Salesforce Transit Center showcases leading-edge green design

WSP supports environmental performance of a San Francisco transit hub, and helps it all work together with a converged network platform, as a smart building.

Rainwater management, abundant use of natural daylight, natural ventilation, and passive heating and cooling – features such as these have helped the Salesforce Transit Center in San Francisco attain Pre-Certified LEED® Platinum status.

WSP served as the engineer-of-record on the project’s transit terminal, the proposed five-acre public rooftop park and the adjacent Salesforce Tower. We helped with LEED® accreditation input and certification, with environmental performance being a central theme to the project.

With 11 different transit systems under one roof, plus the building’s own operation systems, a robust and capable information system was needed. WSP provided information technology design services including a converged network approach to include VOIP/WAN/LAN/high density WiFi networks, visitor information systems through a large schedule board, digital signage and mobile application aware technology, plus emergency communications systems using two-way radio and telephony.

This converged network increased this building’s performance, functionality, and environmental sustainability.

Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel fosters use of public transit

Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel project will foster higher use of sustainable public transit in and out of the core of the city. WSP supports this work in many ways.

The Melbourne Metro Tunnel Environmental Monitor (MMTEM) is a key component of $10.9 billion Melbourne Metro Tunnel Project, twin nine-kilometre tunnels which will deliver a new dedicated pathway through the heart of the city for two of Melbourne’s busiest rail lines, creating space for more trains to run more often across Melbourne’s rail network.

Underground transportation projects tend to be complex. That’s even more so when they probe under the core of a major city, with a need to protect structures overhead, while still allowing public access to a passenger rail network.

WSP is playing an integral role as part of a team to deliver the tunnels, civil engineering, structures, mechanical and electrical rail infrastructure, and security and blast assessment.  

As well, we helped develop a way to manage the impacts of the project, through the Melbourne Liveability Monitor. This is a Cloud-based Internet of Things (IOT) monitoring platform which receives, aggregates and analyses data from sound, vibration, and air quality sensors, to enable communication with devices in the MMTEM Sensor Network. It has a streaming analytics engine, responsible for aggregating and validating telemetry, performing complex pattern analysis and forwarding results.

The Monitor helps alert managers to potential problems, keeping good relations with the many stakeholders with an interest in this ongoing project, supporting a more sustainable city of Melbourne.

Honoring 300 years of Saudi architecture in a destination for today 

A new community in Saudi Arabia, with a traditional mud-brick city at its heart, is better able to welcome visitors and residents, thanks to WSP’s Smart City innovations.

In its “Vision 2030,” Saudi Arabia aims to host 100 million worldwide tourists in the Kingdom by 2030.

This includes showcasing the nation’s heritage of architecture, such as mud-brick construction. At one such historic location, there is a need to embrace traditional architectural identity, while supporting development of a surrounding community and creating an experience that mixes old and new.

Our client’s mandate is to develop a new touristic, cultural and entertainment destination while preserving the Najdi heritage and identity. Building on WSP’s Future Ready insights, forward-thinking theory and world-class expertise, our team developed a Smart City Strategy and an implementation roadmap. This included conducting a benchmarking of global Smart Cities, and outlining the use cases. We advised on the underlying technology components including IoT and Cloud, and alignment with the master plan phases and the mix of assets planned.

The result will be a lifestyle destination that honors history.

Advanced information tools enhance Helsingborg city life 

The Swedish city of Helsingborg seeks to become a showcase of how information technology can improve energy efficiency, security and sustainability. 

Helsingborg, on the west coast of Sweden, has plans to become a leader in “smart city” development. The city has embarked on a five-year program based on the Internet of Things (IoT) to transform city life.

This includes a plan for smart lighting, connecting 30,000 light posts to improve citizen security and energy efficiency. This is part of a city-wide IoT platform that will connect sensory devices to allow collection and cross-analysis of data.

To support this, WSP has brought together a team of experts, including specialists in data, IoT development, Operations and Maintenance, GIS, and database design. Our work will include high-level design for upgrading the city’s existing GIS platform, system integration, training and support, wireless communication platform, and IoT specification and lighting with consideration for nature and wildlife.

This will deepen understanding of energy consumption, travel patterns and smart city management, supporting Helsingborg’s drive to create an exemplar of sustainability and liveability.

Upgrading the Bruce Highway means smoother traffic in Queensland, Australia

A vital part of Australia’s highway network is now safer and more efficient due to redesign and upgrade work along the Bruce Highway in Queensland. 

