Aisc - Office Buildings

8/3/2019 Aisc - Office Buildings

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MEETING THE

CHALLENGES OF

THE 21ST CENTURY

S T E E L - F R A M E D F F I C E B U I L D I N G S

O

There's always a solution in steel!

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cturalsteel

A B N A M R O B A N KChicago, IL

OWNER: ABN AMRO Bank of North America

PROGRAM MANAGER: Hines

ARCHITECT: DeStefano and Partners, LTD.

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Thornton Thomasetti Engineers

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Turner Construction Co.

STEEL FABRICATOR: Zalk Josephs Fabricators, LLC.

STEEL ERECTOR: Area Erectors, Inc.


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Cost, Speed, Quality, and Marketability are important considerations thatdrive the decision owners and developers make for new office building construction. Who

isnt worried about budgets or schedules and if their new facility will meet their quality

expectations within budget? And who doesnt worry about how marketable the building will

be in order to attract and retain tenants that will ensure profits through the expected life of the

building?

The selection of the structural steel framing system is the first step in meeting those

considerations. And it has been the first step for countless office structures in the United States

dating back to 1885 when steel was used for the first time in the 10-story Home Insurance

Building located in Chicago, IL. Steel is the material of choice of project decision makers that

have learned steel-framed office buildings are unsurpassed in:

Cost-effective construction

Accelerated project schedules

Early occupancy

Reduced life-cycle costs

Future adaptability to changing tenant requirements

Meeting security, fire protection, blast and progressive collapse demands

Ease of integration with other building systems

Increased schedule control due to all-weather erection capabilities

Quality assurance due to offsite fabrication in controlled environments

Column-free space maximizing space usage and office layout flexibility

Enhanced flexibility and comfort to attract and retain potential tenants

Maximized resale value and minimized demolition costs

I N T R O D U C T I O N


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In addition, new emerging technologies and systems are increasing the positive impact that steel has on

projects today. Some of those innovations have been driven by the new imperatives of building design

and construction in the 21st century: the ability to withstand terrorist acts, higher standards for seismic

safety and fire safety at reasonable cost, increased need to layout flexibility, energy efficiency, and

sustainable design.

What follows is a journey across the country looking at nine examples of steel-framed offices, each one

illustrating one or more ways of meeting owners and developers demands for better facilities that are

faster to build and at the lowest total cost.

Congress Center: A Chicago, IL, mid-rise office where the developer saved over $500,000 byminimizing floor depth to reduce the cost of cladding and mechanical services and ended up with

over 33,000 sq ft of column-free space per floor, gaining a competitive advantage in the office market.

General Services Administration: A low-rise build-to-suit office in Atlanta, GA, whose fast-track design

and construction resists progressive collapse in the event of a terrorist attack and is easily adaptableto future changes.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation: A built-to-suit mid-rise office in Albany,

NY, where the owner, foreseeing winter construction, chose steel, which aided in satisfying the rigid

environmental standards of LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

ADC Telecommunications: A low-rise build-to-suit office campus in Eden Prairie, MN, where spray-on

fire protection was in large part eliminated on the exposed structural steel to accomplish the owners

aesthetic requirements without compromising the highest standards of life safety and property

protection.

Bureau of Indian Affairs: A low-rise office in Albuquerque, NM, where weeks were cut out of the

design and construction schedule through the use of new software that allows movement of

information from design to detailing to automated fabrication electronically while still satisfying the

owners design requirements against progressive collapse from terrorist acts.

JPMorgan Chase: A San Francisco investment high-rise signature office where the developer saved

$1,250,000 in the overall cost of cladding and mechanical services by minimizing floor and ceiling

thickness. The office, which required large column-free areas, also had to meet stringent new seismic

requirements cost-effectively.

CNF Transportation, Inc.: A mid-rise build-to-suit office in Portland, OR, with column-free working

areas where the owner cut operating costs by 25-30% by integrating HVAC with the structural

system.

U.S. Navy Pacific Command Center: A military command center in Oahu, HI, where the owner was

able to get the project back in budget and on schedule with a unique and economical structural

system to resist earthquakes, hurricanes and progressive collapse from terrorist acts.

