Stantec Chosen for New NSF Facility in Antarctica

Parsons, a subcontractor to the Leidos Antarctic Support Contract, has selected the Denver office of Stantec through a competitive process as the lead designer on a design-build team for the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Infrastructure Modernization for Science (AIMS) project.

AIMS is designed to ensure that major portions of McMurdo Station—the logistics hub for the NSF-managed U.S. Antarctic Program, and the largest research facility on the icy continent—can support world-class Antarctic science for the next 35 to 50 years. McMurdo Station was built more than 60 years ago, and many of the station’s buildings are aged, obsolete and energy inefficient. An independent review of the U.S. Antarctic Program in 2011 determined that McMurdo required upgrades to achieve more cost-efficient, energy-efficient and streamlined operations.

Denver Water Hires Contractor to Expand Gross Reservoir

Denver Water approved in July a two-year, $4.5-million contract with Kiewit Barnard, a joint venture, for planning and preconstruction during the final design phase of the $464-million Gross Reservoir Expansion Project near Boulder, Colo.

The expansion will raise the height of the existing dam, completed in 1954, by 131 ft, allowing the reservoir to nearly triple in size. When complete, the reservoir will be capable of holding about 119,000 acre-ft of water. The project calls for adding 900,000 cu ft of concrete to the existing structure and building the first roller-compacted concrete arch dam in the U.S. When complete, the Gross Dam will be the tallest in Colorado and the tallest roller-compacted concrete dam in the U.S.

Denver’s Humphries Poli Architects Combines With RATIO Architects

Denver’s Humphries Poli Architects recently joined with RATIO Architects Inc., a top 50 multinational design firm. The combined firm will operate as RATIO|HPA in Denver and as RATIO nationwide. Company leaders say the combined firm will create a unified and innovative design force on the national design landscape. HPA’s Dennis Humphries and Joe Poli will continue to serve as principals of the practice and partners in the combined firm.

Colorado’s Russell Planning & Engineering, SEH Announce Merger

Designers Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH) and Russell Planning & Engineering (RPE) have merged and will operate as Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. SEH is headquartered in St. Paul, with 31 offices across nine states. Based in Durango, Colo., RPE offers civil engineering, highway design and planning and land development services to clients.