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Sound & Communications Front page, con’t page 18 February 18, 1999
Volume 45 Number 2
City Hall by the Bay
A renovated 93-year-old San Francisco City Hall gets brand new A/V System
By R. David Read is a freelance writer, frequent contributor to Sound & Communications and principal of The RCC Group.
Several months ago I was talking with Ken Fause of San Francisco-based A/V consultants Smith, Fause & McDonald, Inc., and I asked if he was aware of any projects that might be of interest to the readers of Sound & Communications.
Ken advised that they had recently designed several interrelated audio, video and communication control systems for the renovation of the San Francisco City Hall. A few weeks later I had occasion to be in the City by the Golden Gate and arranged to meet with Ken for supper.
Over one of the great meals that San Francisco is famous for, we went into some greater detail on how the project developed and what A/V systems were involved. This led to the arrangement of an interview with San Jose-based Ceitronics, the A/ V systems integrator that had been retained by the City to fabricate, install, program and test these systems. It soon became quite evident that this was a project of major magnitude. I remarked to the editor of S&C, after he commissioned me to do the piece, “This isn’t an article, it’s a book!” His reply was something on the order of, “Well, see what you can do in five thousand words or less.” So here we go.
Earthquake
Around 5 PM on the afternoon of October 17, 1989, baseball fans were gathered at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park to watch the first ever TransBay World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. Hordes of rush hour commuters were traversing the bridges, freeways and public transit facilities that link San Francisco and Oakland - two of the metropolitan areas of the Bay Area.
As the fans at Candlestick park watched in horror and the multitude of TV viewers across the nation witnessed, a rolling, vertical-displacement earthquake on the order of 7.3 Richter-scale magnitude emanated outward from its epicenter at Loma Prieta (the name of a rocky blackish ridge in the Santa Cruz mountains). The stadium rocked, concrete crumbled and bridges and freeways were torn asunder by the magnitude of the forces of nature. Parts of the cities of San Francisco and Oakland were disintegrating before their eyes. One of the spans of the Bay Bridge linking the two major cities crumpled. Elevated freeways collapsed and buried scores of commuters in the debris.
One of the public structures that sustained major structural damage during this onslaught of seismic forces was the venerable, Beaux Arts style, vintage 1913 San Francisco City Hall. The building was considered to be a major historical landmark. Indeed, many preservationists consider the building to be one of the most significant interior public spaces of its style in the country. The gilded 90,000-ton dome of the structure, which rises taller than the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., was twisted like a bottle top. The structural system, although constructed with the 1906 earthquake in mind, was not up to the twisting, vertical upheavals that the Loma Prieta quake was to inflict on the structure. An inspection of the building determined that throughout the floors cracks were found in the plaster, the hollow clay tile and concrete slabs. Although many structural load resisting elements were clearly damaged, the building was not unstable or in immediate danger of collapse. Still, it was clear that the building would not withstand another earthquake of similar magnitude. Maintenance crews moved quickly to shore up the interior so that City workers could continue to occupy the structure until the ultimate fate of the building could be determined.
For the next few years an epic battle was waged involving the politicians, environmentalists and preservation/restoration forces. Many held that the structure was damaged beyond repair and that time, money and effort would best be directed in the razing of the building and constructing a totally new facility. At the opposite pole of opinion were those who staunchly held that the historic building should be reconstructed with nary a wit of modification. After several years of heated discussion, a compromise was reached. ŒMe structure would be essentially retained albeit with major modifications designed to offset the impact of the next devastating earthquake.
The building was literally jacked up while workmen sawed the concrete pilings apart and inserted composition doughnut shock absorbers into the structural supports. Interior walls were temporarily stripped of their marble, limestone and Manchurian Oak cladding so that seismic reinforcement and insulators could be installed. Certainly, not a minor undertaking. The general contractor (Huber, Hunt & Nichols) faced a formidable task.
With the building undergoing massive construction, the city administration recognized that this was the time to make much needed improvement to the nearly 500,000 square feet of interior space. The City commissioned Heller Manus/Finger & Moy/ Komorous-Towey Joint Venture Architects to prepare plans for the separate Improvements Project, which would be built concurrently with the Seismic Retrofit & Earthquake Damage Repair Project already in progress.
System Content
Due to space limitations, we have elected to concentrate our coverage of this major project on the audiovisual challenges that confronted the consulting firm of Smith, Fause & McDonald and Ceitronics, the A/V systems integrator. However, the project also involved the installation of several corresponding security and fire protective elements. The building was not previously equipped with a fire sprinkler system. Provision for this essential element ate up considerable space in the walls and ceiling of the facility. Likewise, a good deal of time, money and effort were expended in providing an upgraded fire-alarm and security system. The vastly upgraded security system involved the implementation of some 150 CCTV cameras deployed about the premises. Hierarchical card access controls were implemented to direct the access of authorized personnel into varying areas of security sensitivity.
These elements are essentially stories unto themselves, but we felt that concentration on the A/V installation would prove most illuminating to our readership. The building was originally designed in a time when golden-throated orators saw no need for sound reinforcement (indeed, in 1913 there was none available), votes were recorded by quick, skillful stenographers, and the public was satisfied with newspaper reports of the proceedings.
As these skills in oratorical projection and quick penmanship diminished, patchwork audio systems were installed, many of which proved to be obtrusive, unsightly and in some cases largely ineffective. The architects turned to Smith, Fause & McDonald for solutions. Their design proved to be both elegant and functional.
Interconnectivity was needed among the building’s various floors, including public spaces on the ground floor, the Board of Supervisors’ chambers on the second floor, the various committee rooms and Supervisors’ and their staffs’ offices scattered about the building. In addition, the new systems had to be designed in a way that provides maximum public and press access to council and committee meetings. Space was severely limited and was not conducive to mounting equipment racks within the various offices and committee rooms. To address these challenges, the design called for fiber optic cable connections between the various meeting spaces with the central control location in the basement. From this central location the audio, video and data signals would be processed and rerouted (via fiber) to their intended destinations. Even though the walls had been opened, space was still a major consideration B there simply wasn’t enough physical space to install conduits to accommodate traditional copper conductors. This finite space also had to be shared with the fire sprinkler contractor, the upgraded electrical service, the fire alarm installer, security system suppliers and others.