Summit Place: A constructive reuse where a vintage heavy manufacturing plant near Milwaukee,

WI, was converted into offices affording the developer a competitive advantage in the office market.

Virtually all the original steel structure was reused.


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OWNER: Development Resources, Inc.

ARCHITECT: OWP/P

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: OWP/P Structures

MECHANICAL ENGINEER: Environmental Systems Design

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Power Construction Company

STEEL ERECTOR: Gatwood Steel Erection

CHALLENGE:Provide a structure that accommodates

changing tenant needs.

SOLUTION 1:Take advantage of structural steel span

capabilities by eliminating interior columns located

between the core and exterior of the building.

The ability to economically achieve spans up to 46 ft

created an open floor area exceeding 33,000 sq ft

per floor. This appeals to a greater number of poten-

tial tenants who want maximum freedom for space

planning as well as comfort for their employees. And

advanced design methodologies are allowing longer

spans and maximizing comfort with the elimination of

perceptible vibrations.

SOLUTION 2:Take advantage of the ease of

modification inherent with a structural steel system.

Building owners and managers are always faced

with changing requirements and a compositesteel frame can easily be modified to satisfy exist-

ing or new tenant changing requirements such as

increased floor loads for storage and equipment,

new openings for mechanical equipment and verti-

cal shafts or floor-to-floor staircases. Within the four

years since its opening in 2001, Congress Center

has required several dozen structural modifications

in order to meet changing tenant requirements.

www.aisc.org/office_projects

CHALLENGE:Minimize construction costs.

SOLUTION 1:Integrate structural steel with

mechanical services to reduce floor-to-floor heights.

Structural and mechanical designers working closelytogether coordinated structural and mechanical

requirements so that shop-fabricated web penetra-

tions could be used for the passage of fire protection,

mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems within

the depth of the girders. This resulted in a savings of

at least 1 ft in floor depth while providing tenants 9-ft

ceiling heights. This drove down associated costs of

enclosure systems, partition and vertical building sys-

tems by more than $30,000 per foot or nearly half a

million dollars for the whole building.

SOLUTION 2:Maximize spans between structural floor

elements to reduce construction time.

A 51/4-in. composite metal floor deck increased

spacing of structural beams to 16 ft on-center. By

increasing the span of the composite floor system,

fewer structural beams were required which reduced

fabrication as well as erection time. The building was

completed quicker and a positive revenue stream was

generated earlier giving the developer a higher return

on investment.

Structural steel offers developer maximum cost savings and office layout flexibility

to gain a competitive advantage in the local office market.

Located in Chicagos West Loop, this new 16-story, 529,000-sq-ft office building was built to meet the demand

for new Class-A office space in the central business district. Because it was an investment property, the archi-

tects had to work to a limited budget while still creating a building that would be a worthy addition to an area of

the city enjoying rejuvenation.

C O N G R E S S C E N T E R

Ducts and cable

trays throughwebs for reducedfloor/ceiling depth

46-ft clear span:

core-to-perimeter

9-ft ceiling height


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G E N E R A L S E R V I C E S A D M I N I S T R A T I O N

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In fact, even before design was finished, the GSA

issued extensive modifications that required signifi-

cant increases in floor loads and the addition of acolumn-free space for an auditorium. Principle bays

now required a span in excess of 45 ft. Structural steel

with a composite metal deck proved most economical

with the use of W21 beams spanning 46 ft 2 in. on 10-

ft centers and a composite deck comprised of a 3-in.

metal deck and 31/4 in. of lightweight concrete topping.

Girders spanned 30 ft between columns with some

spans, at the exterior bays, spanning 40 ft 10 in.

CHALLENGE:Meet a tight budget and schedule.

SOLUTION: Structural steels ease of design, construc-

tion speed and compatibility with other building sys-

tems helps project meet schedule and budget goals.The project team worked out an aggressive schedule

to design, construct, fit up and occupy the build-

ing within the time frame demanded by the GSA.

The team took advantage of sophisticated structural

design software that facilitated 3-D modeling of

changing design requirements and helped minimize

the time to incorporate design changes. In spite of the

mid-stream design changes, the structural steel and

composite metal deck system provided the developer

the only means to complete the project on time. It was

completed on time and $100,000 below budget!

