This San Jose Municipal Water System facility serves as the new headquarters for Muni Water, including key infrastructures such as a new administration building, a storage and maintenance building and an on-site water tank. Sustainability is at the forefront of this facility’s design to ensure full compliance with environmental regulations, featuring a solar array and LEED Gold Certification-worthy design. Employees have access to outdoor spaces and amenities, such as gathering areas, shaded patios with dining tables and short-term bicycle storage. This environment-first approach to design is underscored by an integrated stormwater treatment system to protect the environment from pollutants in surface water runoffs. 

Miyamoto’s structural design for the facility consists of sloping special steel moment frames for lateral resistance in the two-story, 23,700-SF Administration and Emergency Operations Center; ordinary concentrically braced frames for the one-story, 6,000-SF chemical storage building; and a foundation for a new communications tower. We evaluated heavy equipment loads and dynamic vibration effects using detailed analytical modeling to satisfy project-specific criteria. Because the project is located in a high-seismic region, the facility was required to meet immediate occupancy and operational performance objectives. 

Awards:

• LEED Gold, Awarded by U.S. Green Building Council