Development

Our experience with large-scale urban development projects means we are often faced with challenging excavation and shoring situations. When traditional tieback and soil nail approaches are inadequate, either because of unique site features or a simple inability to secure easements for neighboring properties, our geotechnical engineers develop unique solutions to support the excavation safely, and cost-effectively.

We develop ground-improvement programs for large-scale projects in soft soil and earthquake-prone areas. Our Performance-Based Engineering Team performs seismic analyses and numerical modeling to predict the interaction between soil and foundation structures during specific types of seismic events and then develops appropriate ground improvement designs to mitigate those risks.

Foundation design is a key component of every development project. There are countless options, from shallow to deep foundations, that could be implemented at any given site. Our foundation solutions are matched to the subsurface conditions, the level of risk for foundation movements, cost of construction, and the owner’s desired performance criteria.

Our Performance-Based Engineering Team has a wealth of experience assessing risk at soft ground sites in seismically active regions. We understand the nuances of soil-structure interaction that are vital for earth-retaining and embedded structures, and ground failure evaluations. We also have experience with advanced numerical modeling techniques to give us deeper predictive insight into how a structure might react to specific stressors.

GeoEngineers’ construction design team delivers designs for the temporary structures needed during construction—trestles, piers and earth- and water-retaining systems like soldier pile walls or cofferdams. In addition to designs, GeoEngineers helps our clients understand how proposed structures and soil will behave under a variety of conditions and stresses—especially for projects in soft soils that are more vulnerable to seismic risks. Our engineers tailor their structural designs to each site and project-delivery method, including using performance-based engineering over traditional factor-of-safety methodology when appropriate.

GeoEngineers provides far more than geotechnical and environmental recommendations and guidance. We’re there every step of the way during project construction, working closely with contractors to verify that earthwork elements are constructed according to design recommendations and that hazardous materials are removed and categorized appropriately for disposal.

We help land owners, lending agencies and developers understand and mitigate their risk by thoroughly investigating the overall health of developed and undeveloped properties through a combination of historical site use research, field visits and observations and soil and/or groundwater explorations to determine site characteristics and potential risk of human or ecological health indicators.

We work with land owners to remediate and close old, contaminated sites, and help developers clean up sites for redevelopment. Much of our work experience is in urban areas with historically-affected soils and groundwater, so we know how to manage complex sites. We investigate to characterize the contamination, provide risk analysis, navigate the web of policies and regulations, and then work with our clients to find the best path toward successful remediation.

Many urban development projects feature deep excavations below the groundwater table that require innovative dewatering solutions. Our hydrogeologists are skilled in designing a combination of pump systems, wells, drains and more to control seepage and keep your development projects dry, both during construction and as permanent solutions for completed facilities.

We provide stormwater control and water quality testing, along with expertise in federal and local stormwater discharge regulations and investigation of groundwater flow. We reduce and control stormwater runoff during project construction to meet permit requirements and design permanent stormwater-management strategies for completed facilities.

We help clients organize and evaluate their data. We use our in-house data management software platform, Earth Analytics, to help us monitor and manage instrument data. From discrete, short-term monitoring to expansive networks of wireless instruments tied into our software platform, we have the range of services to meet your needs.

We’ve had the opportunity to integrate innovative and sustainable design features into a number of our premiere development projects, including the award-winning Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Headquarters Campus, the largest non-profit LEED^©-NC Platinum-certified building in the world, and the Bullitt Center in Seattle, certified as a “Living Building” and known as the greenest commercial building in the world.

GeoEngineers’ national construction design team specializes in a suite of interdisciplinary engineering design services for heavy civil contractors. Their work includes temporary structural design, geotechnical investigation and design, temporary excavation support, soil-structure interaction, seismic modeling and dewatering—all under one roof. This approach gives contractors a single point of contact and more predictable pricing for complex and fast-paced infrastructure projects across the United States and abroad.

Our experienced design-build team is ready to take on your project. As the team responsible for all aspects of geotechnical characterization, analysis and design, we have a broad array of expertise with various infrastructure components. We can act as the Geotechnical Design Manager on design-build projects, and work closely with design and construction teams.

Geoexchange systems take advantage of relatively constant underground temperatures to efficiently heat and cool facilities. GeoEngineers has been bringing environmental, geological and hydrogeological expertise to geoexchange projects since 2009. Our geo-scientific knowledge and ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems experience yield lower initial costs, a quicker return on investment and better system performance for our clients.

GeoEngineers staff have decades of experience testing shoring and foundation systems and other specialized geotechnical field testing such as inclinometer slope monitoring, settlement monitoring, and soil pore pressure monitoring to name a few.

Our accredited labs and field experts are available for your special inspection and testing needs. We have laboratories accredited by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the ASTM Cement and Concrete Reference Laboratory (CCRL).

GeoEngineers can provide landowners and developers with a baseline review of existing and proposed industrial and commercial operations to determine compliance with applicable environmental regulations. This focused assessment of potential compliance challenges can help owners or operators understand their risks and plan operational changes and new projects with an awareness of their environmental requirements.