Establishing interconnectivity between the various Supervisors and committee members’ offices was deemed an essential element of the design. A large, single-point video display would have been inappropriate in the historical context. Instead, it was determined that notices of meetings and quorum calls to supervisors and committee members would be made from a remote control system that stores the essential information. When the Clerk’s Offices log onto a touch panel, the remote control system generates notification to members by means of e-mail, cell phone, voice mail and video displays in the members’ quarters (or all of the above). Those scheduled to appear can respond to the call by replying in a like manner.
Each Supervisors’ console within the council chambers includes a video display screen that can be queried to show scheduled meetings, local cable proceedings of the procedures in progress or taped previous proceedings. As procedural rules do not allow Supervisors to absent themselves during the course of a meeting, a way was devised whereby a call from the member’s console to a staff member can result in the delivery of needed items such as documents. To accommodate these quorum call proceedings and staff interconnectivity requirements, a huge data base had to be constructed that can store member and staff rosters from some 40 different committees and direct the communication paths and the response queuing. Also embedded in the system software is the provision for registering and recording the votes of the various members of the legislative bodies.
To meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements an infrared transmission system was required. Surprisingly, a multi-language translation system was not a specified subsystem. While this might appear to be a rather surprising omission, Fause provided the answer by responding that, “The Board and Committees are not presently funding translation services at their meetings.” To which he added, “The IR system infrastructure was designed to allow future conversion to narrowband, multichannel radiation.”
Adjacent to the main audio/video control room in the basement are three spaces designated as broadcast control rooms. From these rooms, the operations staff can select which proceeding from the five meeting rooms will be aired over the local “City Watch” cable network. These are full broadcast-quality production facilities with provisions for live broadcast or recording for later transmission. TV cameras in the meeting rooms can be remotely controlled via joystick by the broadcast suite operators using the remote control system. The audio and video switching was, likewise, designed to be under the control of the software-controlled routing/switchers. Using the same remote control, the system transmits the proceedings back to the appropriate meeting room(s) for display on the member’s custom touch-screen consoles and on public viewing monitors. Feeds are also installed at street level for connection to ENG vehicles. In addition, these broadcast control rooms provide signals to local channel insertion modulators that combine with the 28 incoming cable television channels before being distributed throughout the building.
To accommodate overflow crowds, the various meeting rooms and council chambers are interconnected to allow interactive audio/video participation for those members of the public that cannot be seated in any one of the respective chambers. Normally, this would have necessitated an extensive cable infrastructure within what has already been noted as a very limited space. However, due to the central equipment room in the basement, the necessary signals can be routed from the primary meeting room to the overflow rooms.
The Contract Award Process
The overall contract for the renovation and seismic upgrade to this 500,000 square foot building is valued at some $293 million and is supported by more than 800 pages of drawings. Jim Thielemann, project manager for system integrator Ceitronics, who was awarded the $5 million A/V contract, said the A/V drawings amounted to some 120 pages of the more than 800 project drawings. Ceitronics was one of two system contractors that bid on the project. As Ceitronics Manager Aaron Colton observed, “When you have a job of this magnitude, complexity and short turn-around, there just aren’t a whole lot of firms out there that are in a position to participate.” Added to the sheer complexity of the installation was the need to bond and finance a project of this size. With some 110 employees, Ceitronics was also confident that the company could field the workforce that would be required to complete the 16,000-manhour contract within the specified 10-month period.
Bid awards were announced in late September 1997. However, it would be early January 1998 before a formal contract was enacted. Completion is set for January 4, 1999, the date when the first Board of Supervisors meeting of the year is scheduled. Just four days later is the session at which newly elected members from the November elections are sworn into office. This is not just an idle completion date since non-compliance carries a $40,000 per day penalty. A severe fire in the upper reaches of the dome delayed work on the project, but it did not extend the time frame beyond the sacrosanct January 4 deadline.
Between September and January, Ceitronics began preliminary design work and vendor selections. As Colton put it, “Usually, on a job of this nature, the client takes input from a lot of different departments; however, they seldom have any one individual on staff who has an overall perspective.” In this case, such an individual did exist in the person of Yomi Agunbiade, the telecommunications project manager who was the central point of focus for all of the telecommunications-related decisions. Working with Agunbiade, the general contractor and the design consultants, Ceitronics set up visits with most of the prospective vendors to review their facilities, product designs and resource capabilities. These visits significantly reduced the submittal process and sped up the procurement process. This did not negate the traditional, formal review process. However, as the client and the designers had already had the opportunity to examine the wares and capabilities of competing vendors, the review process was materially shortened.
For example, in selecting the vendor for the custom touch-screens and the associated remote control system that would be used by the members, the short list came down to two. In the end, Thielemann acknowledged that the one selected was chosen in part because of the subjective analysis of the quality of its video display that met the unique needs of the Board of Supervisors. “Unless representatives of the City, the general contractor and the design consultants had been on hand to view the various offerings, we might have had a difficult time in providing information about this somewhat subjective matter,” added Thielmann.
Audio/Video System Elements
The A/V system, which functions as one large integrated system, is composed of three distinct networked systems: audio, video and remote control.
Audio System
For the audio systems in the meeting rooms, a QSC Rapid Rave system provides the digitization and multiplexing for transmission of AES/EBU standard audio signals to and from the basement main control room. Once the signals are delivered to the control room, they are processed through one of nine Peavey Media Matrix chassis. Although, as Thielemann explained, five of the Media Matrix chassis could possibly have had sufficient capacity to handle processing for the network, the design team elected to use a dedicated chassis for each of the separate meeting spaces. Consequently, rather than having all the eggs in one basket, a failure in one chassis will not take the entire network off line. In fact, to provide even further redundancy, a spare Media Matrix chassis was programmed so that it may be quickly substituted for any unit that fails.
After processing, the signal is routed and distributed by the routing switcher, input to another QSC Rapid Rave system in AES/EBU format and then transmitted to the satellite rack located in the associated room. At that point, the signal is converted back into analog form and amplified for distribution over the room’s loudspeakers. Interestingly, each loudspeaker is operated at voice-coil impedance and is fed by a dedicated channel of an amplifier. When asked for the reasoning behind this, Thielemann responded, “bandwidth, quality and the ability to process each loudspeaker on an individual basis.”
Consultant Ken Fause was concerned that the lengthy audio transmission and processing chain might cause_delay problems and digital jitter and asked QSC to create a product that would meet the short latency requirements and lower payload of the system. QSC’s solution was to upgrade its existing Rave product into a new version called Rapid Rave, which was engineered to reduce the latency time. The system was also unique in that it represented the first Œmarriage’ of QCS’s Rapid Rave and Peavey’s Media Matrix technology using the latter’s new AES/EBU card.