CHALLENGE:Find an economical solution to prevent

progressive collapse.

SOLUTION:Rely on structural steels ductility to designa resilient and redundant structure.

The building was to be used exclusively for administra-

tive purposes and the perimeter was secure so the

design criterion required only that elimination of any

first-floor perimeter column would not cause even

a partial collapse. A structural steel solution was

both elegant and simple. The building was girdled

between the first and second floors with W33 x 118

beams spanning the 30-ft interior bays and 40-ft 10-in.

end bays. These are attached to the perimeter col-

umns with fully welded moment connections designed

for the full plastic moment of the beams. To handle

the scenario of a corner column being destroyed,a perimeter column was placed within 10 ft of the

corners to eliminate the potential for a cantilever in

excess of 40 ft.

CHALLENGE:Provide a structure that can be easily

modified to meet changing tenant requirements even

during the middle of the design.

SOLUTION:Use structural steel framing and composite

metal deck to meet changing tenant requirements.

The client foresaw the possibility of needing to make

future modifications to both the structure and deck.

Structural steel satisfies blast and progressive collapse criteria and offers owner

maximum ability to adapt to future changes.

This four-story 107,000-sq-ft Class-A office building located in Atlanta, GA, was developed and leased exclusive-

ly to the General Services Administration and occupied by the Center for Disease Control. The urgent need of

the GSA was a building that would easily accommodate future changes in use and layout at an aggressive rental

rate. Challenging the project even further, a blast-resistant/anti-progressive collapse design criterion was added

midway in the design process, due to the September 11 attack.

OWNER: General Services Administration

DEVELOPER: Highwood Properties

ARCHITECT: Cooper Carry, Inc.

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Uzun & Case Engineers

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Brasfield & Gorrie

STEEL FABRICATOR: Stein Steel

STEEL ERECTOR: Composite Construction Services, Inc.

Heavy beams (W33 x 118) forminganti-blast girdle around perimeter

Fully welded moment connections


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N E W Y O R K S TAT E

D E P A R T M E N T O F E N V I R O N M E N T A L C O N S E R V A T I O N

CHALLENGE:Earn a LEED

Silver Rating from the U.S.

Green Building Council.

SOLUTION:Take advantage of the green features

of structural steel.The architect collaborated closely with the owner and

mechanical engineer to integrate many green features

into the design and construction of the building.

A LEED consultant was also brought on board to help

shepherd the project through the certification process

by making a list of sustainable features that would

contribute to the LEED credits required for certifica-

tion. The LEED consultants recommendation to use

structural steel contributed significantly and easily

toward three LEED credits, including: use of materials

with recycled content, local/regional use of materials

and the reduction of construction waste. First, all struc-tural steel produced in the United States contains a

minimum of 95 percent recycled content with an aver-

age of 65 percent of post-consumer recycled content.

Second, structural steel was fabricated and supplied

by a fabricator located less than one hour from the

project site, well within the 500-mile radius required

under LEED 2.0. Finally, scrap structural steel is too

valuable to be thrown into a landfill and virtually 100

percent is recycled into new steel products.


CHALLENGE:Meet a fast-track delivery schedule.

SOLUTION:Capitalize on all-weather construction with

structural steel.

The construction of the structural frame is often on thecritical path of a project schedule. On this project it

was evident the structure would have to be construct-

ed during the winter months, increasing the poten-

tial for weather related delays. Structural steel was

selected to minimize this risk. In fact, the steel fabri-

cator expedited the steel delivery, started fabrication

early in October and steel erection proceeded swiftly

late November through completion of the structure in

mid-April. Structural steel was fabricated off-site in a

controlled environment by a skilled labor force unaf-

fected by changing weather conditions where quality

and tolerance achievement was assured resulting in

fewer field erection problems. The ability to be erect-

ed year-round also benefited the project schedule.

All-weather construction capabilities and sustainability advantages of structural

steel help owner meet tight construction schedule and obtain LEED

Silver Rating.

When considering its new headquarters, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in

Albany, NY, wanted it to be a model of environmental responsibility in design, construction and operation.

