marchapril2021 - 37

MILITARY
with McConnell Base CE to move the
tower slightly. But again, even any slight
adjustment to the site location, is going
to impact your line of sight, " Mashek
said.
It was decided that the best spot for
the new ATCT was right behind the
old one, about 50 feet away.
" We positioned it right behind the
old tower. That way the old tower
could still function, do its purpose, do
its mission, while the new tower was just
maybe 50 feet right behind it, give or
take, and so we were able to phase the
construction, " said Mashek.
" The new tower was about 10
stories-ish with the control cab on
top. So, it was significantly taller. We
essentially built it so you could see over
the top of the existing tower. So, we
could keep the construction going while
still keeping that existing tower active, "
he continued.
The proximity of construction had
little impact on the existing ATCT's
operations.
" The control tower guys that we
talked to during the ribbon cutting,
they were all very, very, very pleased
with how everything went. I would
say definitely, it probably impacted a
little bit of their day to day. You've got
an active construction site that you're
walking through. Receivers all set up
where they can park and safely get to and
from the tower to where they needed
to be without going through any unsafe
areas. But I think for the most part, it
was the best-case scenario, " Mashek said.
The construction headaches were
worth it, as the new ATCT is not only
taller than its predecessor, but it is
significantly more advanced in design
and technical capabilities.
" We actually included so many
different new aspects that the old
tower didn't have. Head functional
spaces, including the chief and assistant
chief control tower or controller
offices, administration offices. We had
a computer training room, even had
restroom with the showers. We had a
control tower equipment room, a break
room, " Mashek said.
And the break room, built just below
the cab, featured glass designs, bringing
in some natural light to the environment
for crews to enjoy.

Making
sure the
air traffic
control
tower
could see
all areas of
the airfield
was a
critical
aspect
of the
project.
BURNS &
MCDONNELL

" Obviously being cooped up in a
control tower isn't fun all day long. So,
we made that break room where you
could get more glass and get exposed
while you're still inside the tower, "
added Mashek.
The climate of the area was also
brought into the design. Located in
Wichita, Kan., the air base is prone to
tornadoes and a storm shelter was built
into the ATCT.
" We gave them a storm shelter
down on the first f loor. It was a half
conference room, half storm shelter. So,
should there be an event they wouldn't
have to abandon the tower, they could
just go downstairs, " he said. " If you
think about whenever you see a control
tower, it's usually out in the middle of
nowhere, if you will, relative to all the
other buildings grouped together. So,
we wanted to give them something safe
in an event. "
Designing an ATCT with all the
bells and whistles comes with its own
challenges. By nature, an ATCT is a
more difficult building to fit everything
needed into, requiring greater precision
in the narrow, tall space to include it all.
" A bigger building, you have a little
bit of flexibility if you will, whereas a
tower footprint, everything has to go
right in its place, right? It's a narrow
shaft to get out to the cab. So, any field
adjustment through construction could
have a ripple effect or a snowball effect
on the rest of the design. Everything
has to be laid out in much more finite
level of detail. How are you going to run
your column, your utilities? How are
you going to stack the elevator? How are

you going to do the stairs? " Mashek said.
" All that good stuff has to be very
well coordinated during design because
when you start construction, even
just something as simple in any other
building as rerouting some duct work
or adjusting a comm line, could have
quite the impact. "
How to get wires up and down the
tower proved to be a challenge in and
of itself. The team worked out a way to
have the main mullions help hold up the
cab roof that splits the glass, where they
then ran all the critical elements through
the mullions to avoid any impediment
to line of sight.
" Same thing as you design it and
you work through it, the equipment
room and then if you go off the comm
room was directly below. That way,
everything we needed was feeding all
into that main area of the cab, " Mashek
said.
Mashek added that they employed
3D modeling " on another level " during
the design process to make sure that
they laid out every aspect of the design,
looking for any clash detection or
inferences that might be run into during
construction.
" We were trying to make sure
that we nailed down exactly where
everything had to be routed. So, during
construction, all those interferences or
clashes have already been found. One,
making the construction much easier
and two, limiting any of those issues
as they're working through the build, "
he said. 

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