Archinect
Don Rasmussen

Don Rasmussen

Salt Lake City, UT, US

 

About 

Employment 

US Army Corps of Engineers, Bluffdale, Utah, Architect

Currently working on a $1.4B, 1.5Msf Data Center for a confidential client. Construction and client fit-up is scheduled to conclude 3rd Qtr 2013.

Duties: Architect
Reviews construction documents for compliance with Request For Proposal, Contract, USACE 385-1, IBC and other Federal guidelines. Reviews submittals, change order requests, pay applications, schedule and observes construction activities.

Duties: Sustainability Point of Contact
Provides technical advice to USACE and consults with Design Build team towards accomplishment of Clients sustainable building objectives.

Duties: USACE Commissioning Chair
Selected professional engineers and technical personnel to lead USACE in understanding of commissioning requirements in the Request For Proposal, contract as well as industry standards. Reviewed commissioning plans associated with: Commissioning Plan development and review, Building Envelope testing, Pre-Functional Construction Checklists, Equipment Start-up, Functional Performance Testing, Integrated System Testing, Black Start Testing, Endurance and Seasonal Testing.

Oct 2010 - current
 

PDG, Inc., Ogden, UT, US, Architect / Design Manager

Duties: Architect
Develop site development documents, construction drawings and specifications and provide leadership for engineers and designers in the development of construction documents for facilities throughout the U.S. and Canada. Conducts design reviews of: civil, structural, electrical and mechanical engineering drawings, specifications, studies and reports to ensure compliance with Corporate, International Building Codes, the Americans with Disabilities Act, NFPA and other Federal, State and local requirements. Reviews and approves consultant progress payments and invoices.

Accomplishments:
Lead weekly meetings to coordinate planning, resource scheduling and workload coordination of both technical staff and professional personnel. Lead teams of design professionals to survey, document and analyze existing facilities to determine scope of work based on capital improvement directives and budget. Reviewed proposed modifications with associated engineering studies and cost estimates. Prepare reports for Management depicting proposed scopes of work and construction budgets.

Duties: Design Manager
Maintain corporate design standards, principles and guidelines to train and mentor architects, engineers and technical designers in the development of construction drawings and specifications. Review and analyze existing design standards and procedures to ensure they are consistent with common design and construction practices, materials, means and methods for both design and construction personnel to effectively and efficiently perform their duties. Evaluate and propose alterations to those design standards which have shown to be ineffective, cost prohibitive or antiquated.

Accomplishments:
Hired as a staff architect on April 16, 2007 and was promoted to Design Manager on June 23, 2008 because of strong leadership and a commitment to excellence.
Identified and presented: innovative design options, alternative construction methods and procurement strategies to achieve capital improvement objectives while reducing expenditures and construction schedule. Prepared and presented analytical studies to improve functional designs, eliminate or minimize architectural, construction or operation related problems associated with and encountered in new and existing facilities. Reviewed and incorporated analyses, reports and studies authored by various team members including architects, structural, electrical and mechanical engineers.
Developed a design reference manual to resolve historical problematic design related issues. Implementation of this design manual resulted in savings of approximately $250K per project by avoiding routine change orders, modified procurement practices and construction delays. Revised the general conditions section of the construction contract saving an additional $50K and reduced the construction schedule by approximately 30 calendar days.

Managed all aspects of the construction process including: Submitted construction documents for permitting. Prepared bidding documents, answered Requests for information (RFI) and prepared addenda. Received and analyzed competitive bids, provided contract negotiations and prepared construction contract. Received, reviewed and approved product submittals, inspection reports, payment applications and schedules. Provided site observations, conducted meetings, created field reports and acted as liaison between Contractor and Corporate Facility Management to resolve design related problems arising during construction. Developed punch list and oversaw one year warranty issues.

Apr 2007 - May 2010
 

VCBO Architects, Salt Lake City, UT, US, Project Manager

Duties: Project Manager
Leadership and management of technical designers and professional engineers in the planning, design and development of construction documents and specifications for community centers, recreational facilities, K-12 educational facilities including additions and remodels. Review engineers proposal for services providing technical expertise in reviewing, selecting and directing design professional, progress payment and invoices, scheduled site investigation and construction visits, prepared field notes, sketches and meeting minutes and made recommendations on technical analysis, studies and geotechnical reports.
Conducted field surveys and inspections preparing documents including photos, sketches, drawings and notations on as-built drawings to fully document and record existing conditions for use in developing scopes of work for design technicians and professional engineers.

Accomplishments:
Coordinated campus improvements in; planning, design, budget, bidding, construction administration and scheduling on projects valued up to $22M. Worked closely with State, County and local officials in meeting International Building Code, NFPA and ADA requirements.
Created and presented project design concepts and renderings to local school boards, community development groups and government officials in anticipation of receiving commissions for design services. Wrote Request for Proposals (RFP) detailing scopes of work to obtained consulting fee proposals from Civil, Structural, Mechanical and Electrical professional engineers and determined architectural design fees. Presented proposed fee structure to Principals for review and approval.
Regularly met with design team to collaborate, coordinate design activities and to resolve design related conflicts. Reviewed design drawings and specifications to ensure compliance with scope of work, proposed budget and construction budgets to ensure the design intent had been accomplished. Submitted design documents for permitting. Received, reviewed and distributed review comments to appropriate disciples for review and correction of design documents. Reviewed design documents with client prior to bidding to obtain approval to proceed with construction bidding. Submitted construction drawings and specifications to various plan room locations for contractors use. Received and reviewed construction bids and provided detailed comparisons to client.
Reviewed product submittals, certified payment applications, construction schedule and to confirm contractor was in strict compliance to contract obligations. Directed general construction meetings to coordinate contractors work and schedule was in harmony with client’s site conditions for staging and phasing of construction activities.

May 2005 - Apr 2007
 

American Stores / Albertsons, Boise, ID, US, Project Manager / Owners Representative

Duties:
Lead development team including architect, construction manager, real estate manager and attorney in the acquisition of property, site entitlements, and construction document preparation and construction management of retail facilities throughout Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas.

Accomplishments:
Received service award for opening or reopening over 20 retail facilities each valued between $3M - $11M in one year. Selected, retained and nurtured local architects in leading teams of engineers in the development of construction documents. Regularly met with the design team to review projects and proposed construction change orders. Provided alternative proposals based on elevations, sections, sketches and counter cost estimates to convey design intent. Reviewed these with the contractor and concluded with the most effective option in terms of function, appearance and cost. Site visits were regularly made to each project to ensure conformance to the requirements of the contract documents. Provided punch list review, acceptance of the facility by Owner, received Certificate of Occupancy and prepared close out documentation. Returned with the contractor to complete the one year warranty review and repair work.

Member of an acquisition task force directed to evaluate the condition of several competing facilities. Conducted inspections and documented the buildings condition including deficiencies associated with structural, mechanical and electrical systems and provided cost estimates for remedies.

Successfully opened or re-opened over 60 retail facilities throughout Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas.

Jun 1999 - Oct 2003
 

Education 

NewSchool of Architecture & Design, San Diego, CA, US, MArch, Architecture

Feb 2009 - Nov 2009
 

The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, US, BArch, Architecture

Aug 1989 - Jun 1994
 

Areas of Specialization 

Skills