The Bruce Highway is a key part of life in Queensland, Australia, running north from Brisbane, tying communities together along the coast. But this road is also known for traffic congestion, safety issues and other problems.

WSP was commissioned in 2018 to deliver designs for an upgrade on part of the road south of Sunshine Coast.

This included steps to keep local traffic separated from the long distance freight traffic passing through the area, and providing more pedestrian and cyclist connectivity.

To gain a better understanding of motorist behaviour, we developed a Virtual Reality (VR) ‘digital twin’ of two key interchanges. We recruited 48 members of the public and tested more than 244 drives through various scenarios using wrap-around headsets. By monitoring near misses, late lane changes and sudden braking, the team could deliver the best solutions for the project's design and create the best end user experience.

Shanghai West Bund AI Tower enhances user experience 

This new tower in the heart of Shanghai sets a new standard for smart buildings, enhancing the users’ experience and improving operational efficiency.

The builders of the Shanghai West Bund AI Tower, a mixed-use development in the heart of Shanghai, wanted to create a world-class urban community.

When the team from WSP sat down with them to see how smart technology might add value to the project, it became clear that the key challenges they had faced in the past arose from internal Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing systems operating in isolation from each other.

WSP’s solution was to digitalise the AI Tower’s different systems, from lighting to hot water, and bind them together on a single Internet of Things (IoT) platform. High interactivity between devices, systems and people has brought many benefits, including improved energy efficiency and real-time understanding of what’s happening inside the building. The digital platform also enhances the user experience – including real-time information on lobby congestion and parking spaces.

This building has achieved both LEED-gold and China 3-star rating.

Verifying embodied carbon reduction on an Auckland rail project

Reducing the carbon footprint of a major rail project in Auckland New Zealand was a priority – as was verifying results. Here’s how WSP used a “digital twin” to support this.

Embodied carbon – reducing the total greenhouse gas emissions generated to produce a built asset – is a vital part of the world’s race to net zero carbon. But how can project planners find the best route to those reductions, and then verify that this was achieved?

WSP supported this on the City Rail Link underground stations, tunnels, and rail systems project in Auckland NZ, helping meet goals of a 15 percent embodied carbon reduction from the original plans, through a “digital twin.” A computerized model of the project, the “twin” allows testing of a range of materials and methods in a virtual environment. As a result, potential problems and opportunities can be identified and resolved on a computer screen rather than later on site.

The digital twin also supports life cycle analysis of the project – not just in construction and materials used, but in operation and at the end of the project’s useful life.

Reusing existing foundations cuts embodied carbon in London building

Owners of a new highrise in London had high targets for sustainability. Innovative engineering by WSP, including re-using existing foundations, helped serve this priority. 

Property developers seeking to develop a mixed-use tower in the City of London saw a potential opportunity at an abandoned construction site – a chance to create something better. 

One problem: an earlier failed construction project had left behind a three-story basement with nine floors of concrete core.  

Rather than demolishing the existing structure and beginning again, our team found a way to successfully re-use all of the existing foundations and half of the basement, to reduce the embodied carbon in the foundations of the new building by 70 percent. 

With our client keen to make their building smart as well as sustainable, our Smart Places team looked for ways to integrate systems including technical electrical systems, security and fire systems, to benefit future users. 

This building at 22 Bishopsgate, the second-tallest in Western Europe, is an example of how innovative use of existing assets, plus a focus on reducing the carbon footprint of the operating building, supports the goal of net zero carbon.

Driving sustainability through ESG metrics software implementation

A global company needed to track progress and set priorities for improving sustainability. We helped them select, customize, and implement a software platform to achieve this.

The digital transformation of the sustainability program of a global food and beverage company is moving faster thanks to a software platform WSP* implemented. This platform includes data management for greenhouse gas emissions, utilities, environmental, health and safety, quality, and climate across various business units, for over 1,400 facilities globally.  

Through a series of workshops, testing, and training sessions, we worked with internal corporate and site level stakeholders to select and customize a software solution that would meet site specific and organizational unit reporting requirements, and sustainability goals.  

The new system replaced several legacy systems. It provides an improved centralized data source for reporting purposes, including global sustainability reporting such as CDP, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).  Our digital solutions, sustainability, and environment experts have enabled the prioritization and implementation of follow up actions.

The new platform supports our food and beverage client through more informed decision-making and enables communications of their business actions to support ESG strategy.

*At the time of the project, work was contracted to Golder, which was later acquired by WSP.