“Ceitronics was also concerned that the untried marriage between these two products might cause a digital jitter,” Thielemann said.
Because of time constraints and their more extensive experience with programming the Peavey equipment, BBI Engineering of San Francisco was subcontracted to provide the programming. As soon a the first Peavey Media Matrix AES EBU cards were available and the Rapid Rave programming was cornplete, the new equipment, Thieleman and a BBI employee were on an air plane to QSC’s facilities in Cost Mesa, California. Subsequent test confirmed that the two technologic were indeed compatible and signal jitter did not seem excessive. The sinal delay met the design parameter specified by Smith, Fause McDonald. Armed with these reassurances, Ceitronics proceeded to Œrack-up’ the system. Signal delay was determined to be about 2.5 millisecond well within the 5-millisecond design window.
Incidentally, for all of the systems total of 84 racks were required and majority of them are fully populated with equipment. Satellite equipment racks which house the QSC Rap Raves, pre-amplification, amplification equipment, remote control system processors and fiber transceivers had to be mounted in existing armoires and closets within the meeting rooms. This necessitated the use of rollout racks simply because there was no room to provide service access. As Thielemann explained, “We don’t have a spare inch of rack space at those locations - we didn’t spend much money on blank panels.”
Video System
Production-quality video came are unobtrusively mounted in decorative furred-out columns on either side of the chamber. Paneling on the walls is dark Manchurian oak. One exterior wall is virtually a floor-to-ceiling window. Historical concerns dictated that the interior lighting be essentially the same as the original 1913 installation. This necessitated a fairly complex set of camera controls and presets to adjust to the ever-changing light temperatures. Camera video signals are transmitted over a dedicated fiber optic network to the basement control rooms where they are demodulated and sent to a Pesa 96 x 96 video matrix switcher. Production crews have the ability to select and control video originating from any one of five meeting rooms. Audio is picked off the sound reinforcement system and mixed on a Panasonic D7 digital console for production purposes. The production can be generated in real-time and/or stored in VCR format for future broadcast and archival purposes. Also, not to be overlooked is the ability to provide close-captioned productions to serve the hearing impaired.
Production video is then transmitted back via fiber to the rooms for display on the members’touch-screens, to the public-viewing monitors and to other TVs located about the building. In what might be the first system of its type (and certainly a first for San Francisco), all public meetings can be broadcast to the general public and simultaneously distributed throughout the offices in City Hall. Just to add a little more spice to the video sauce, the control room supports the teleprompter system in the press conference room.
Remote Control System
The network for this system is an Ethernet-based, fiber optic system that interconnects the rooms and the main control location and interfaces through a firewall with other communication systems throughout the building. All remote control activities are programmed to be a function of the custom touch-screens and are based on data stored in a server. Clearly, the custom touch-screens are the users’ graphic interfaces with all the associated system components. These panels were specifically designed to aesthetically fit into the historic casework and incorporate a gooseneck microphone, a user-controllable 5-watt amplifier/loudspeaker and controls for selecting video, still frame or computer generated data. In addition to the usual touch-screen functions, members can register a request to speak with queuing order maintained by the server, signal the sergeant at arms, register their vote on legislation, call their staff and communicate with the clerk.
Also, as noted earlier, the remote control system is the heart of the quorum call system. When a meeting is scheduled, the clerk, using a desktop computer via the network, can generate a notice based on the database in the server to all members and staff who need to attend. By using interfaces to other communication systems and again, using the server database, members can be notified as to the date, time and location of the meeting. These notifications can be distributed by e-mail, telephone, voice mail, cellular telephone, pager, MATV bulletin board or all of the above. Using the same range of response devices, the members can acknowledge receipt of the notice. Members have the same calling options when they need to contact their staff from their touch-screen consoles.
Bear in mind that elected officials are not always re-elected and when new faces appear on the scene, new staff members accompany the transition. This necessitates that the system be continuously modifiable to support changes in personnel, telephone extension numbers, pager assignments, etc. This huge piece of software was developed by Crestron Corporation. The remote control system also provides for joystick control of the video cameras by the broadcast control room personnel.
Associated Systems
City Hall was also completely rewired to bring the voice and data networks up to Category 5 standards. All of this distribution wiring terminates in the main control room and fans out to virtually every room throughout the building. In a rare show of inter-craft cooperation, Ceitronics, the tele/data network supplier and the MATV provider agreed to share rack space and communication circuitry to keep from outgrowing the limits of the space available. As Fause wryly noted, “The cooperation between the crafts was not totally benevolent. We had included in our specifications that such procedures would be employed.”
Installation
A total of 90 facility access panels are strategically located throughout the building. These provide for rapid connection of system inputs and/or outputs. These are not dinky J-boxes. Rather, they are on the order of a 2foot by 2-foot assembly. The installations of the conduits to support the system were the responsibility of the electrical contractor; however, the cable installation fell within Ceitronics’ scope of work. The designers, of course, had limited knowledge of what lay behind the walls and ceilings of this 83-year-old building. “All-in-all,” Thielemann remarked, “they did a tremendous job and there were only a few instances where major relocations were required.”
Since Ceitronics was founded some fifteen years ago, one of the mainstays of its business has been the installation and termination of low-voltage and data cabling networks. Consequently, over the years the company has built up a skilled cadre of experienced workers who can very efficiently address themselves to installations of such complexity. As the cable installation team completed each phase, it was quickly followed by a group of connectivity experts who proceeded to terminate the fiber and copper with appropriate connections. Naturally, a thorough test of the cable plant was conducted to insure compliance with the specifications. This work, and the rest to follow, was under the direct supervision of Ceitronics project foreman Larry Moon.
Ceitronics took elaborate steps to insure that the project materials were properly tested before materials were committed to the project. Each piece of equipment was thoroughly inspected before the materials were moved to the fabrication floor for assembly. Each of the 84 racks of equipment were totally fabricated and wired and then interconnected for system test purposes. Care had to be taken to document and label the interconnections; since, at the end of the system test process, the racks had to be individually transported to the job site and installed as soon as the various physical spaces became available. To which, Thielemann added, “This being a fast-track project, we’re sharing work space with a lot of other trades whose work creates a lot of dust. We have had to go to considerable lengths to try and maintain a dust-free environment in our equipment rooms. Plasterboard dust and electronic gear aren’t very compatible.”