As such, this 13-story, 500,000-sq-ft office satisfies the sustainable design standards to achieve a LEED

(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Rating by the U.S. Green Building Council.

OWNER: Picotte Companies

LESSEE: NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

ARCHITECT: Woodward Connor Gillies & Seleman Architects

LEED CONSULTANT: Steven Winter and Associates

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Selnick Harwood Engineers

MECHANICAL ENGINEER: Quantum Engineering

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Beltrone Construction

STEEL FABRICATOR/ERECTOR: Schenectady Steel, Inc.


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A D C T E L E C O M M U N I C AT I O N S

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CHALLENGE:Eliminate passive fire protection on

building structure to help achieve owner demands for

an architectural statement.SOLUTION:Bring in a fire-engineering consultant

to develop alternatives to traditional fire protection

methods.

Under the Minnesota State Building Code at the time

(amended 1997 Uniform Building Code) the construc-

tion type would have dictated passive fire protection

on the exposed structural framing and composite floor

assemblies. A fire-engineering consultant was brought

in to conduct a performance-based fire protection

analysis. Life safety, property protection and continu-

ity of operation goals were established and translated

into performance criteria. The consultant evaluated

various fire protection design alternatives and ulti-mately proposed an overall system that included

an enhanced quick response sprinkler system that

washes the primary framing, a total coverage smoke

detection and control system as well as a fire alarm

system. The proposed systems eliminated the need for

fire separation walls between buildings and spray-on

fire protection on approximately 80% of the structure.

While the original intent for eliminating the spray-on

fire-proofing was for aesthetics, adding spray-on pro-

tection could have meant as much as $500,000 to the

owner.

Fire-engineering and early steel fabricator involvement help owner make architectural

statement with architecturally exposed structural steel at an economical cost.

This world headquarters for a high-tech telecommunications company provides 500,000 sq ft of space on a 90-

acre campus in Eden Prairie, MN. The three-story complex is comprised of buildings arranged in an irregular

pattern, creating diversion and interest. The owner wanted to expose the steel structure, both inside and out, as

a reflection of the high-tech nature of the companys work. The exposed structure thus is the major architectural

statement of the complex.

OWNER: ADC Telecommunications

ARCHITECT/ENGINEER: Hammel Green & Abrahamson

FIRE ENGINEER: MountainStar Group

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Kraus-Anderson Construction Co.

STEEL FABRICATOR: LeJeune Steel Co.

STEEL ERECTOR: Amerect, Inc.

Sprinkler coverage of space

Sprinkler washing of primary framing

CHALLENGE:Make maximum use of architecturally

exposed structural steel while avoiding

unnecessary costs.SOLUTION:Bring a steel fabricator on board early and

integrate the fabricator with the design team during

the design phase of the project.

Getting a qualified steel fabricator on board during the

early phases of the design and integrating him with

the design team always results in a more economical

structure. ADC Telecommunications proved to be no

exception. A steel fabricator was brought on board at

the beginning of the design process to work closely

with the architect and engineer. Fabricator integration

into the design team helped to keep the visions of the

designers more in line with fabrication and erection

practicalities resulting in many thousands of dollarssaved for the owner. For example, the fabricator had

the time to manufacture and submit models, to clearly

show that for some 700 trusses (14 ft in the air) it was

not necessary to grind welds for appearance sake and

that the structural strength of the welds was adequate.

Further, they were able to show that expensive welded

connections could be replaced with standard bolted

truss-to-column connections and still meet the high

aesthetic standards set by the architect. Finally, the

fabricator worked with the structural engineer on vari-

ous connections and other details to ensure more

economical fabrication and erection costs while still

achieving structural requirements.


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Continuous beamfor support of floors

Continuous beamfor support of floors

Break awaycolumn for blast

B U R E A U O F I N D I A N A F F A I R S

CHALLENGE:Provide a facility that would resist

blast and progressive collapse.

SOLUTION:Capitalize on steels ductility and design a

redundant structure.

Structural steel with its superior ductility, strength andability to accommodate blast load induced deforma-

tion reversals proved to meet all owner design expec-

tations. In addition, steels high strength-to-weight

ratio provided the added bonus of a lighter more eco-

nomical foundation.

