VW Emissions Control & Vehicle Testing Lab
Oxnard, CAVolkswagen's largest technical center in North America was built from the ground up in order to create a facility that does field-testing and laboratory work to ensure all Volkswagen vehicles, along with Audi, Porsche, Bentley, and Bugatti, are ready for customers and compliant with government regulations.
JRMA designed the tilt-up wall construction of this building, making sure that strict requirements were met for emissions and safety while keeping costs low. Elements of the test-lab design included two high-hazard fuel storage and dispensing spaces, three dynamometer pits for individual vehicle testing, and a climate-controlled space that can create extreme temperature changes.
To reflect the innovative goals of the facility, JRMA made sure the LEED-certified building incorporated sustainable design features, such as solar panels on the roof of the building and parking canopies, natural daylighting, locally-sourced recycled materials used in construction, and energy-efficient mechanical systems.
- Concrete tilt-up design for business park context with specially formed flute panel for architectural interest.
- Integration of German equipment to US standards and testing.
- Precision tolerance for dynamometer pits are unheard off for typical building contractors.