On-Site Observations
We had been forewarned to come dressed in clothes that could stand a good chance of getting dirty and sturdy work boots. Hence, our briefing session in Ceitronics San Francisco office was attended by a group of individuals in their jeans, work shirts and boots.
Our visit coincided with the 10511 AES Convention in late September of 1998. The construction site looked like - well, a construction site. The interior of the dome was closed off as plasterers strove to bring the ornate sculptured items back to their original 1913 appearance - a process made that much more difficult by the fire that had struck the dome interior some months prior. This was almost the end of September and this building would be completed by January 4?
A look into the equipment rooms and broadcast suites indicated that the system integrator’s scope of work was proceeding in good order. Good design, meticulous execution and exemplary attention to maintaining the historical perspective was evidenced throughout. Like any public work of this nature, there are the usual political factions that are critical of an expenditure of this magnitude. Thielemann shrugged, “We expect an opening day crowd of over five thousand people, and since such careful attention has been taken to preserve the original finishes, a lot of those attendees aren’t going to see that much change in the interiors and where their money went.” Continuing, he observed wryly, “Our work is somewhat unique in that respect. ŒMe systems that we installed were not a part of the original; hence, our contributions are probably going to be given careful consideration and possibly even microscopic examination.” The design team, Ceitronics, Thielemann and his crew seem prepared to show the public they received their money’s worth.
BBI Engineering’s Role
As mentioned in the article, Ceitronics was faced with an exceedingly short deadline for completion of this major project. Ceitronics is certainly no novice at completing large-scale computer-based installation projects. A few years back, they were chosen to implement a statewide network for the Bank of America - a $14 million project. Then, when Bank of America acquired Security Pacific, Ceitronics essentially repeated the job.
However, due to the short time frame and the necessity of marrying various manufacturers’ software, Ceitronics choose to subcontract with San Francisco-based BBI Engineering to provide and program the Peavey Media Matrix system. BBI is a thirteen-year-old company that specializes in computer-controlled systems for corporate clients and museum A/V exhibits. The San Francisco City Hall renovation required that the Peavey Media Matrix equipment be able to handshake with the QSC Rapid Raves and the Crestron user interface panels. These Ken Fause design requirements took this beyond what one might consider to be a typical Media Matrix programming exercise. This design really pushed the envelope. According to Phil Bailey of BBI, “There are essentially two steps in the process of setting up the Media Matrix technology. First you have to define what the client expects the system to do. Then you have to script the configuration files to accomplish the expected.” He added, “Ken [Fausel did most of the ball handling with regard to ferreting out what the client wanted to accomplish. We took our lead from him in that regard.”
BBI had previously installed and programmed a number of Peavey Media Matrix systems and was quick to point out that under normal circumstances the system is fairly intuitive and when employed in the type of system faced by the average audio professional it should not present any major problems. However, as Bailey mentioned, it helps if you have a “computer nerd” mentality.
The San Francisco City Hall was, however, not a typical straightforward application of this technology. In addition to integrating the technologies of three different manufacturers (Peavey, QSC and Crestron), the system had to be capable of manipulating data from nine different meeting spaces. While the different spaces were physically arranged and equipped in unique fashions, the presentation to and operation by the users had to be essentially seamless. Furthermore, many of the operations were dependent on the users’ 1/0 (input/output) operations.
Bailey acknowledged, “If it [the system] was only going to be used in one room in a single static configuration, the programming would have been relatively simple; however in this case it just wasn’t that straightforward.” Continuing, he said, “We had to be very conscious of the signal delay consequences and had to chose our grouping and signal path routing to minimize the timing sequences in the processing procedures.” Another consideration was how to design the programming to provide meaningful operating parameter information to the technical operating personnel. A graphic display was developed that allows the technical personnel to scan the major parameters quickly and if necessary, chose from a menu to go to other system operating characteristics. For example, a technician can access each individual system graphic EQ from a terminal, and if there is need to look at the EQ settings, the tech can chose EQ from the pull down menu and proceed to examine and modify these settings.
Bailey was very complimentary regarding the ease of implementation and flexibility of the Peavey equipment. However, he noted this is not just a “connect-the-dots” exercise and cautioned that before tackling a major project one should adopt a systematic, programmer’s mentality. Laughingly, he added, “Hopefully a newcomer to the world of Media Matrix will gain some experience from some project less demanding than a project on the scale of the San Francisco City Hall.”
Bailey also noted that a really neat element of the Peavey system was the embedded ability to generate e-mail files of various configurations. “We used the dickens out of that feature to run various configuration designs past Ken [Fausel. He’d review the concepts and make corrections or alterations and in turn e-mail us his comments. Sure beats sending reams of drawings back and forth.”
San Francisco City Hall The Design & Installation Team
Owner: The City and County of San Francisco Tony Irons, Project Manager Yomi Agunbiade, Telecommunications Project Manager
Architect of Record: Bureau of Architecture, Department of Public Works City and County of San Francisco Norman Karasick, AIA, City Architect
Acoustics/Sound and Video/Security Systems Consultant Smith, Fause & McDonald, Inc. Kenneth Fause, Project Manager, Sound and Video Systems Designer Peter McDonald, Acoustics and Data Network Designer
Consulting Architect, City Hall Improvements Project: Heller Manus/Finger & Moy/Komorous-Towey
22 Sound & Communications
Joint Venture Architects Clark Manus, FAIA Stanley Moy, AIA KJara Komorous-Towey, AIA
Systems Integrators: Ceitronics, Inc. Jim Thielemann, Project Manager Dan Carnefix, Assistant Project Manager Lloyd Ranola, Assistant Project Manager Joe Semorad, Material Acquisitions Manager Jim Evans, Draftsman Larry Moon, Project Foreman
Sub-System Integrators: BBI Engineering, Media Matrix Programmers Crestron, Inc., Remote Control Systems Network Associates, Computers and Network Hardware QSC, Custom Processing Software
Volume 45 Number 2
City Hall by the Bay
A renovated 93-year-old San Francisco City Hall gets brand new A/V System
By R. David Read is a freelance writer, frequent contributor to Sound & Communications and principal of The RCC Group.
Several months ago I was talking with Ken Fause of San Francisco-based A/V consultants Smith, Fause & McDonald, Inc., and I asked if he was aware of any projects that might be of interest to the readers of Sound & Communications.
Ken advised that they had recently designed several interrelated audio, video and communication control systems for the renovation of the San Francisco City Hall. A few weeks later I had occasion to be in the City by the Golden Gate and arranged to meet with Ken for supper.
