Category Archives: LEED ®

December 26, 2012 · 1:26 pm

In The Spirit of Past Present Future

Happy Holidays to All and Wishes of a Peaceful New Year

Past-Present-Future slide 1

The holiday season tends to bring about joyful reflection on the year, spiritual celebrations and with the coming of the New Year, thoughts about what lays ahead. The Visitor Center Blog has been tracking what we believe is a special project in the making. We have been sharing with you each week a look into the challenges, successes and progress of the project. We have been sharing the process of achieving LEED Gold certification. We have progressed from a Vision with the Chickasaw Nation to being under construction and you have met a number of players along the way. This is the trail we have traveled. Continue reading →

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December 10, 2012 · 10:26 pm

Getting to Know the Players – Take Six

Justin Woolverton Interview

Interview by Fred Schmidt

Justin Woolverton is the Project Manager for Flintco (construction company) on the Chickasaw Visitor Center project. He is basically responsible for running the overall project day to day at the site.

So Justin, this is a pretty cool project.

Justin: Yeah, even Mark Grimes (president of Flintco Oklahoma City) has told us that per square foot this is the highest budget job that Flintco has ever done, maybe all of Flintco. So that right there gives you an inkling of what we are into. We are only talking 8500 square feet. Square footage wise, it’s not that big of a job. Even site wise, there’s not a lot of site work. So there’s a lot packed in there into a small space. But I think once it gets done, it’ll be something we can all be proud of; proud to be a part of you know.

Preliminary Design Exterior Views

You have somebody who takes care of the LEED side of things on the project? Continue reading →

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July 31, 2012 · 12:52 am

Media at Your Doorstep


Tales of Things to Come

The FSB Blog has been generating interest globally but has also caught the interest of local media. If you are interested in all things Oklahoma, which would naturally include the FSB Blog featuring the Chickasaw Visitor Center, Oklahoma now has an international exposure thanks to OklaVision. The broadband network features a live weekday news cast, OklaVision Live, along with special feature videos of varying length. The focus is on the people, places and items of interest in Oklahoma. The live broadcast is generated at the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum in Oklahoma City and the studio is located in the one building that is completed to date on the campus. You can tune in to the live broadcast Monday through Friday from Noon to 1 p.m. CST. I catch it on cable TV channel 3.

One of OklaVision’s recent videos is a special on Chickasaw Country Continue reading →

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July 17, 2012 · 8:18 am

Getting to Know the Players-Take Two

So it’s time to meet another member of the FSB design team. That would be George Dunlap, Senior Project Designer. He’s a talented architect and really good designer; you can reaffirm that yourself by revisiting to the Post “Preliminary Design-putting a wrapper on round one.” He tends to be on the reserved, quiet side that is until you talk to him about his passion “Design.”

Ready?

George: Oh Sure. Continue reading →

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July 3, 2012 · 8:25 am

The Gray Water Mouse Trap

Rube Goldberg was probably the most adept illustrator in creating a genre for the design of the supposedly perfect mousetrap which in fact was typically an over-designed contraption to perform a very simple task. His comic illustrations created a following as well as a common descriptive term found in the Merriam-Webster dictionary that bears his name. The “Rube Goldberg” machine contest is now an annual competition at institutions like Purdue and UC Berkeley.

Our approach to the design that traps gray water and recycles it for use in flushing other plumbing fixtures while intricate is hardly over complicated. The design is straight forward and efficient and gets right down to the business water efficiency through the reuse of waste water. The gray water system gains the project a number of key points for achieving LEED certification as a part of the sustainable goal set by the Chickasaw Nation (the Client). While the system is supported by architectural and electrical elements, it is predominantly a mechanical engineering system and the design is showcased in the plumbing section of the construction documents. Here’s how it works. Continue reading →

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June 25, 2012 · 10:16 pm

Off Color Water – seriously

Most off color references are to comic relief that is of the dark variety. But this is no joke and the off color water I’m referring to is technically known as “gray water.” So gray water is somewhere between “white water” and “black water.”  White being potable or drinkable water and black being considered sewage i.e. containing human waste which is sent to sewage treatment facilities for clean up before it is returned to the environment.

The thing is that appropriate gray water can be recycled and used for other purposes like landscape irrigation or in our case for use in flushing toilets and urinals after which the water is sent to the municipal sanitary sewer system for treatment. This is yet another way to conserve precious potable water and is also gaining the Visitor Center project LEED points. Once again, several points are in the balance for sustainable design. Continue reading →

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June 5, 2012 · 9:54 pm

Harvesting Rain – a precious commodity

Stormwater is a primary source of water in many parts of the world and a sustainable approach to the control and use of rain water is something that should be taken to heart. As part of our pursuit of LEED certification for the Visitor Center, a significant number credit points is being gained from the incorporation of a Rain Harvesting system. Up to 6 points are in the balance based on being able to achieve 3 specific credits well. The credits are as follows: Continue reading →

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May 21, 2012 · 10:26 pm

Getting to Know the Players / Take One

FSB Architect Project Manager Jason Holuby

Getting to Know the Players / Take One

Interview by Fred Schmidt

I thought it would be interesting from time to time to introduce you to some of the project players. That way you can get to know various members of the team, what they do and also get a different perspective of the project. Today I am talking to Jason Holuby, Project Manager for the Visitor Center, architect, LEED accredited professional and FSB Senior Associate. Continue reading →

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May 1, 2012 · 12:59 am

Breaking News and Coming Attractions

Sulphur Panorama of Chickasaw Visitor Center Site

LEED Certification

The FSB Team has been working hard to achieve Platinum certification which is an ambitious goal and corresponding number of points. We were pursuing 81 possibly 82 total points with 80 as the minimum threshold. There are some points we cannot achieve because downtown Sulphur does not have the density of a larger metropolis or public transit. We are getting a healthy number of points for the energy efficiency of our heating/cooling system but not all we had hoped for. With these not panning out, we are falling a few points shy of the number needed for Platinum. But it’s full steam ahead to assure Gold certification which is a small step away from Platinum, still very challenging and impressive to achieve. Continue reading →

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April 16, 2012 · 9:58 pm

And The Beat Goes On…

FSB Design Illustration: Birdseye View Chickasaw Visitor Center

While thinking of the design being something that continues on I could not help but flash on the classic ‘60’s hit, its syncopated driving bass line and closing lyric “and the beat goes on.” The 1967 pop hit is none other than “The Beat Goes On” written by Sonny Bono and sung by Sonny & Cher. Perhaps I’m giving up my generational age but the driving force of a project is the design and all the reasons it is what it is become the lyrics and legacy of the building as it lives on.

We’re into the final design phase of the Visitor Center. We have had preliminary design review meetings with the client and we have also had time to reflect on how well the design is achieving the project goals, LEED objectives and that the aesthetic character is right. The goals and objectives are more a matter of checking things off the list, but aesthetics are very subjective and we rely on an artistic maturity and the feeling that we created something special for the client. We get a thumbs-up from the Chickasaw Nation; that feels good. Continue reading →

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