Oxford Elementary School – Berkeley, CA - Geotechnical Investigation
Alan Kropp & Associates performed geotechnical/geologic seismic hazard study of an elementary school located within an active, deep-seated landslide in the Berkeley Hills. The study included several exploration methods such as conventional borings, cone penetrometer tests, large-diameter borings, geophysical soundings and field reconnaissance. Additional analyses included review of historic aerial photos, analysis of satellite imagery and advanced laboratory testing. Data from the field and laboratory testing was utilized in characterizing the landslide geometry and developing models for the landslide failure mechanisms. Several iterations of advanced seismic slope-stability calculations were performed resulting in upper and lower bound estimates of total downslope movements during the most likely seismic event. The study was performed in accordance with California DSA and CGS standards.
Alan Kropp and Associates is proud to have provided geotechnical input and to have led a diverse team of expert consultants in providing services to the Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (ACFCD) for the Naturalization of Line D (New Ohlone Creek) project. The project was bestowed the American Public Works Association, Northern California Chapter, 2025 Project of the Year Award in the Category of Environmental Projects $5 Million to Less than $25 Million. The New Ohlone Creek project represents an innovative and sustainable approach to flood control. It transforms a conventional, man-made trapezoidal flood control channel into a dynamic, natural floodplain system. Line D was originally constructed in 1958 as a single objective earthen channel. However, that straight line channel experienced repeated bank failures, and in its quest to find a more permanent solution than patch riprap repairs, ACFCD sought a more environmentally sustainable solution. The project reimagined the flood control channel as a New Ohlone Creek, a meandering creek traversing a broad floodplain. The project took advantage of vacant land belonging to the Ohlone Community College District (OCC) immediately northwest of the channel, and, with the adjacent OCC campus hosting the College’s Environmental program, it provides a synergy and opportunities for students to learn more about natural systems. This design leverages principles of fluvial geomorphology to create a natural equilibrium channel that can adapt to changes in climate and watershed conditions. By expanding the channel floodway and allowing the creek to meander, the project effectively contains flood flows within the channel banks.
Alan Kropp and Associates is proud to have provided pro-bono geotechnical design services for a new facility support building for the Tiny Home Village project located near the Oakland Coliseum. The Tiny Homes Village is being developed by Youth Spirit Artworks, an East Bay nonprofit that hosts art and job training programs for homeless and low-income youth. As part of the expansion of the village, a new support facility building is being constructed. The lightweight, relocatable building is to be supported on an innovative, low impact, pin foundation system. Working with representatives of the University of California School of Architecture program, Alan Kropp and Associates provided geotechnical characterization of the subsurface environment required for design of the new building foundation system.
AKA conducted a geotechnical investigation and provided geotechnical engineering services during construction of The Standard at Berkeley Building directly across from the University of California, Berkeley campus. Completed in 2021, The Standard at Berkeley project involved the construction of a new 8-story mixed-use retail/student housing building with one level of below ground parking. AKA’s geotechnical investigation included drilling borings at the site, conducting laboratory tests, and developing geotechnical recommendations for the project design. AKA provided miscellaneous geotechnical consultation throughout the design of the project temporary shoring which varied based on the location and existing adjacent structures and consisted of soldier beams with tiebacks, soldier beams with internal bracing to deadman anchors, cantilever soldier beams, and underpinning with tiebacks. AKA also provided comprehensive geotechnical observation and testing services and provided consultation to resolve onsite geotechnical issues.
The J & J Ranch project includes the oldest — as well as some of the newest — homes in Contra Costa County. The 20-acre hillside site of the newly developed, 13-lot J & J Ranch project contains at its center the oldest surviving house in Contra Costa County, an adobe structure originally built in 1841. The house was built by Don Joaquin Moraga on the once-sprawling Rancho Laguna De los Palos Colorados, a 13,316-acre land grant from the Mexican government in 1835, which included what is now Moraga and portions of Orinda and Lafayette. A pre-development geotechnical investigation of the site by Alan Kropp & Associates included a comprehensive subsurface investigation, in which two large-diameter borings were logged by lowering our engineering geologist down the bore shaft, deep into the earth, to examine the subsurface strata “in-place.” A number of site stability issues were identified by our pre-development investigation and corrected with an extensive remedial grading program that first broke ground in 2017. Final subdivision improvements were completed in 2021. The site development included the extension of Adobe Lane and associated underground utilities into the new subdivision, as well as the creation of two new cul-de-sacs — all the while preserving the historic adobe structure at the heart of the development. With the subdivision improvements completed, several of the newest and most exclusive custom homes in Contra Costa County have been developed and/or are currently in construction on the site. The historic adobe home and the surrounding two-acre lot have been sold by the project developer to the Friends of the Joaquin Moraga Adobe, and the restored structure is to be established as a house museum.
