Unlike many architects, Jeanne Gang, designer of Chicago's mesmerizing Aqua Tower, respects builders and lives for construction. Paul Treacy, the 87-story skyscraper's concrete superintendent, knows this well. Gang had a profound effect on Treacy during construction of her first tower, an innovative residential building that evokes a vertical landscape of rolling hills and ponds. And it is not only because the designer and the “super” bonded over means and methods for Aqua's 78 unique and undulating slab edges, which have extreme cantilevers of up to 12 ft. Gang also left a lasting impression with Treacy on the home front. “My
Work on the nation's first public repository for data on disaster and failure events is under way. The National Institute of Standards and Technology expects to launch a pilot website for a broad disaster database early next year. Events stemming from earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, windstorms, community-scale fires, structural fires, storm surges, floods and tsunamis are included in the repository. Photo: Courtesy Nelson Architectural Enegineers Inc. Investigating engineer had to wait five years to sound alarm about flawed truss-joist product. “The effort will support development of standards and technologies for effective collection of data on disasters and failures,” in addition to
The U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Jeffrey M. Baker, the visionary behind the nation’s newest symbol for sustainability, loves to recount the tale of the dreaded Kobayashi Maru test. For Baker, the fictional test from the “Star Trek” series is an allegory that became a guidepost during his 15-year crusade to develop a replicable model for the design and construction of affordable, ultra-green buildings.
ENR Award of Excellence winner Jeffrey Baker’s pet project—the ultra-green, ultra-affordable Research Support Facility (RSF) at the Dept. of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo.—is but a tiny example of the work funded through DOE’s Office of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. For Baker, the completion of the RSF last year signaled a second mission: to spread the word about the new model for affordable, energy-efficient buildings so that others might adapt it to their projects. Related Links: 2011 Award of Excellence Winner: Jeffrey M. Baker Closely Watched Building Lives Up to Expectations Risky ‘Golden’ Job Proves
One night in early March as well as the next day before dawn, the Dept. of Energy’s Jeffrey M. Baker wasn’t pleased when he noticed lights still burning on two floors of his pet project: the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s new, ultra-green office building in Golden, Colo. “The cleaning staff probably left them on,” said Baker, who oversees the lab. Photo: Dennis Schroeder/NREL Monitors Pless (left) and a colleague track the building’s energy use to see if it aligns with the energy model used for design. Related Links: 2011 Award of Excellence Winner: Jeffrey M. Baker Risky ‘Golden’ Job Proves
Haselden Construction and architect RNL put almost everything on the line for the Energy Dept.’s Research Support Facility in Golden, Colo. The firm-fixed-price contract, at $64 million, was risky, says Byron Haselden, even after terms were sweetened to include a $2-million incentive award fee and the contract adjusted so the team did not have to commit to a price in its proposal. Photo: Courtesy of Stantec Macey, Haselden and Andary (from left) are using the federal project to get more ultra-green work. Related Links: 2011 Award of Excellence Winner: Jeffrey M. Baker Closely Watched Building Lives Up to Expectations DOE’s
Research is getting under way to develop prescriptive code language and performance-based design guidelines for a “rocking frame” structural system that relies on vertically post-tensioned shear walls for seismic resistance. The system promises to improve seismic performance, reduce rebar congestion and enhance constructibility, says the engineer developing it. Photo: Courtesy of Tipping Mar Placing vertical post-tensioning tendons in ducts in concrete shear walls is known to reduce rebar congestion and simplify construction. Drawing: Courtesy of Tipping Mar “We believe these advantages could significantly impact seismic design and construction of mid-rise and high-rise concrete buildings,” says Steven Tipping, president of structural
Structural engineers inspecting Christchurch’s six steel structures designed with eccentric bracing to resist seismic loads found that five performed well in the shallow Canterbury earthquake that devastated the city on Feb. 22. But the engineers are curious about why two eccentric-braced bays of a three-story parking garage did not fare well—one fractured and the other deformed. The garage did not collapse, thanks to redundancy in the overall structure. “This is the first time the level of excitation of an earthquake was at least as large as or has exceeded the design basis in an area where steel, eccentrically braced frames
A week after the devastating shallow earthquake that struck Christchurch, New Zealand, on Feb. 22, structural engineers are surprised and relieved that damage to modern engineered buildings was not even more widespread. Recordings at several instrumented sites indicated that ground motion exceeded the maximum considered event. The MCE has a one in 2,500 chance of happening in any given year. Photo Courtesy Logan Mcmillan / www.gorillapictures.co.nz Low-rise devastation frames the 26-story landmark hotel, stabilized by construction crews after one corner dropped by a meter. + Image The magnitude-6.3 Canterbury quake, centered some 10 kilometers from downtown Christchurch and only 5
Engineers, working with the city, have devised a program of repairs to the 26-story Hotel Grand Chancellor, damaged but still standing in the magnitude-6.3 earthquake Feb. 22 in Christchurch, New Zealand. Landmark hotel is in precarious position following devastating earthquake. At least one engineer, visiting from the U.S., advised the city against the repair as too risky to workers. After the remediation, owner Grand Hotels International will decide whether the building can be salvaged, say city officials. The hotel, which dropped about one meter at one end, is considered stable. The repairs will take three weeks. Damage to the hotel