Over one of the great meals that San Francisco is famous for, we went into some greater detail on how the project developed and what A/V systems were involved. This led to the arrangement of an interview with San Jose-based Ceitronics, the A/ V systems integrator that had been retained by the City to fabricate, install, program and test these systems. It soon became quite evident that this was a project of major magnitude. I remarked to the editor of S&C, after he commissioned me to do the piece, “This isn’t an article, it’s a book!” His reply was something on the order of, “Well, see what you can do in five thousand words or less.” So here we go.
Earthquake
Around 5 PM on the afternoon of October 17, 1989, baseball fans were gathered at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park to watch the first ever TransBay World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. Hordes of rush hour commuters were traversing the bridges, freeways and public transit facilities that link San Francisco and Oakland - two of the metropolitan areas of the Bay Area.
As the fans at Candlestick park watched in horror and the multitude of TV viewers across the nation witnessed, a rolling, vertical-displacement earthquake on the order of 7.3 Richter-scale magnitude emanated outward from its epicenter at Loma Prieta (the name of a rocky blackish ridge in the Santa Cruz mountains). The stadium rocked, concrete crumbled and bridges and freeways were torn asunder by the magnitude of the forces of nature. Parts of the cities of San Francisco and Oakland were disintegrating before their eyes. One of the spans of the Bay Bridge linking the two major cities crumpled. Elevated freeways collapsed and buried scores of commuters in the debris.
One of the public structures that sustained major structural damage during this onslaught of seismic forces was the venerable, Beaux Arts style, vintage 1913 San Francisco City Hall. The building was considered to be a major historical landmark. Indeed, many preservationists consider the building to be one of the most significant interior public spaces of its style in the country. The gilded 90,000-ton dome of the structure, which rises taller than the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., was twisted like a bottle top. The structural system, although constructed with the 1906 earthquake in mind, was not up to the twisting, vertical upheavals that the Loma Prieta quake was to inflict on the structure. An inspection of the building determined that throughout the floors cracks were found in the plaster, the hollow clay tile and concrete slabs. Although many structural load resisting elements were clearly damaged, the building was not unstable or in immediate danger of collapse. Still, it was clear that the building would not withstand another earthquake of similar magnitude. Maintenance crews moved quickly to shore up the interior so that City workers could continue to occupy the structure until the ultimate fate of the building could be determined.
For the next few years an epic battle was waged involving the politicians, environmentalists and preservation/restoration forces. Many held that the structure was damaged beyond repair and that time, money and effort would best be directed in the razing of the building and constructing a totally new facility. At the opposite pole of opinion were those who staunchly held that the historic building should be reconstructed with nary a wit of modification. After several years of heated discussion, a compromise was reached. ŒMe structure would be essentially retained albeit with major modifications designed to offset the impact of the next devastating earthquake.
The building was literally jacked up while workmen sawed the concrete pilings apart and inserted composition doughnut shock absorbers into the structural supports. Interior walls were temporarily stripped of their marble, limestone and Manchurian Oak cladding so that seismic reinforcement and insulators could be installed. Certainly, not a minor undertaking. The general contractor (Huber, Hunt & Nichols) faced a formidable task.
With the building undergoing massive construction, the city administration recognized that this was the time to make much needed improvement to the nearly 500,000 square feet of interior space. The City commissioned Heller Manus/Finger & Moy/ Komorous-Towey Joint Venture Architects to prepare plans for the separate Improvements Project, which would be built concurrently with the Seismic Retrofit & Earthquake Damage Repair Project already in progress.
System Content
Due to space limitations, we have elected to concentrate our coverage of this major project on the audiovisual challenges that confronted the consulting firm of Smith, Fause & McDonald and Ceitronics, the A/V systems integrator. However, the project also involved the installation of several corresponding security and fire protective elements. The building was not previously equipped with a fire sprinkler system. Provision for this essential element ate up considerable space in the walls and ceiling of the facility. Likewise, a good deal of time, money and effort were expended in providing an upgraded fire-alarm and security system. The vastly upgraded security system involved the implementation of some 150 CCTV cameras deployed about the premises. Hierarchical card access controls were implemented to direct the access of authorized personnel into varying areas of security sensitivity.
These elements are essentially stories unto themselves, but we felt that concentration on the A/V installation would prove most illuminating to our readership. The building was originally designed in a time when golden-throated orators saw no need for sound reinforcement (indeed, in 1913 there was none available), votes were recorded by quick, skillful stenographers, and the public was satisfied with newspaper reports of the proceedings.
As these skills in oratorical projection and quick penmanship diminished, patchwork audio systems were installed, many of which proved to be obtrusive, unsightly and in some cases largely ineffective. The architects turned to Smith, Fause & McDonald for solutions. Their design proved to be both elegant and functional.
Interconnectivity was needed among the building’s various floors, including public spaces on the ground floor, the Board of Supervisors’ chambers on the second floor, the various committee rooms and Supervisors’ and their staffs’ offices scattered about the building. In addition, the new systems had to be designed in a way that provides maximum public and press access to council and committee meetings. Space was severely limited and was not conducive to mounting equipment racks within the various offices and committee rooms. To address these challenges, the design called for fiber optic cable connections between the various meeting spaces with the central control location in the basement. From this central location the audio, video and data signals would be processed and rerouted (via fiber) to their intended destinations. Even though the walls had been opened, space was still a major consideration B there simply wasn’t enough physical space to install conduits to accommodate traditional copper conductors. This finite space also had to be shared with the fire sprinkler contractor, the upgraded electrical service, the fire alarm installer, security system suppliers and others.
Establishing interconnectivity between the various Supervisors and committee members’ offices was deemed an essential element of the design. A large, single-point video display would have been inappropriate in the historical context. Instead, it was determined that notices of meetings and quorum calls to supervisors and committee members would be made from a remote control system that stores the essential information. When the Clerk’s Offices log onto a touch panel, the remote control system generates notification to members by means of e-mail, cell phone, voice mail and video displays in the members’ quarters (or all of the above). Those scheduled to appear can respond to the call by replying in a like manner.
Each Supervisors’ console within the council chambers includes a video display screen that can be queried to show scheduled meetings, local cable proceedings of the procedures in progress or taped previous proceedings. As procedural rules do not allow Supervisors to absent themselves during the course of a meeting, a way was devised whereby a call from the member’s console to a staff member can result in the delivery of needed items such as documents. To accommodate these quorum call proceedings and staff interconnectivity requirements, a huge data base had to be constructed that can store member and staff rosters from some 40 different committees and direct the communication paths and the response queuing. Also embedded in the system software is the provision for registering and recording the votes of the various members of the legislative bodies.
