Athens Chancery Renovation - AE Design Services

The U.S. Department of State (DOS), Office of Logistics Management, on behalf of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), is seeking a qualified architectural/engineering firm (A/E), joint venture or other such licensed professional, to provide comprehensive A/E design services for the complete renovation of the Chancery at the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece. This is a classified project; security clearances will be required. This will be a design-bid-build project. The resultant contract shall be fixed price. The estimated construction cost is between $115 million and $135 million. Continuing a legacy of outstanding diplomatic architecture, the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations' seeks to commission our nation's designers to create facilities of outstanding quality and value. The DOS project shall demonstrate true integrated design that balances aesthetics, cost, constructability and reliability, following the Guiding Principles of Design Excellence in Diplomatic Facilities (http://www.state.gov/obo). The Chancery renovation project will provide for the reuse and renovation of the 8,300 gsm landmark Chancery. The building was designed by Walter Gropius of The Architects Collaborative and dedicated in 1961. Historic Structure and Building Condition Reports, and the design of swing space, are being done under a separate contract by another A/E firm who is not eligible to respond to this advertisement. The project will be required to bring both the exterior and interior of the Chancery into compliance with current DOS blast, forced entry, technical security, seismic and other functional requirements, while maintaining the appearance of the historic building. The project will be designed to be highly sustainable, and will be staged to ensure the continuous operation of the embassy. This announcement is for all building renovation requirements, architectural design and engineering, construction phasing plans, and cost estimating for the Chancery; and includes a new Compound Access Control (CAC) facility, the development of a new landscaping plan, and geotechnical work. The A/E services required include work involving architectural, landscape and engineering disciplines for an overseas diplomatic facility. At a minimum, additional expertise is required in: geotechnical, civil, structural (including blast), electrical, mechanical, and plumbing engineering; information systems; telecommunications; physical and technical security; sustainable design; energy conservation; pollution prevention and the use of recovered materials; space planning and interior design; historic preservation; food service planning; vertical transportation; lighting design; reliability centered maintenance; design and construction scheduling; cost estimating, LEED, and value engineering. The successful offeror will be required to have an approved local design consultant. Identifying the local consultant is not required at this time. Information on the local consultant requirement will be provided to the successful offeror when the request for proposal is issued. U.S. codes and U.S. government requirements will apply, as will applicable local zoning and/or building codes. Identification of team members, other than the Lead Designer(s), is not required in this stage. The Lead Designer(s) is the individual or group of individuals who will have primary responsibility to develop the concept for the project and oversee its development. Information on the consultants and the "production firm" (if different from the A/E firm) should not be included in the Stage 1 submission. The site, buildings and related facilities will be designed in hard metric (system International) units. Construction documents shall be submitted with AutoCAD Release 2011 or higher and REVIT Architecture 2011. The successful offeror will be required to use OBO ProjNet for the electronic transmission of Sensitive But Unclassified U.S. Government information and ProjNet-C for Classified U.S. Government information. A two-stage process shall be used in the A/E award selection, as follows: In Stage 1, prospective offerors will submit a portfolio of accomplishments that establish the design capabilities of the A/E firm and the Lead Designer(s). Offerors will be point-scored by a Technical Evaluation Panel based on criteria provided in this Request for Qualifications. Offerors will be ranked and a short-list issued for consideration in Stage 2. STAGE 1 SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION CRITERIA. The assembled content for the Stage 1 submission should be no more than 60 pages, printed double-sided, in an 8 " x 11" format for a total of 30 sheets, exclusive of dividers. The submission should include the following items, divided into tabbed sections in the order listed below: (1) COVER LETTER. A cover letter referencing the FedBizOpps announcement and briefly describing the A/E Firm and its location, organizational makeup, and noteworthy accomplishments. (2) STANDARD FORM 330 ARCHITECT-ENGINEER QUALIFICATIONS PART II only. For the purposes of this solicitation, Firm as requested in Box 2a is defined as the individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity permitted by law to practice the profession of architecture or engineering that will have contractual responsibility for the project design, should the proposed offeror be selected for the contract. (3) A/E FIRM PAST PERFORMANCE ON DESIGN (35 points maximum). A/E firms shall submit a portfolio of not more than five projects that have been designed and completed construction in the last ten years (maximum of six pages printed on three double-sided sheets per project). The narrative shall address the design approach with salient features for each project and discuss how the client's program, image, mission, economic, schedule, maintenance, functional and operational objectives were satisfied by the overall design/planning solution. It should comment on the relevance of submitted projects to the OBO project, including the nature of the renovation or new construction, the architectural design strategy, and how sustainability goals were achieved. This section of the submission should cite certificates, awards, peer recognition, etc. demonstrating design excellence, and provide a client reference contact for each project, including name, title, address, email, phone, and fax numbers. A representative floor plan, a site plan, a building section, or other appropriate drawings, and a minimum of two photographs must be included for each project. (4) LEAD DESIGNER(S) PORTFOLIO (30 points maximum). Submit a portfolio representative of the Lead Designer(s)'s ability to provide design excellence. The portfolio must comprise three projects designed in the last ten years (maximum of six pages printed on three double-sided sheets per project). The narrative shall address the Lead Designer(s)'s participation in the project, the overall design philosophy and salient features of each project; and how the client's program, image, mission, economic, schedule, maintenance, functional, and operational objectives were satisfied by the overall design/planning solution. Cite any certificates, awards, peer recognition, etc., demonstrating design excellence. The narrative shall address the Lead Designer(s)'s participation in each project. Where there is duplication with the Past Performance on Design criteria, the Lead Designer(s) shall clearly cite their responsibilities on the project. (5) PHILOSOPHY AND DESIGN INTENT (20 points maximum). The Lead Designer(s) (on a maximum of four pages printed on two double-sided sheets) shall state: the parameters of an overall design philosophy; their approach to the challenge of modernizing mid-century public architecture and the related preservation and security issues; parameters that may apply in creating an overseas diplomatic presence; and their commitment to integrated and sustainable design. (6) LEAD DESIGNER(S) PROFILE(S) (15 points maximum). Submit a biographical sketch (maximum of four pages printed on two double-sided sheets per person) including education, professional experience, and recognition for design efforts inclusive of the portfolio examples. Identify and describe areas of responsibility and commitment to each project. The Technical Evaluation Panel, which is comprised of representatives from the Overseas Buildings Operations, Department of State, shall evaluate the submissions. The Panel shall establish a short-list of qualified firms. The short-listed Lead Designers and their associated A/E Firms will be notified in writing and requested to submit more detailed information for evaluation in Stage 2. For Stage 2, the short-list of offerors will assemble their technical teams and submit detailed information as to their proposed team, management plan, and past performance on construction documents. Sufficient time will be provided for the Lead Designer(s) and their associated A/E Firms to establish their team. The short-listed offerors will also be required to make presentations to the Technical Evaluation Panel at State Annex Six located in Arlington, Virginia. The government will provide detailed evaluation criteria for the Stage 2 submission and the interview at the time the short-listed firms from Stage 1 are notified. Stage 2 submissions will be reviewed by the Technical Evaluation Panel. The Technical Evaluation Panel will not re-score the Stage 1 submissions, but will make a determination of the most highly qualified team consistent with the announced evaluation criteria for Stage 2 and will recommend that offeror for award to the OBO Director. This is neither a request for proposal, nor a design competition. Since a contract may result in an award over $500,000, large businesses will be required to submit a small business subcontracting plan prior to contract award. The small business size standard North American Industry Classification System code is 541310, $7 million average. This selection shall be in accordance with the Brooks Act, P.L. 92-582 (40 U.S.C. 1101-1104) and FAR Part 36. After the successful offeror(s) has been selected, the resultant contract award will be dependent on the conclusion of successful negotiations concerning level of effort and price. In order to be eligible for award of this contract, the successful offeror must possess, or be eligible to obtain, a Defense Security Service (DSS) Secret Facility Clearance (FCL), with Secret safeguarding capability, issued in accordance with the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM), DOD 5220.22-M. Personnel requiring access to classified information or Controlled Access Areas (CAAs) at DOS locations must possess a Secret personnel security clearance issued by the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO). Additionally, the successful offeror selected for contract award must possess, or immediately obtain an Information System (IS) or standalone computer, approved by