The owner had two specific security requirements.

First, any perimeter column over the three floors could

be removed and allow the collapse of a single bay up

through the three floors. However, horizontal progres-

sion was permitted. The structural engineer oversized

the connections on the inboard side of the interior col-

umns so if the beam in the exterior bay pulled away,the interior would remain intact. Second, if any ground

floor column were removed in the lobby area, the floor

and structure above would remain intact. Using elas-

tic analysis the engineers applied a load factor taking

into account impact loads from the reversal of the

floor above after the blast. Beam-to-column moment

connections were developed to the full capacity of

the beams.


CHALLENGE:Meet a fast-track schedule.

SOLUTION:Work with a steel specialty contractor that

assumes total responsibility for the structural steel

scope and uses new interoperable software.

The design-build contractor worked closely with asteel specialty contractor that assumed total respon-

sibility for the scope of the structural steel package.

The steel team, including a structural engineer, detail-

er, steel fabricator and erector under its umbrella,

worked closely together to shave two months from

the overall project schedule. Helping to drive this

significant schedule reduction was the use of interop-

erable design, detailing and fabrication software that

facilitated seamless transfer of a 3-D structural model

into detailing software and ultimately into automated

CNC fabrication equipment. Use of the software pro-

vided the general contractor with more timely budgets

and schedule information and ultimately cut the time

required to convert the final design into fabricated

components.

Steel specialty contractor, using new interoperable software, eliminates two months

from the construction schedule to help owner occupy building sooner.

The new regional headquarters for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is a three-story 140,000-sq-ft building

located in Albuquerque, NM. The owner had expiring leases in diverse locations and desired to consolidate their

activities in a new office as quickly as possible and within strict budgetary limitations.

OWNER: Bureau of Indian Affairs

DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTOR: OPUS West Construction Corp.

ARCHITECT: DCSW Architects, Inc.

STEEL TEAM

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Chaves-Grieves Consulting Engineers. Inc.

STEEL FABRICATOR/ERECTOR: AmFab, Incorporated


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J P M O R G A N C H A S E & C O .

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CHALLENGE:Satisfy the heightened California

seismic requirements.

SOLUTION:Use a proven and redundant system

with reduced beam section moment connections.

In order to resist Zone 4 seismic forces, a lateral loadresisting system was provided in both directions. Along

the short direction, two 3-bay frames consisting of

33-in.-deep ductile outrigger beams with moment

connections to interior and exterior columns and four

braced frames between the core columns were pro-

vided. In the long direction, two 3-bay ductile moment

frames along exterior sides and two braced frames

along core walls were provided. All beam-to-column

moment connections used the reduced beam section

or dog-bone, which had been tested and pre-qualified

for the maximum beam size used.

CHALLENGE:Provide a maximum of column-free spacefor layout flexibility.

SOLUTION:Use sloping columns and composite steel

floor system.The developer wanted to be able to

offer tenants complete freedom for space planning.

By sloping the columns to make up for the setbacks

in the exterior walls the lateral load resisting system

could be accommodated within the perimeter framing.

Furthermore, this avoided the interference of transfer

girders. That and the floor system of a 51/4-in. compos-

ite slab on metal deck spanning 10 ft between com-

posite steel beams, which in turn span 43 ft, mean

that there are no columns between the office core andthe exterior walls.

CHALLENGE:Keep floor depth to a minimum as a way

of reducing cost.

SOLUTION:Notch the floor beams.

The developer was looking for ways to control

costs. Close coordination between the structural and

mechanical designers led to notching the 33-in.-deep

outrigger beams near mid-span for the passage of

main ducts. This reduced the floor-to-floor height by

more than a foot. When considering the cost of curtain

wall, structural steel, vertical shafts and mechanical

services, each vertical foot was worth approximately

$45,000 or $1,250,000 net savings for the whole proj-

ect.

CHALLENGE:Meet unique structural challenges posed

by the architecture.

SOLUTION:Utilize sloping exterior columns to create

the building setbacks as desired.

