ADVANTAGEThe Engineered Summer/2005

P U B L I S H E D B Y A T L A S P I E R S O F A T L A N T A , I N C O R P O R A T E D

IN THIS ISSUEThe Mysterious Leaning Tower of PisaUGA DAWGS Steaming Hot Sleek, Custom Engineered Performance Product for Atlanta’s Chrysler/Jeep/DodgeBeat the Summer Heat with Free Lunch IndoorsAtlas Piers of Atlanta Receives National Recognition

Dear Friends:

With the publication, of thesecond edition and summerissue of The Atlas Advantage,come thoughts of warmerweather, beach vacations, family road trips and otherenjoyable escapes. AmericanIndependence Day on July 4threinforced appreciation of ourAmerican service men andwomen, those we keep close in

our prayers. If any of you have business associates, friends or familyoverseas, please convey our deepest gratitude and respect.

I too will be traveling overseas this summer, to Israel, as part of apersonal quest and passion. My adventure finds me involved in anarcheological dig to locate ancient artifacts in Jerusalem. Afterthree such excursions, I feel privileged to lead a group sanctionedand permitted by the Israeli Antiquities Authorities. On previousdigs, expertise as a foundation specialist, proved to be in demand.I was able to help our group in reinforcing existing walls to ensuretheir structural integrity while we excavated nearby. It is extremelyintense when you are digging near revered, historical landmarks,and you are the person responsible to see that no harm is done.

Although there is much political unrest in this part of the world, I donot fear for my safety while in Israel. I believe my work there is acalling and a mission as we hope to find artifacts, not only of histor-ical but religious significance. Mostly, I pray to be worthy of theauthority given to me.

Teamed up with geotechnical experts, we will be conducting soilresistivity scans at select sites in Jerusalem on this trip. Plans are toexcavate after July 31. I can’t wait to share news of our finds withyou in the fall issue of The Atlas Advantage. In the meantime,please send me news and photos of your summer adventures viae-mail to wayne@AtlasPiers.com. It will be great fun to find outwhat special, exciting interests you have!

Warmly,(No kidding. It’s usually 100+ degrees in Israel in the summer!)

Wayne Farris, President Atlas Piers of Atlanta, Inc.

Summer/2005 The Engineered

Publisher: Atlas Piers of Atlanta, Inc.535 Winkler DriveAlpharetta, Georgia 30004

Phone: 770.740.0400Fax: 770.740.1513www.AtlasPiers.com

Please address your commentsand requests to Kelly@AtlasPiers.com

ADVANTAGE

Temple Mount, Jeruselum

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T here are other inclined towers in the world, but none asfamous as the 12th century bell tower which awkwardlyresides at the side of the Cathedral in the Piazza dei

Miracoli in Pisa, Italy. Although it was once debated whether theunknown architect intended for the tower to lean or whether it wasdue to construction errors, it is now widely believed the phenome-na is caused by unstable sub-soils of sand, shells and marine clayand seasonal water table changes under the building foundation.

On a wall near the entry door to the stone tower is inscribed A.D.MLLXXIV CAMPANILE HOC FUIT FUNDATUM MENSE AUGUST A.D.1174, which translates: In the month of August, A.D. 1174, this belltower was founded. Actual construction of the tower from founda-tion to belfry spanned two centuries due to lapses in construction.In 1178, after the third loggia or arcade was built, work stoppeddue to politics and lack of funding, but by this time the incline wasalready evident. Ironically, the construction lapses may actuallyhave helped compaction and prevented the tower from falling. In1372, the last floor was built and the bell installed at the top of thetower which today measures approximately 60 meters in heightand weighs 14,500 tons. From 1550 to 1817, the tower moved anestimated 5 centimeters in 267 years, but from 1817 to 1838 themovement accelerated with readings showing 20 centimeters. Thetower eventually slowed its leaning progression to about 1.2 millime-ters annually. Despite the incline, the historical landmark continuedto stand and fortunately was not bombed during World War II whenmany such tall structures were destroyed due to threat of snipers.

The cylindrical tower, which leaned at 5.5 degrees, was closed fortours in 1988 due to serious threat of it toppling over or collapsingbecause of the incline and fragile masonry. The Pisa Commission, incharge of saving the tilting tower, has been able to reduce theincline by .5 degrees.

In November,2001, while itsbells rang out to mark the event, the LeaningTower of Pisa reopened. Today, groups mayascend to the top by climbing 297 stairs on thespiral staircase in the hollow of the tower. Thejourney is further enhanced, not only by theexquisite architectural details, but by the decorative art and finally the magnificent view.Unfortunately, tours are limited to no more than30 persons at a time in the romantic, fragilestructure.