DSS, for processing classified information. Performance on this contract will require access to the Department's ProjNet-C, for receipt and transmission of all classified information, and a DSS-approved classified IS for processing classified information. Offerors already possessing the necessary FCL should submit their appropriate Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code with their Stage 2 submissions. If an uncleared offeror from the Stage 2 short-list is recommended to the Director for selection, the Department of State will sponsor the uncleared firm for an FCL. Firms which form joint ventures must also comply with the above FCL requirements. Each entity comprising the joint venture must be issued an FCL, as well as the joint venture. Sponsorship does not guarantee that the firm will receive the clearance. Until the selected firm has been issued at least an Interim Secret FCL, and received DSS approval to safeguard classified documents, they will not receive the classified portions of the RFP requirements package. A period of 90 calendar days, from the date of sponsorship, will be allowed for an uncleared contractor to obtain a Secret FCL. If the firm has not obtained the FCL after 90 days, the Government may terminate negotiations with the offeror, and may move to select another short-listed firm for award. Foreign firms are not eligible for FCLs. Only U.S. firms organized and operating in the U.S. or Puerto Rico, or a U.S. possession or trusted territory, are eligible for facility clearances. U.S. firms which are determined to be under Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) are not eligible for an FCL unless actions (as directed and approved by DSS) can be taken to effectively negate or reduce associated FOCI risks to an acceptable level. This process often takes more than the 90 calendar days allotted for clearance. Information on the clearance process can be found on the DSS website, at http://www.dss.mil, under Industrial Security. Certain design team subcontractors/consultants may also require FCLs and personnel security clearances. The Department of State may sponsor one uncleared design subcontractor/ consultant, at the request of an uncleared short-listed firm. Any other uncleared design team subcontractors/consultants must be sponsored by the short-listed firm, only after that firm receives its own FCL. A copy of the Prohibited Countries List, from which offerors may not choose design team members, can be obtained from the Contracting Officer listed in the last paragraph of this announcement. Additionally, a citizen of Greece, or even a dual US/Greek citizen, may not be a Lead or Principal for the design. Firms being considered for award under this acquisition are limited to "United States Person" offerors, as defined in the Act. The offeror(s) must complete and submit one copy as part of its qualification package the pamphlet (bound separately), Certifications Relevant to Public Law 99-399, Statement of Qualifications for Purpose of Section 402 of The Omnibus Diplomatic Security and Antiterrorism Act of 1986. (The pamphlet is attached to this announcement and may also be obtained from the Contracting Officer listed at the end of this notice.) A firm being considered for award must meet the definition of a "United States person" of P.L. 99-399, Section 402 thereof, as follows: (1) be legally organized in the United States more than five years prior to the issuance of a request for proposal; (2) have its principal place of business in the United States; (3) have performed within the U.S. administrative, technical or professional services similar in complexity, type of construction, and value of the project being solicited; (4) employ U.S. citizens in a least 80 percent of principal management positions in the U.S.; and (5) have existing technical and financial resources in the U.S. to perform the contract. Firms not meeting the "United Sates persons" requirement will not be considered. Offerors that meet the requirements described in this announcement are invited to submit the required Stage 1 documents. Firms shall submit four hard copies and one digital, PDF version on CD. The submission shall incorporate tabs to clearly identify the different solicitation requirements. Offerors may find a copy of the SF-330 at the following website: http://contacts.gsa.gov/webforms.nsf/0/21DBF5BF7E860FC185256E13005C6AA6/$file/SF%20330.pdf . Offerors are advised that inaccurate or incomplete submissions, or those not meeting the submission requirements, may result in immediate disqualification. All submissions listed in Stage 1 (including the statement of qualifications of P.L. 99-399, must be received by 3:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, on February 14, 2013. Requests for clarification must be received, in writing, by Patrick A. Reilly, not later than 3:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, on January 24, 2013. The e-mail address to submit clarification questions is reillypa@state.gov. Clarifications received after the deadline, and telephone requests for information, shall not be accepted. Hand-delivery and courier address (Federal Express, UPS, etc): Patrick A. Reilly, U.S. Department of State, Office of Logistics Management, 1735 North Lynn Street 4th Floor, 416H, Arlington, VA 22209. (deliveries contact (571)232-3596) *****PLEASE NOTE DUE DATE HAS BEEN REVISED TO FEBRUARY 14, 2013 AND THE DELIVERY ADDRESS HAS CHANGED TO 1735 N. LYNN STREET, 4TH FLOOR ROOM 416H, ARLINGTON, VA 22209*******