To meet ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements an infrared transmission system was required. Surprisingly, a multi-language translation system was not a specified subsystem. While this might appear to be a rather surprising omission, Fause provided the answer by responding that, “The Board and Committees are not presently funding translation services at their meetings.” To which he added, “The IR system infrastructure was designed to allow future conversion to narrowband, multichannel radiation.”
Adjacent to the main audio/video control room in the basement are three spaces designated as broadcast control rooms. From these rooms, the operations staff can select which proceeding from the five meeting rooms will be aired over the local “City Watch” cable network. These are full broadcast-quality production facilities with provisions for live broadcast or recording for later transmission. TV cameras in the meeting rooms can be remotely controlled via joystick by the broadcast suite operators using the remote control system. The audio and video switching was, likewise, designed to be under the control of the software-controlled routing/switchers. Using the same remote control, the system transmits the proceedings back to the appropriate meeting room(s) for display on the member’s custom touch-screen consoles and on public viewing monitors. Feeds are also installed at street level for connection to ENG vehicles. In addition, these broadcast control rooms provide signals to local channel insertion modulators that combine with the 28 incoming cable television channels before being distributed throughout the building.
To accommodate overflow crowds, the various meeting rooms and council chambers are interconnected to allow interactive audio/video participation for those members of the public that cannot be seated in any one of the respective chambers. Normally, this would have necessitated an extensive cable infrastructure within what has already been noted as a very limited space. However, due to the central equipment room in the basement, the necessary signals can be routed from the primary meeting room to the overflow rooms.
The Contract Award Process
The overall contract for the renovation and seismic upgrade to this 500,000 square foot building is valued at some $293 million and is supported by more than 800 pages of drawings. Jim Thielemann, project manager for system integrator Ceitronics, who was awarded the $5 million A/V contract, said the A/V drawings amounted to some 120 pages of the more than 800 project drawings. Ceitronics was one of two system contractors that bid on the project. As Ceitronics Manager Aaron Colton observed, “When you have a job of this magnitude, complexity and short turn-around, there just aren’t a whole lot of firms out there that are in a position to participate.” Added to the sheer complexity of the installation was the need to bond and finance a project of this size. With some 110 employees, Ceitronics was also confident that the company could field the workforce that would be required to complete the 16,000-manhour contract within the specified 10-month period.
Bid awards were announced in late September 1997. However, it would be early January 1998 before a formal contract was enacted. Completion is set for January 4, 1999, the date when the first Board of Supervisors meeting of the year is scheduled. Just four days later is the session at which newly elected members from the November elections are sworn into office. This is not just an idle completion date since non-compliance carries a $40,000 per day penalty. A severe fire in the upper reaches of the dome delayed work on the project, but it did not extend the time frame beyond the sacrosanct January 4 deadline.
Between September and January, Ceitronics began preliminary design work and vendor selections. As Colton put it, “Usually, on a job of this nature, the client takes input from a lot of different departments; however, they seldom have any one individual on staff who has an overall perspective.” In this case, such an individual did exist in the person of Yomi Agunbiade, the telecommunications project manager who was the central point of focus for all of the telecommunications-related decisions. Working with Agunbiade, the general contractor and the design consultants, Ceitronics set up visits with most of the prospective vendors to review their facilities, product designs and resource capabilities. These visits significantly reduced the submittal process and sped up the procurement process. This did not negate the traditional, formal review process. However, as the client and the designers had already had the opportunity to examine the wares and capabilities of competing vendors, the review process was materially shortened.
For example, in selecting the vendor for the custom touch-screens and the associated remote control system that would be used by the members, the short list came down to two. In the end, Thielemann acknowledged that the one selected was chosen in part because of the subjective analysis of the quality of its video display that met the unique needs of the Board of Supervisors. “Unless representatives of the City, the general contractor and the design consultants had been on hand to view the various offerings, we might have had a difficult time in providing information about this somewhat subjective matter,” added Thielmann.
Audio/Video System Elements
The A/V system, which functions as one large integrated system, is composed of three distinct networked systems: audio, video and remote control.
Audio System
For the audio systems in the meeting rooms, a QSC Rapid Rave system provides the digitization and multiplexing for transmission of AES/EBU standard audio signals to and from the basement main control room. Once the signals are delivered to the control room, they are processed through one of nine Peavey Media Matrix chassis. Although, as Thielemann explained, five of the Media Matrix chassis could possibly have had sufficient capacity to handle processing for the network, the design team elected to use a dedicated chassis for each of the separate meeting spaces. Consequently, rather than having all the eggs in one basket, a failure in one chassis will not take the entire network off line. In fact, to provide even further redundancy, a spare Media Matrix chassis was programmed so that it may be quickly substituted for any unit that fails.
After processing, the signal is routed and distributed by the routing switcher, input to another QSC Rapid Rave system in AES/EBU format and then transmitted to the satellite rack located in the associated room. At that point, the signal is converted back into analog form and amplified for distribution over the room’s loudspeakers. Interestingly, each loudspeaker is operated at voice-coil impedance and is fed by a dedicated channel of an amplifier. When asked for the reasoning behind this, Thielemann responded, “bandwidth, quality and the ability to process each loudspeaker on an individual basis.”
Consultant Ken Fause was concerned that the lengthy audio transmission and processing chain might cause_delay problems and digital jitter and asked QSC to create a product that would meet the short latency requirements and lower payload of the system. QSC’s solution was to upgrade its existing Rave product into a new version called Rapid Rave, which was engineered to reduce the latency time. The system was also unique in that it represented the first Œmarriage’ of QCS’s Rapid Rave and Peavey’s Media Matrix technology using the latter’s new AES/EBU card.
“Ceitronics was also concerned that the untried marriage between these two products might cause a digital jitter,” Thielemann said.
Because of time constraints and their more extensive experience with programming the Peavey equipment, BBI Engineering of San Francisco was subcontracted to provide the programming. As soon a the first Peavey Media Matrix AES EBU cards were available and the Rapid Rave programming was cornplete, the new equipment, Thieleman and a BBI employee were on an air plane to QSC’s facilities in Cost Mesa, California. Subsequent test confirmed that the two technologic were indeed compatible and signal jitter did not seem excessive. The sinal delay met the design parameter specified by Smith, Fause McDonald. Armed with these reassurances, Ceitronics proceeded to Œrack-up’ the system. Signal delay was determined to be about 2.5 millisecond well within the 5-millisecond design window.
