Project Data:

Completion Date:     6/1/2022

Square Footage:      166500

Building Use:           Vehicle Distribution Center

Project Description:

Have you ever thought about the journey your car takes from the factory to the sales lot, and into your driveway? Toyota Logistical Services plays a huge role in this long journey as it imports 200,000+ vehicles through the Port of Long Beach every single year to meet customer demand in western North America. This facility is the largest of its kind on the west coast of the Americas. Toyota’s plan from inception was to make this facility first in class, exemplifying their Kaizen (always improving) culture. Goals included consolidation, modernization, and a more efficient and sustainable TLS facility for the future. Key components are reducing land lease area, integrating all existing facility functions into one processing building, incorporating sustainability strategies and new technologies to reduce carbon footprint and energy consumption. The resulting facility is the first port facility of its kind, and Toyota’s first facility to use 100% renewable energy.

This project has set a new sustainability standard in keeping with Toyota’s Global Environmental Challenge.to achieve net zero energy by 2050. Registered with the certification goal of LEED Gold, a significant piece was the commissioning of a 2.3 Mega Watt Tri-Gen Fuel Cell power plant. The project is a groundbreaking development in which directed biogas is used as the fuel cell’s feedstock, providing the entire campus with 100% emissions-free, renewable electricity, and creating one of the largest green hydrogen plants in the world. After the fuel cell creates electricity, the byproducts are waste heat, water (used in the operation of the carwash) and high-quality hydrogen gas. The plant creates enough green hydrogen to fuel 240 fuel cell passenger vehicles per day, or up to 12 class A1 hydrogen powered transport trucks per day. It also creates enough renewable energy to power 100% of the on-site loads and leaves nearly 1.5 MW of power to be sold back to the grid…continuously. Story boards located in the main corridor’s sustainability gallery highlight Toyota’s sustainability aspirations and achievements as they pursue the 2050 challenge.

The overall aesthetic relied heavily on the use of Toyota’s iconic red color both in the signage and as applied on reflective metal surface reminiscent of an automotive body material contrasted by vertical concrete monoliths, loosely separating the outdoor employee area from the main pedestrian access. Maximizing an efficient work force flow through the facility dictated the major interior circulation pathways, efficiently interconnecting offices, employee amenities and product flow through.

In order to accommodate the processing of 200,000 annual imports the island complex of 3 structures surrounded by parking is planned to maximize efficiency of product movement. Challenges included a leased site located on reclaimed port land requiring 542 driven piles, 70 feet deep, which underpin a 12” thick, 166,500sf concrete slab, multiple competing jurisdictions in authority, a maze of underground oil & utility lines, processing 3,000 yards of contaminated earth for re-use and planning for a future undefined front street re-alignment.

Firm Name:              Lionakis

Completion Date:     6/1/2022

Square Footage:      166500

Building Use:           Vehicle Distribution Center

Location:                 2140 Pier B Street, Long Beach, CA 90813

Project Description:
Design for Energy, Design for Water
This project has set a new sustainability standard in keeping with Toyota’s Global Environmental Challenge to achieve net zero energy by 2050. Registered with the certification goal of LEED Gold, a significant piece of the new facility was the commissioning of a 2.3 Mega Watt Tri-Gen Fuel Cell power plant. This is a groundbreaking development in which directed biogas is used as the fuel cell’s feedstock, providing the entire campus with 100% emissions-free, renewable electricity, and creating one of the largest green hydrogen plants in the world. The system creates enough renewable energy to power 100% of the on-site loads and leaves nearly 1.5 MW of power to be sold back to the grid, resulting in major cost-savings for Toyota and providing electricity to nearly 2,700 local homes. After the fuel cell creates electricity the byproducts are water used in the carwash and hydrogen to fuel Toyota fuel-cell cars, and trucks working in the port where emissions are a critical concern. The plant creates enough green hydrogen to fuel 240 fuel cell passenger vehicles per day.

Design for Well-being
The café provides a much-needed space for communal dining and a sense of community. Large windows allow users to look out and enjoy natural daylighting, a feature that is not always present in facilities like this. Solatubes filter natural sunlight into the space also provide additional sources of lighting. Additionally, the café was designed to include a market where employees can choose from a variety of healthy meal options including fresh fruit, refreshments, and full meals.
The outdoor employee area is separated from the main pedestrian access. This maximizes an efficient work force flow through the facility dictated by the major interior circulation pathways, efficiently interconnecting offices, employee amenities and product flow.

Design for Resources
Key project goals were to reduce land lease area, integrating all existing facility functions into one processing building, incorporating sustainability strategies and new technologies to reduce carbon footprint and energy consumption. The resulting facility is the first port facility of its kind, and Toyota’s first facility to use 100% renewable energy.

Design Architect:
Lionakis

Associate Architect or Firm:
None

Landscape Architect:
Wilson Associates

Owner / Developer:
Port of Long Beach, Land Owner
Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., Developer

Engineer:
P2S, Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing Engineering
DCI Engineers, Civil Engineering
KPFF, Structural Engineering

General Contractor:
Oltmans Construction Company

Consultant:
R.A. Vezzuto Consulting, Inc., Construction Manager
ASAP, LEED Consultant
Tait & Associates, Fuel Island Designer
tk1sc, Hazardous Materials Consulting

Photographer:
Matthew Fukashima, Fukashima Photography
All drone photography: Chris Dai, Oltmans Construction Company