The building of rectangular shape, has two setbacks

on long sides one at level 8 and another at level

28. The normal way of supporting setback columns

on transfer girders is not desirable in high seismic

areas. This challenge was met by sloping the col-

umns to make up for the offsets. These columns

result in horizontal elements at levels 6, 8, 27 and 28.

These beams are connected to the columns with pins

thereby eliminating any uncertainty of behavior at the

beam-to-column joints. The sloping columns at the

two outrigger frames are of box shape common to

frames in both directions.

Structural steel lowers floor-to-floor heights saving developer $1,250,000.

Built by a prominent developer, designed by a world-renown architect and located in the heart of San Francisco

this 31-story Class-A building houses the West Coast headquarters of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Its almost 670,000

sq ft include two levels of underground parking and are complemented by a large ground level plaza and urban

park. The design is modern and complements the skyline with classical elegance. The exterior wall design is a

delicately proportioned tower of glass with a lush green aluminum frame.

OWNER: JPMorgan Chase & Co.

DEVELOPER: Hines

ARCHITECT OF RECORD: Cesar Pelli and Associates

PRODUCTION ARCHITECT: Kendall-Heaton Associates

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: CBM Engineers

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Turner Construction

STEEL FABRICATOR/ERECTOR: Strocal, Inc.

Sloped columns avoidingtransfer girders/trusses

Pre-approved dog-bonehigh seismic section

Notched and reinforcedbeams for reducedfloor-to-floor height


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C N F T R A N S P O R T AT I O N , I N C .

floor heights were reduced as much as 18 in. due to

elimination of the traditional HVAC plenum that typi-

cally runs below the beams. With the more traditional

approaches, the additional material cost of steel col-umns, masonry, glazing and vertical shafts could eas-

ily have added $200,000 to the cost of construction.

An additional savings was realized due to the unique

mechanical design that resulted in less expensive

equipment as well as the minimization of horizontal

ductwork.

CHALLENGE:Minimize cost of future changes in office

layout.

SOLUTION:Use structural steel framing with a raised

access floor.

As work teams change, and departments grow and

shrink, the under-floor system minimizes the disruptionand cost of demolition and construction to move wiring

and cabling. In addition, the steel structure can easily

be modified to accommodate changes in floor loads,

and the addition of floor openings among other things.

The unique cellular beam design, with web openings

running along the length will facilitate ease of installing

new MEP systems as needed in the future.


CHALLENGE:Create an office that reduces (energy)

operating costs.

SOLUTION:Integrate structural and mechanical

systems for maximum efficiency.Close cooperation between the structural engineer,

mechanical engineer and the steel contractor led to

a unique mechanical system that took advantage of

the steel structure itself. A raised access floor act-

ing as both a space for power, voice and data whips

and under-floor air path was combined with a cellular

beam structure/ceiling assembly that created a return

air plenum. The web openings in the cellular beams

allowed for the free flow of used air to ceiling-mount-

ed water-source heat pumps. This mechanical/struc-

tural integration in combination with a southern build-

ing orientation and high efficiency glazing reduced

energy consumption by 30 percent less than required

by the State of Oregon Energy Code or approximately

$64,000 in savings per year.

CHALLENGE:Minimize construction costs.

SOLUTION:Use cellular beams to reduce floor-to-floor

heights to cut cladding and vertical MEP costs.

Use of cellular beams allowed for economical long

spans as well as facilitated free airflow and the pas-

sage of miscellaneous other mechanicals such as

sprinkler pipes through the web openings that ran

continuously along the member lengths. Floor-to-

Innovative integration of structural and HVAC systems contributes to approximately

$64,000 in annual energy savings as well as over $200,000 during construction.

The 250,000-sq-ft center is a five-story headquarters of an international transportation and logistics conglomer-

ate located in Portland, OR. As the world headquarters and nerve center, the facility is open 24/7 and back-up

systems are designed to allow operations to continue even under a loss of city or first phase back-up power. The

progressive and image-conscious owner wanted a facility that was functional yet environmentally sensitive.

Raised access floor

Space for under-floorair path

Cellular beams allow-ing for mechanical passthroughs and easy

circulation of air

Cellular beams clear spancore to perimeter

OWNER: CNF Transportation

ARCHITECT: GBD Architects

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: KPFF Engineers

MECHANICAL ENGINEER: Glumac International

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Hoffman Construction

STEEL CONTRACTOR: R.F. Stearns, Inc.