Incidentally, for all of the systems total of 84 racks were required and majority of them are fully populated with equipment. Satellite equipment racks which house the QSC Rap Raves, pre-amplification, amplification equipment, remote control system processors and fiber transceivers had to be mounted in existing armoires and closets within the meeting rooms. This necessitated the use of rollout racks simply because there was no room to provide service access. As Thielemann explained, “We don’t have a spare inch of rack space at those locations - we didn’t spend much money on blank panels.”
Video System
Production-quality video came are unobtrusively mounted in decorative furred-out columns on either side of the chamber. Paneling on the walls is dark Manchurian oak. One exterior wall is virtually a floor-to-ceiling window. Historical concerns dictated that the interior lighting be essentially the same as the original 1913 installation. This necessitated a fairly complex set of camera controls and presets to adjust to the ever-changing light temperatures. Camera video signals are transmitted over a dedicated fiber optic network to the basement control rooms where they are demodulated and sent to a Pesa 96 x 96 video matrix switcher. Production crews have the ability to select and control video originating from any one of five meeting rooms. Audio is picked off the sound reinforcement system and mixed on a Panasonic D7 digital console for production purposes. The production can be generated in real-time and/or stored in VCR format for future broadcast and archival purposes. Also, not to be overlooked is the ability to provide close-captioned productions to serve the hearing impaired.
Production video is then transmitted back via fiber to the rooms for display on the members’touch-screens, to the public-viewing monitors and to other TVs located about the building. In what might be the first system of its type (and certainly a first for San Francisco), all public meetings can be broadcast to the general public and simultaneously distributed throughout the offices in City Hall. Just to add a little more spice to the video sauce, the control room supports the teleprompter system in the press conference room.
Remote Control System
The network for this system is an Ethernet-based, fiber optic system that interconnects the rooms and the main control location and interfaces through a firewall with other communication systems throughout the building. All remote control activities are programmed to be a function of the custom touch-screens and are based on data stored in a server. Clearly, the custom touch-screens are the users’ graphic interfaces with all the associated system components. These panels were specifically designed to aesthetically fit into the historic casework and incorporate a gooseneck microphone, a user-controllable 5-watt amplifier/loudspeaker and controls for selecting video, still frame or computer generated data. In addition to the usual touch-screen functions, members can register a request to speak with queuing order maintained by the server, signal the sergeant at arms, register their vote on legislation, call their staff and communicate with the clerk.
Also, as noted earlier, the remote control system is the heart of the quorum call system. When a meeting is scheduled, the clerk, using a desktop computer via the network, can generate a notice based on the database in the server to all members and staff who need to attend. By using interfaces to other communication systems and again, using the server database, members can be notified as to the date, time and location of the meeting. These notifications can be distributed by e-mail, telephone, voice mail, cellular telephone, pager, MATV bulletin board or all of the above. Using the same range of response devices, the members can acknowledge receipt of the notice. Members have the same calling options when they need to contact their staff from their touch-screen consoles.
Bear in mind that elected officials are not always re-elected and when new faces appear on the scene, new staff members accompany the transition. This necessitates that the system be continuously modifiable to support changes in personnel, telephone extension numbers, pager assignments, etc. This huge piece of software was developed by Crestron Corporation. The remote control system also provides for joystick control of the video cameras by the broadcast control room personnel.
Associated Systems
City Hall was also completely rewired to bring the voice and data networks up to Category 5 standards. All of this distribution wiring terminates in the main control room and fans out to virtually every room throughout the building. In a rare show of inter-craft cooperation, Ceitronics, the tele/data network supplier and the MATV provider agreed to share rack space and communication circuitry to keep from outgrowing the limits of the space available. As Fause wryly noted, “The cooperation between the crafts was not totally benevolent. We had included in our specifications that such procedures would be employed.”
Installation
A total of 90 facility access panels are strategically located throughout the building. These provide for rapid connection of system inputs and/or outputs. These are not dinky J-boxes. Rather, they are on the order of a 2foot by 2-foot assembly. The installations of the conduits to support the system were the responsibility of the electrical contractor; however, the cable installation fell within Ceitronics’ scope of work. The designers, of course, had limited knowledge of what lay behind the walls and ceilings of this 83-year-old building. “All-in-all,” Thielemann remarked, “they did a tremendous job and there were only a few instances where major relocations were required.”
Since Ceitronics was founded some fifteen years ago, one of the mainstays of its business has been the installation and termination of low-voltage and data cabling networks. Consequently, over the years the company has built up a skilled cadre of experienced workers who can very efficiently address themselves to installations of such complexity. As the cable installation team completed each phase, it was quickly followed by a group of connectivity experts who proceeded to terminate the fiber and copper with appropriate connections. Naturally, a thorough test of the cable plant was conducted to insure compliance with the specifications. This work, and the rest to follow, was under the direct supervision of Ceitronics project foreman Larry Moon.
Ceitronics took elaborate steps to insure that the project materials were properly tested before materials were committed to the project. Each piece of equipment was thoroughly inspected before the materials were moved to the fabrication floor for assembly. Each of the 84 racks of equipment were totally fabricated and wired and then interconnected for system test purposes. Care had to be taken to document and label the interconnections; since, at the end of the system test process, the racks had to be individually transported to the job site and installed as soon as the various physical spaces became available. To which, Thielemann added, “This being a fast-track project, we’re sharing work space with a lot of other trades whose work creates a lot of dust. We have had to go to considerable lengths to try and maintain a dust-free environment in our equipment rooms. Plasterboard dust and electronic gear aren’t very compatible.”
On-Site Observations
We had been forewarned to come dressed in clothes that could stand a good chance of getting dirty and sturdy work boots. Hence, our briefing session in Ceitronics San Francisco office was attended by a group of individuals in their jeans, work shirts and boots.
Our visit coincided with the 10511 AES Convention in late September of 1998. The construction site looked like - well, a construction site. The interior of the dome was closed off as plasterers strove to bring the ornate sculptured items back to their original 1913 appearance - a process made that much more difficult by the fire that had struck the dome interior some months prior. This was almost the end of September and this building would be completed by January 4?
