State Warriors team headquarters and practice facility, two office towers, 29 retail locations, and other amenities and entertainment experiences that foster community engagement and activate the city’s Mission Bay neighborhood. Read more about MKA, Chase Center, and the ACEC-WA 2021 Engineering Excellence Platinum Award online here.

» Chase Center Earns ACEC-WA Platinum Engineering Excellence Award