Legend says that Galileo himself conduct-ed a physics experiment from the top ofthe Leaning Tower of Pisa, tossing twocannon balls of different weights to theground to prove that descending speed isindependent of mass.

"The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a landmark known throughout the world. As it calls attention to foundation support challenges,

Atlas Piers features the image in its advertisements with the slogan,"We Can Change History!"

ATLAS PIERS OF ATLANTA NAMED NUMBER ONEIN THE NATION

Out of more than 100 Atlas Systems’ distributors andinstallers in the United States, Atlas Piers of Atlanta, Inc. wasonce again ranked number one in combined helical andresistance pier sales. The Atlanta-based company has enjoyednumber one status for the past two years. Wayne Farris,owner and founder of Atlas Piers of Atlanta, and his entirestaff gratefully acknowledge our customers for their patron-age which made this achievement a reality.

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UGA Dawgs Steaming Hot

As many of our readers areengineers and architects,we have a high percent-

age of Georgia Tech alumni inour circulation base. And if youare a Georgia Tech graduate,you probably could not wait tofind out nasty news about yourschool’s arch rival, The Universityof Georgia (UGA). Sorry. It is aliteral headline.

This summer, Atlas Piers ofAtlanta, had the privilege towork for AMEC-Kamtech, Inc.,

the general contractor on aconstruction project for theUniversity of Georgia at its cen-tral steam plant in Athens,Georgia. For nearly a century,UGA’s central steam plant hasgenerated the steam used forheat, hot water and other vari-ous needs for the school’s maincampus in Athens, Georgia.

As the University has grown,so have demands on the cen-tral steam plant’s ability to pro-duce. Today, UGA boasts a

current enrollment of morethan 30,000 students on a maincampus that consists of 313buildings on 604 acres. That’s alot of heat and hot water!

Because of ongoingimprovements and expansionof the UGA steam plant super-structure and progressiveresearch on alternative fuels,ever-increasing numbers ofBulldogs should be assured ofplenty of steam for heat andhot water in the future.

“We were happy with them. They met our time requirements and did the job within budget. We would use them again, absolutely,

and would refer them without hesitation.”Monte Brown, Site Manager for the General Contractor, AMEC-Kamtech, Inc.4

UGA Steam Plant Site PosesChallenges for NewConstruction

As part of plannedimprovements to UGA’s centralsteam plant facility, a majorpart of the superstructure wasbeing replaced and updatedthis summer.

According to Monte Brown,site manager for the generalcontractor, AMEC-Kamtech,Inc., the job site presented chal-lenges for new construction.

“Ingenious measures hadto be taken to be able toaccomplish this job. Not onlywas the terrain difficult, but thenumber of foundation supportpiers specified by ProjectManagement Resources, Inc.,UGA’s contracted engineeringfirm, were within a mostlyenclosed area with limitedaccess,” explained Brown.

“Five of the columns requir-ing foundation support were inthe bank of a hill. These arenow supported by Atlas helicalpiers,” added Brown.

Atlas Piers Offers Time andMoney-Saving Support ofDawg’s Endeavors

Brown contacted AtlasPiers of Atlanta for assistancewith the job because, as hestated, “Atlas Piers had theability to meet the specifica-tions recommended by ProjectManagement Resources.”

Wayne Farris, founder andowner of Atlas Piers of Atlanta,Inc., looked at the UGA job asan opportunity to show AMEC-Kamtech, the unique benefitsof working with Atlas Piers.

“We can install foundationsupport products in areas oflimited accessibility with hand-held equipment. Whereasalternative methods oftenrequire a staging area andmaneuvering room for heavyconstruction equipment, wecan operate in tight spots.That includes working in spaceswith height restrictions, anotherchallenge of the UGA job,”stated Farris.

“Not only are Atlas Systemsproducts and installation meth-ods tested to be efficient andreliable, but once installed,they are ready for immediateloading. There’s no cure timeas required when building acontinuous footer. Using ourpiers has the added benefit ofaccelerating the job timetable,saving the contractor money,”added Farris.

With a projected completiondate for the fall of this year,meeting the critical timeschedule was an importantpart of the UGA steam plantconstruction job.

Atlas Piers On-Time and Within-Budget

When asked about the per-formance of Atlas Piers, Brownsaid, “We were happy withthem. They met our time require-ments and did the job withinbudget. We would use themagain, absolutely, and wouldrefer them without hesitation.”

“As an engineering consultant to the University of Georgia, I am pleased to report that Atlas Piers did an exceptional job

installing the helical piers my firm specified for the constructionof the new steam header at UGA’s Central Steam Plant.