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U. S. N A V Y PA C I F I C C O M M A N D C E N T E R

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CHALLENGE:Further reduce cost while satisfying addi-

tional Department of Defenses blast and

progressive collapse requirements.

SOLUTION:Use SidePlateTM

connection technology

to reduce structure and foundation costs, resist windand seismic loads and prevent progressive collapse.

The team with the structural steel proposal went back

to the drawing boards. The AT/FP progressive col-

lapse criteria, most simply stated, specified that any

single column in any location could be removed

and the surrounding structure had to remain intact.

To meet new requirements, a novel and cost-effec-

tive type of connection was proposed for the Pacific

Command Center. An innovative moment connection,

by SidePlateTM

Systems, Incorporated, strategically

placed throughout the structure, provided an all-steel

system with enhanced redundancy and ductility that

exceeded wind and seismic requirement and met

all the Navys security requirements as well. The

proposed system cut nearly $4 million dollars off the

steel package and resulted in budget and schedule

requirements being achieved.

CHALLENGE:Bring a critical project back into

budget and schedule.

SOLUTION:Use design-build project delivery with struc-

tural steel.

The U.S. Navy, in order to get a new facility designedand built as quickly as possible, issued a Request

for Proposal (RFP) from several design-build teams.

Working with an architect, they issued bridging docu-

ments that included a mix of cast-in-place and pre-

cast concrete with a pre-stressed concrete floor slab.

Teams could submit other solutions as long as they

met the Navys performance criteria including a blast-

resistant faade. Teams were allowed three months to

respond.

Structural steel is inherently more ductile than con-

crete and that material property can be used to

advantage in resisting blast loadings. Designing duc-tility into the structural frame can give it a significant

advantage in handling the load reversals that are

characteristic of a bomb blast. In addition, a structural

frame is lighter which saves foundation costs and is

very cost-effective in meeting seismic design provi-

sions.

One of the design-build teams took advantage of this

and proposed a structural steel system that saved

several million dollars over the concrete design but

fell short of meeting budget goal. At this point, the

U.S. Navy added Anti-terrorism/Force Protection (AT/

FP) blast and progressive collapse requirements andasked for revised proposals.

Design-build and unique steel connection system eliminates over $4,500,000

in costs and meets stringent design criteria for earthquake, wind, blast and

progressive collapse.

This six-story 320,000-sq-ft building, located in Oahu, HI, is the headquarters for the U.S. Navy Pacific

Command. As originally designed in concrete, the project was significantly over budget.

OWNER: Department of the Navy

BRIDGING ARCHITECT: Wimberly Allison Tong and Goo

DESIGN-BUILD TEAM

DESIGN-BUILD CONTRACTOR: Dick Pacific Construction Co.

ARCHITECT/ENGINEER OF RECORD: Atkins/Benham Group

ASSOC. STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Baldridge & Associates Structural Engineering,

BLAST CONSULTANT: Weidlinger AssociatesSTEEL FABRICATOR: Brooklyn Iron Works, Inc.

STEEL ERECTOR: Swanson Steel Company, Inc.

SidePlateTM

connection


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S U M M I T P L A C E

In the open high bays up to three additional floors

were inserted. These bays formerly contained 300-ton

capacity bridge cranes. The crane rails were removed

and sold and the remaining crane beams were relo-

cated onto new haunches to support new insert

floors. While structural steel can be easily reinforced

to handle higher loads, office loads were so much

lower than the original industrial load requirements

that the structure did not have to be reinforced in any

way. To accommodate new mechanical ductwork,

web openings in existing girders were field fabricated

and reinforced. Existing roof framing was left exposed

as a clear expression of the buildings bones.

Existing skylights were also repaired and upgradedto provide lots of natural light and increase office pro-

ductivity.

CHALLENGE:Create a dramatic modern gateway

to the existing buildings.

SOLUTION:Add a four-story addition to the front

of the manufacturing buildings.

The addition and its atrium comprise 44,000 sq ft of

Class-A space. This created a grand and modern

entrance and served as a transition to the remodeled

industrial buildings behind.