A look into the equipment rooms and broadcast suites indicated that the system integrator’s scope of work was proceeding in good order. Good design, meticulous execution and exemplary attention to maintaining the historical perspective was evidenced throughout. Like any public work of this nature, there are the usual political factions that are critical of an expenditure of this magnitude. Thielemann shrugged, “We expect an opening day crowd of over five thousand people, and since such careful attention has been taken to preserve the original finishes, a lot of those attendees aren’t going to see that much change in the interiors and where their money went.” Continuing, he observed wryly, “Our work is somewhat unique in that respect. ŒMe systems that we installed were not a part of the original; hence, our contributions are probably going to be given careful consideration and possibly even microscopic examination.” The design team, Ceitronics, Thielemann and his crew seem prepared to show the public they received their money’s worth.
BBI Engineering’s Role
As mentioned in the article, Ceitronics was faced with an exceedingly short deadline for completion of this major project. Ceitronics is certainly no novice at completing large-scale computer-based installation projects. A few years back, they were chosen to implement a statewide network for the Bank of America - a $14 million project. Then, when Bank of America acquired Security Pacific, Ceitronics essentially repeated the job.
However, due to the short time frame and the necessity of marrying various manufacturers’ software, Ceitronics choose to subcontract with San Francisco-based BBI Engineering to provide and program the Peavey Media Matrix system. BBI is a thirteen-year-old company that specializes in computer-controlled systems for corporate clients and museum A/V exhibits. The San Francisco City Hall renovation required that the Peavey Media Matrix equipment be able to handshake with the QSC Rapid Raves and the Crestron user interface panels. These Ken Fause design requirements took this beyond what one might consider to be a typical Media Matrix programming exercise. This design really pushed the envelope. According to Phil Bailey of BBI, “There are essentially two steps in the process of setting up the Media Matrix technology. First you have to define what the client expects the system to do. Then you have to script the configuration files to accomplish the expected.” He added, “Ken [Fausel did most of the ball handling with regard to ferreting out what the client wanted to accomplish. We took our lead from him in that regard.”
BBI had previously installed and programmed a number of Peavey Media Matrix systems and was quick to point out that under normal circumstances the system is fairly intuitive and when employed in the type of system faced by the average audio professional it should not present any major problems. However, as Bailey mentioned, it helps if you have a “computer nerd” mentality.
The San Francisco City Hall was, however, not a typical straightforward application of this technology. In addition to integrating the technologies of three different manufacturers (Peavey, QSC and Crestron), the system had to be capable of manipulating data from nine different meeting spaces. While the different spaces were physically arranged and equipped in unique fashions, the presentation to and operation by the users had to be essentially seamless. Furthermore, many of the operations were dependent on the users’ 1/0 (input/output) operations.
Bailey acknowledged, “If it [the system] was only going to be used in one room in a single static configuration, the programming would have been relatively simple; however in this case it just wasn’t that straightforward.” Continuing, he said, “We had to be very conscious of the signal delay consequences and had to chose our grouping and signal path routing to minimize the timing sequences in the processing procedures.” Another consideration was how to design the programming to provide meaningful operating parameter information to the technical operating personnel. A graphic display was developed that allows the technical personnel to scan the major parameters quickly and if necessary, chose from a menu to go to other system operating characteristics. For example, a technician can access each individual system graphic EQ from a terminal, and if there is need to look at the EQ settings, the tech can chose EQ from the pull down menu and proceed to examine and modify these settings.
Bailey was very complimentary regarding the ease of implementation and flexibility of the Peavey equipment. However, he noted this is not just a “connect-the-dots” exercise and cautioned that before tackling a major project one should adopt a systematic, programmer’s mentality. Laughingly, he added, “Hopefully a newcomer to the world of Media Matrix will gain some experience from some project less demanding than a project on the scale of the San Francisco City Hall.”
Bailey also noted that a really neat element of the Peavey system was the embedded ability to generate e-mail files of various configurations. “We used the dickens out of that feature to run various configuration designs past Ken [Fausel. He’d review the concepts and make corrections or alterations and in turn e-mail us his comments. Sure beats sending reams of drawings back and forth.”
San Francisco City Hall The Design & Installation Team
Owner: The City and County of San Francisco Tony Irons, Project Manager Yomi Agunbiade, Telecommunications Project Manager
Architect of Record: Bureau of Architecture, Department of Public Works City and County of San Francisco Norman Karasick, AIA, City Architect
Acoustics/Sound and Video/Security Systems Consultant Smith, Fause & McDonald, Inc. Kenneth Fause, Project Manager, Sound and Video Systems Designer Peter McDonald, Acoustics and Data Network Designer
Consulting Architect, City Hall Improvements Project: Heller Manus/Finger & Moy/Komorous-Towey
22 Sound & Communications
Joint Venture Architects Clark Manus, FAIA Stanley Moy, AIA KJara Komorous-Towey, AIA
Systems Integrators: Ceitronics, Inc. Jim Thielemann, Project Manager Dan Carnefix, Assistant Project Manager Lloyd Ranola, Assistant Project Manager Joe Semorad, Material Acquisitions Manager Jim Evans, Draftsman Larry Moon, Project Foreman
Sub-System Integrators: BBI Engineering, Media Matrix Programmers Crestron, Inc., Remote Control Systems Network Associates, Computers and Network Hardware QSC, Custom Processing Software
Other Feature Articles
Making San Francisco’s City Hall Smarter for the New Millennium, CEE News Special Report on DATACOM, page 14 July 1999
New Communications System to Boost Public Participation, F.W. Dodge California Construction Link, Institutional Construction Feb.99
San Francisco City Hall’s Seismic Salvation The $293 million restoration reaches the punch-list phase, F.W. Dodge California Construction Link Institutional Construction Feb.99
Timeline of History of San Francisco City Hall, F.W. Dodge California Construction Link Institutional Construction, page 16 Feb.99
Retooled City Hall Is Finally Ready To Open, San Francisco Chronicle Front Page January 1, 1999
A Treasury of City Hall Trivia, San Francisco Chronicle Bay Area Focus January 1, 1999
Light Years, San Francisco Examiner Magazine Page 7 January 3, 1999
Gold-Plated City Hall, San Francisco Examiner Front Page Dec. 30, 1998
S.F. Celebrates Floating City Hall, San Jose Mercury News Page 3b January 6, 1999
Ceitronics: wiring San Francisco for the 21st Century, San Jose and Silicon Valley Business Journal Page 14 January 15, 1999
Retrofitting “City Hall’, Systems Contractor News Front page, con’t page 17 September, 1998
City Hall by the Bay, Sound & Communications Front page, con’t page 18 February 18, 1999
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