Atlas Piers completed the job on time and very professionally,despite the difficult site conditions and weather.“

Bob Synk, P.E., President, Project Management Resources, Inc.

UGA has conducted exciting experimentsin alternate fuel sources at its steam plantfacility. Ongoing improvements at thefacility, which produces steam for theUniversity’s main campus in Athens,required Atlas Piers foundation support.

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Sleek, Custom Engineered Performance ProductDesigned For Atlanta’s Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge

No, it’s not a “hemi” or a“jeep thing”. And wecan’t steal Chrysler’s

famous advertising line, “inspi-ration comes standard,” butcertainly engineering innova-tion is an integral part of AtlasPiers of Atlanta’s customdesign/build products.

One major facet of “the AtlasAdvantage” is Atlas Piers abilityto design customized, engi-neered solutions for uniquephysical requirements — notonly natural challenges butman-made confinements. Anexcellent example is Atlas Piersrecent work performed for ProBuilding Systems, contractor foran addition to Atlanta’sChrysler/Jeep/Dodge dealership.

A Myriad of Obstacles OpposedConstruction from the StartPre-construction studies deter-mined it would be too difficultto remove fill material andreplace it to provide propersupport for the new construc-tion. Subsurface explorationand geotechnical evaluationsfrom Ahlberg Engineering, Inc.,revealed weathered rock inthe strata beginning at approx-imately eight feet undergroundand continuing to 20 feet. All foundation support work

had to be accomplished with-out disturbing the existing carlot, showroom and servicedepartment. There would beno allowances for structural,vibration and noise distur-bance. The construction areawas extremely confined withno room for drilling rigs, ready-mix concrete trucks, cranesand other “super-sized” equip-ment. Additionally, the con-tractor requested installationbe accomplished within amaximum of three days inorder to meet critical pathrequirements.

Fortunately, another “built-in”Atlas Advantage is complimen-tary consulting by Dr. Kraft,Atlas Systems Senior Engineerand one of the nation’s lead-ing foundation support experts.After carefully reviewing theengineering specifications andthe geotechnical surveys, Dr.Kraft recommended Atlasdevelop a custom helical/piledesign specifically for the job.The adapted product featureda 3.5” round shaft with twohelix flights: one at 8” and theother at 10”. The flight at 8”featured a 90 degree shell cutto embed in the weatheredrock with a minimum torque of7,600 ft/lb.

A small, back hoe with a 12,000ft./lb. Gear Motor was used toexpertly twist the product intothe ground. All 38 customdesigned piers were installed in2.5 days, capped and readyfor immediate loading. All thewhile, the automobile dealer-ship was able to continuedoing business without majorinterruption due to noise andvibration.

Acknowledgements:Job: Addition to AtlantaChrysler/Jeep/Dodge DealershipArchitect: Zenner GroupStructural Engineer:

Estes Shields EngineeringGeotechnical Surveys:

Ahlberg EngineeringGeneral Contractor:

Pro Building Systems

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Beat the Summer Heat with Free Lunch IndoorsCourtesy of Atlas Piers of Atlanta

You are sure to be cool whenyou contact Atlas Piers ofAtlanta to arrange a com-

plimentary “lunch & learn” presen-tation in your office this summer.Not only can you learn the latestinformation from our foundationspecialists and strategies from chal-lenging case studies, but you andyour associates will avoid the after-noon slump from going out to lunchin the heat and humidity. It is inter-esting, convenient and besides, whocan resist a FREE lunch? For archi-tects and engineers, we offer anadditional incentive to participateas you are eligible to earn continu-ing education credit from Atlas pre-sentations. As a host company, youalso receive a technical referencemanual as a valuable resource foryour firm’s reference library.

To schedule your event, callKelly with Atlas Piers ofAtlanta at 770.740.0400today or e-mail your requestto: Kelly@AtlasPiers.com

Special thanks to the followingcompanies who have hosted anAtlas Piers “lunch & learn”. (Newhost companies since the firstissue of The Atlas Advantage arelisted in red.) AMEC-Kamtech, Inc.ASD, Inc.ATC AssociatesATSAlex Roush Architects, Inc.Alhberg Engineering, Inc.B & E Jackson & AssociatesBarry Levin & AssociatesBellamy Brothers, Inc.Bennett & Pless, Inc.Brittingham & AssociatesBrock Green ArchitectsBrockway & Assoc.Browder & Leguizamon &

