Materials Used:
Existing red brick masonry structure with wood framed mezzanines. A portion of the wall supports a steel storage tank that originally held 250,000 gallons of water.

Project Highlights:
Brooks Ransom Associates was selected by the Fresno Visitors Bureau to lead a design team whose task was to turn the previously abandoned tower into a fully functioning visitor information center. The historic Old Fresno Water Tower was built in 1894 and is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the San Joaquin Valley. The tower is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The project included seismic analysis and retrofitting of the existing masonry structure as well as direction and coordination of design disciplines with state and local historical commissions.

Materials Used:
The Paramount Citrus Plant existing structure is made of unreinforced tile walls, timber roof trusses and floor mezzanines, with steel columns and conventional concrete foundations. As part of the seismic upgrades concrete caissons were added, along with a new steel braced frame exoskeleton.

Project Highlights:
The Paramount Citrus Plant was condemned following the Northridge earthquake. Members of Brooks Ransom flew in the day after the disaster to assess the extensive damage to the structures and devise a remedial support system to be erected, allowing the facility to remain in production. Within weeks, the City of Los Angeles’ approvals were obtained and the new support structure was under construction, thus lifting the condemned status of the facility. Various members of Brooks Ransom belong to the State of California Emergency Response Team.

Materials Used:
The existing facility is constructed almost exclusively of either cast-in-place or pre-cast concrete elements, including the roof panels, columns, and concrete moment frames.

Project Highlights:
This project consisted of a seismic study of 60-year old Administrative and Detention structures that had potentially sustained earthquake damage. The existing structural conditions were reviewed via inspection, testing, and structural analysis. The structure was built on top of an old swamp-like area, thus soils testing was necessary to determine the seismic response and settlement. There were no existing records of materials having been tested, so various materials also underwent extensive lab analysis. A plan study was submitted to the local government agency that addressed the issues of the column cracking, building connections, and potential methods to bring the facility up to the specified functional level indicated by the client.