DJC TOP PROJECTS | Award

Brownsville Recreation Center – June 2024

VLMK Engineering + Design provided structural engineering services for the renovation and voluntary seismic upgrade to the existing City of Brownsville Recreation Center located at 234 Park Avenue in Brownsville, OR. The design services on this project followed a structural inspection complete in Fall of 2019.

The Recreation Center, which was previously the gym for Brownsville High School was built long before seismic loads were considered in the design of a building. Part of designing for seismic loads is making sure that the major structural systems are tied together i.e. roof to walls, walls to foundation, beams to other beams and columns etc.

This building, while looking relatively simple from the outside, has framing at 6 different levels throughout the building. This required extra coordination and attention to detail to ensure that seismic upgrades were effective and efficient. Being able to have a hand in a project like this is incredibly rewarding and helps remind us of the importance of community.

The City of Brownsville is a small town in Linn County located East of I-5 between Corvallis and Eugene. Fun Fact: parts of the movie Stand by Me were filmed in Brownsville, OR.

This project won a Daily Journal of Commerce Oregon Top Projects award. Congrats to all the winners! Incredible to learn about all the amazing projects recognized in the local AEC Industry.

VLMK Engineering + Design was recognized for the Brownsville Recreation Center along with Woodblock Architecture, Inc., James E. John Construction Co. Inc., KCL Engineering and others.

Way to go team! Thank you DJC Oregon.

VLMK Team – Kevin Kaplan, Havlin Kemp, Emma Olds