Webcor Builders

Value Through Innovation

By Russ J. Stacey

The résumé for Webcor Builders reads like a "what's where" in the state of California. Some of the notable structures dotting the landscape that Webcor has built include Oracle World Headquarters, the Letterman Digital Arts Center (the first private development in a national park), California Academy of Sciences, Millennium Tower (the tallest concrete structure in San Francisco), San Francisco's St. Regis Hotel, the W San Diego and the Californian on Wilshire in Los Angeles. But it is a current undertaking in Oakland nearing completion that has proven to be a most challenging - and rewarding - venture for Project Director Todd Mercer and his team.

Covering two square blocks on the shore of Lake Merritt, the Cathedral of Christ the Light is a showcase of stunning architectural features and ambitious technology. The cathedral's unique, oval-shaped edifice has been engineered to last for three centuries and to withstand the force of a 1,000-year earthquake. The project includes a distinctive, 1,500-person sanctuary, a mausoleum, conference and residential facilities, office and retail spaces and a subterranean parking garage.

Over 60,000 tons of concrete were poured to create the project, but it isn't the enormous volume that injects Todd's voice and demeanor with pride. "The complex geometrical shapes formed with the concrete are unique and challenging. To create them, we used self-consolidating concrete - something that we had limited experience with on such a large and complex scale. We had to figure out how to use it, how to incorporate it into the project and how to navigate several roadblocks. The result is some of the highest quality and most complicated exposed architectural concrete in the region." For its work on Cathedral of Christ the Light, Webcor was awarded the 2007 American Concrete Institute (ACI) Award for Architectural Concrete for Northern California.

One might think that with that much concrete, the building would look like a fortress. However, much of that concrete has been used to form a curving base for the soaring and luminous sanctuary that sits atop. This inspired space is covered by 1,028 panes of fritted, transparent glass and topped by an oval-shaped oculus roof over 100 feet high. The cathedral's signature roof and ceiling required a unique "top down" erection sequence with a shoring tower used to support the roof before the installation of the permanent support structure. "We were even able to utilize standard scaffolding," Todd explains. The permanent support structure is as unique as the roof and consists of 26 curving glue-laminated ribs made from Douglas fir and 26 straight fir mullions, which had to be painstakingly put into place.

After breaking ground in 2005, the magnitude of the mission is sinking in as they wind down the project to its completion. "What makes it really monumental is the fact that it's going to be here for a very long time and that it's a community building. I've left a part of me in it," Todd says. "I truly believe that there isn't anybody that could have completed this project at this level of quality, in this timeframe and for the same cost that we did. Webcor's expertise in structural and architectural concrete was critical in achieving the desired design aesthetic and award-winning quality that parishioners and community members will be able to enjoy for centuries to come."

Founded in 1971, Webcor is currently ranked as the largest commercial construction firm in California by volume and is consistently ranked among ENR's top 30 general contractors in the nation. The firm, with over $2.4 billion in open contracts currently in place, has built a reputation for cost-saving collaboration with its clients and its forward embrace of technology. With over 50 million square feet of results, Webcor's experience includes commercial office buildings, high-tech corporate campuses, high-density residential projects, parking structures, luxury hotels, cultural facilities and many renovation and restoration projects as well.

Though Webcor has grown exponentially over the years, Todd's passion reflects the company philosophy. "We become builders because part of us wants to know how things work and how things go together and then be involved in the building. Part of it is we want to be able to point and say, 'Look what I worked on. Look what I was a part of.'"

Whether constructing sustainable, cost-effective solutions for a modest-sized arts organization or erecting a skyscraper for a mammoth corporation, each project for Webcor presents its own cadre of interesting hurdles to dissect, overcome and learn from. Or, as Todd put it, "They all have a different spin to them, but each is special for different reasons."

Webcor's corporate headquarters is located at 951 Mariners Island Blvd., 7th floor, San Mateo, CA 94404. Call (650) 349-2727 or visit webcor.com for more information and for their other locations.

June 2008 Commercial Edition Issue

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