AssociatesCGLS ArchitectsClark Patterson AssociatesCorcoran Nelson Nardone &

AssociatesCross Engineering, Inc.Cuh2ADMD Engineering & TestingDean Oliver InternationalDougherty Schroeder & Assoc.Eagle EngineeringFoley Design Assoc. ArchitectsForeman Seeley Fountain, Inc.GECGallet & Associates of GAGardner Spencer & Smith

Goode Van Slyke Architects, LLCGreenberg Farrow ArchitectsHarris Fritz & AssociatesHarrison Design Associates Ltd.Howell Rusk Dodson ArchitectsJ. W. Robinson & AssociatesJohn Portman & AssociatesKSI Structural EngineersKaiser Earth Tech, Inc.LAI EngineeringLockwood Greene TechnologiesLyman Davidson DooleyMoma Architecture, Inc.MerrickNannis & Associates Niles Bolton Assoc.Norton, Schmidt & WardenEngineersNova EngineeringPSIPerkins & Will Southeast, Inc.Phillips Partnership PCPond & Company R.J. Griffin & CompanyRabun Hogan Ota & RaschRandall – Paulson ArchitectsRosser InternationalSP Design GroupScott JohnsonSedki & Russ Engineers, Inc.Sizemore GroupSkanska USASouthern A & E, LLCStan Lindsey & AssociatesStarzer Brady Fagan & Assoc.Stevens & WilkinsonTVS & AssociatesTerraconTomberlin Assoc.Uzan & Case EngineersWakefield Beasley Assoc.ArchitectsWatts & Browning Eng.Willett Engineering Company

Since publication of the first issue of The Atlas Advantage, we’ve received manyphone calls to schedule “lunch and learn” programs.

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T he dictionary definesan accolade as anexpression of praise.

Because we at Atlas Piers ofAtlanta believe there is agreat deal of overlooked

good news in the world,we are dedicating

this page toshare it with

you.

This Issue’s ATLAS ACCOLADEAWARD goes to Ryan Bellflower of Clovis, CA…One Shot Wonder, A Tribute To Determination

A bold reminder of enduringhuman determination is a heart-warming story recently reportedby the Associated Press and othernews sources. It’s about an 18-year-old special education student, Ryan Bellflower, at ClovisEast High School in Clovis,California. Although, the develop-mentally challenged studentcouldn’t grasp the mental foun-

dations and rules, he lovedmemorizing sports statistics

and played the basketballgame,

H-O-R-S-E, with hisbrother Justin athome.

After dedicatingyears of selflesslyhelping set up prac-tices, running thetime clock, bring-ing water andcleaning up afterthe girls’and boys’basketball teamsat his high school,Ryan is finallyallowed to dress-outin uniform for the lastvarsity game

With the Clovis Eastteam comfortably

ahead and only minutesto go in the fourth quar-

ter, fellow team andschool mates, as well as

parents in the gymnasium,begin to stomp, clap and

chant, “We want ‘Ryno’,” urg-ing Coach Tim Amundsen to put

Ryan in the game. In a fairy-taleending, as his brother watches intears, Ryan sinks the last shot ofthe game from a spot behind the3-point line with a magnificentswish. Although according to

those closest to Ryan, he does notreally understand all the “hoopla”about what he has accomplished,his example becomes an inspira-tion for all those witnessing theincredible event. For other great news and sports, checkout MSN.com or FOXSPORTS.com

ONLY IN FUNYou might be an engineer if…■ You look forward to Christmasonly to put together the kids’ toys■ You have used coat hangersand duct tape for somethingother than hanging coats andtaping ducts■ You have a slide rule and knowhow to use it■ You know what http:// stands for■ Your lap top computer costsmore than your car■ You have ever fixed a $5 radio

TOP 10 ARCHITECTURAL INNOVA-TIONS OF THE NEXT 50 YEARS: 10. Wireless plumbing 9. Good looking concrete 8. Plexisteel 7. Temporary buildings that are

actually temporary 6. Miniaturization 5. Building DNA 4. "Smart" floor tiles 3. Sport utility houses 2. Self-cleaning dormitories 1. Virtual reality bathrooms Special Thanks to Alfred Twu,University of California, Berkeley. Be sure to sheck out his website at:www.ocf.berkeley.edu@atwu/firstcul-tural/fci_main.html

QUIPS & QUOTES“If you tell the truth, you don’thave to remember anything.”

Mark Twain

Atlas Accolades – Uplifting News

We encourage you to contribute to ATLAS ACCOLADES, this section of The Engineered ADVANTAGE, which is distrib-uted to the construction industry in Atlanta Simply e-mail your good news entitled "In Box for Atlas Accolades" to:Kelly@AtlasPiers.com. Nominations for the Accolade Award are welcome.

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