CHALLENGE:Convert three abandoned manufacturing

buildings into modern offices.

SOLUTION:Rely on the adaptability of the steel struc-

ture to reuse it completely.

The reuse of the existing buildings was less costly

than building new on a green field site. Doing so

benefits the environment by eliminating resources

required to tear down the building and transport the

non-steel material to a scrap yard or to produce and

transport new material to the job site. Furthermore,

one avoids the waste of abandoning an old site as

well as the energy and materials required to develop

a new site.

Working closely with the architect and structural

engineer, the developer looked at the palette of avail-

able features; solid brick walls, ceiling heights from

9 ft to over 26 ft, up to 17-ft-high windows, 500-ft-long

skylights, up to 83,000-sq-ft floor plates combined

with large column-free spaces and exposed structural

framing. Combining these features with the addition of

new windows, electrical power, modern HVAC, eleva-

tors and escalators readily brought the project up to

modern day standards.

Structural steel frames in three 70 year-old industrial buildings form the backbone

of a cost-effective conversion into an office complex with Class-A amenities.

The creation of a company over 100 years ago gave rise to the town of West Allis near Milwaukee, WI that

became a center for heavy manufacturing in Milwaukee. The demise of the company, Allis-Chalmers, in the

late 1980s meant the loss of over 15,000 jobs and the shuttering of nearly two million sq ft of historic industrial

buildings. Slightly more than half of the floor area was demolished (with many materials being land-filled and

steel being recycled into other steel products) leaving approximately 900,000 sq ft standing. In 2002 a former

employee turned developer decided there might be new life for those old bones that could spark a renaissance

of West Allis as a newly invigorated community.

DEVELOPER: Whitnall Summit, LLC

ARCHITECT: Renner Architects

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: SRI Design

GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Selzer-Ornst

STEEL FABRICATOR: Ace Iron & Steel Corp.

STEEL ERECTOR: Dannys Construction Company, Inc.

STEEL FABRICATOR/ERECTOR: Construction Supply & Erection, Inc.


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12

The demands of the 21st century present new challenges to every office building owner, developer,

designer and construction professional. Challenges demand ingenuity, creativity and innovative solu-

tions. This brochure introduced you to many of those 21st century challenges and how some of them

were addressed through innovative uses of structural steel. In doing so, office structures were built more

economically and quickly while still maintaining quality and future flexibility to ensure profitability.

Since the beginning of modern steel construction in the 1880s structural steel has grown to be the

material of choice in office construction. Not only are the benefits of Cost, Speed, Qualityand Marketability available to every owner, but new and innovative approaches to the design chal-lenges of the 21st century abound with steel.

The possibilities for economical and technically sound solutions in steel are many. And the good news is

there is an easy way to find them. The AISC Steel Solutions Center, staffed with engineers experienced

in all phases and types of construction, is available to assist you to determine what the best structural

system is, how much will it cost and how long will it take to build. This assistance is provided for you free

of cost for all types of buildings including: offices, parking structures, hospitals, apartments, as well as

hotels. The Steel Solutions Center is there to make structural steel easier for you to use so do not hesi-

tate to call for any issue related to structural steel including: material specifications, coatings, fire protec-

tion, vibration, seismic design, blast-resistant design, connections, or construction feasibility. If you are a

designer, there are even free tools available to make your job easier and better.

Help is but a few keystrokes or a short phone call away at the AISC Steel Solutions Center:

1-866-ASK-AISC (866-275-2472)

or

[email protected]

Congress CenterPage 3


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JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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There's always a solution in steel!

AISC Marketing, LLC.One East Wacker Drive, Suite 700Chicago, Illinois 60601-1802

866.ASK.AISC www.aisc.org

Interested in knowing more about why a structural steel frame is the

best option for your next office building?

Please visit our web site www.aisc.org/office_projects for a

detailed look at the projects and topics highlighted in this brochure.

You are also invited to contact the AISC Steel Solutions Center at

866.ASK.AISC or [email protected] to discuss how these

solutions can be applied to capture the benefits of structural steel on

your next project.

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Aisc - Office Buildings