VAA provided civil and structural services for this new 56,413 square-foot addition to an existing facility. The addition consists of a three-level office space linked to the existing building by structural steel and glass atrium with a grand staircase. The atrium area serves as the entry. The walk out lower level covers approximately one half of the addition footprint with a fitness center, storage area and training/conference space. The main floor is open offices with break spaces and employee service spaces. The upper level has additional open offices, executive offices and an executive pantry and boardroom. The fitness center and offices in the space overlook the beautiful wetlands and the storm water treatment basins designed by our civil team.
The building is architecturally clean with structurally exposed systems. The floor framing of the addition consists of structural steel wide-flange composite beams with concrete and metal deck slabs. The basement walls are all cast-in-place concrete. The building is laterally supported against wind forces by a structural steel moment frame placed on conventional footings. The exterior is striped spandrels of brick and glass, matching the existing building. Due to the design of exposed structural systems and the clean open space of the entryway, ductwork was minimized and accommodated within the structure. One creative design solution was to run ductwork underneath the walkway between the existing and new spaces.
The site had a pre-existing building and an unusual amount of topographic relief with magnitudes of 35 to 40 feet. The new building expansion was designed over the existing embankment with approximately 35’ of vertical relief. Many issues were dealt with through close coordination between the architect and contractor.
Our Civil team was instrumental in leading the government approvals process. They began by working with the architect and contractor to lay out a very detailed site plan, watershed and government review, and approvals schedule and turned it into a document, which the design team reviewed and approved. This enabled the contractor to get an early earthwork start, executing the early footings and foundation package. Three other bid packages were provided as well to accommodate the fast-track construction schedule of the project.
The location of the new expansion required the relocation of existing sanitary sewer and water main. The civil team worked with the design team and contractor to determine how the new system would function as well as the phasing of construction. The civil engineer scope of services included the design of the utilities, storm sewer, storm water treatment, grading plans, site layout, striping, and governmental approvals associated with the project. The entire site totaled eight acres and total parking included 408 stalls.
In addition to the construction of the parking area adjacent to the new building expansion, the owner desired an expansion of the existing parking area on the north end of the property. The existing topography on the site of the parking expansion consisted of an approximately 30’ vertical slope covered with oaks and forest vegetation. It was the desire of the owner to keep the existing vegetation if possible. The Civil team worked with the architect and contractor closely to perform a value engineering study on cut fill purposes and determine the most cost effective approach to the construction of this lot. In the end a cost effective approach was reached and the new lot was constructed with little damage to existing vegetation and yet achieving the desired goals of parking stalls. Construction of the north parking lot consisted of 3 ½ acres of additional parking.
The project was designed and drawn in Revit. As a result, few issues arose during construction. The 3-Dimensional modeling enabled close proactive coordination with the architect. This enabled issues to be foreseen and addressed prior to construction. The project went very smoothly thanks to this proactive coordination and a highly qualified team.
