Brookings Medical Center

Project: Brookings Medical Center

Location: Brookings, Oregon

Architect: Clark//Kjos Architects

333 NW Fifth Avenue

Portland, Oregon
97209

General Contractor:TODD Construction

Square footage: approx. 33,500 sq. ft.

Status: Completion February 2011

Brookings Medical Center which is part of the Curry General Hospital Health Network is a new facility in Brookings, Oregon.

The roof framing consist of light-gage metal joist which is sheathed with Fortacrete Structural Panels. The joist were supported by wide flange steel beams with the exception of glue-laminated beams longitudinally along the front wall because they were exposed to the lobby below. Essentially there are three different zones with the roof. On the left side was a sloping roof with a 1:12 slope towards the center. On the right side, we had a similar condition but the roof slope was 2:12. The center portion was dropped down by about three feet. In that center bay there was a penthouse for mechanical grilles.

The steel beams were supported on steel HSS columns and for the most part hidden in many of the walls. Non of the walls were used as bearing walls due to potential tenant improvements later in the building construction. However some of the walls became dedicated shear walls which attached to the roof structure.

The floor consist of steel beam framing with concrete slab on metal decking. This was about 67% of the floor area, while the remaining 33% was slab on grade. The retaining walls were formed with ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) as well as the exterior concrete non-retaining walls.

The lateral resistance on the front main entry was taken through a series of rod bracing at the mid-height and then through the column to the foundation. The architect took the opportunity to dress the connection up and developed a visually pleasing connection. Also the glue laminated beam connections at the top have been dressed up as well.

The entry canopy consist of metal decking over steel HSS beams that cantilevered beyond the steel wide flange support beam. The HSS beams were hung from the steel beam to give it that pass under look. The steel wide flange beam is supported with a steel HSS column in the center and concrete piers on the ends.

Carlton Fire Station

Project: Carlton Fire Station

Location: Carlton, Oregon

Architect: Ivars Lazdins

3004 SW Bennington Drive

Portland, Oregon
97205

General Contractor: Haworth Construction

Square footage: approx. 7,300 sq. ft.

Status: Completed Summer 2009

Carlton Fire Station was two different building types. The apparatus bay was fabricated from a pre-engineered metal building and the administration/kitchen/training was constructed with wood framing. The two buildings were separated with seismic joint so they could act independently during a seismic event. The only engineering we did on the apparatus bay was the foundation and mezzanine in the apparatus bays. Originally it was to be designed as a five bay station, but budget cuts reduced it to a four bay station with only one mezzanine.

The mezzanine was design as a self-supporting structure as well, taking all vertical and lateral loads independent of the metal building structure. The structure was plywood floor sheathing on I-joist framing to 2x wood studs and plywood shear walls. Because it was a wood structure and it was small enough, it tied into the main wood building. Therefore, it shared a shear wall.

It was a fairly conventional wood structure, with press-plate wood trusses in the roof and 2x wood studs with plywood sheathed shear walls. Because of that, the building itself presented very little field construction issues.

NCSD Oregon Trail Elementary School Additions

Project: Oregon Trail Elementary School Additions

Location: Clackamas, Oregon

Architect: Architects Barrentine Bates Lee, AIA

200 North State Street

Lake Oswego, Oregon 97034

General Contractor: Bourke Construction.

Square footage: Conference Room: 545 sq. ft. / Cafeteria Addition: 1,160 sq. ft.

Status: Completed Summer 2009

This was an addition of two new spaces to an existing elementary school. The first one was a new conference room that was added next to the main entry. It consisted of plywood web I-joist with plywood roof sheathing for the roof and plywood shear walls on wood studs. As with any remodel it is the interface of the existing structure to the new that tends to complicate a project. This one room went up without an issue regardless of the existing connections.

The cafeteria portion was added to the east side of the existing cafeteria, providing more space for the kids at lunch time. The interface on the south did not present any problems, but it was the connecting of the new structure with the existing east wall. The existing wall was framed with large glue laminated beams (8 3/4 x 21) that were supported on 8 inch square tube columns. Below the beams were a series of smaller window openings jambs to resist wind. The architect/school wanted to remove the two end columns and hide new ones in the new walls, keeping the existing center column in place. This would provide a more open space than it would have if all the columns remained. I stitched bolted a pair of steel channels (C15x40) on either side of the existing glulam beams to increase the span to the new walls. Special connections were detailed to pick up the ends of the glulams where the columns were removed.

One major issue that presented itself on the project was the west wall of the new storage room. When demolishing the wall the contractor discovered an existing drain pipe in the location where the new column was to be placed. So they relocated the column and changed some of the framing around the area. We had to reframe the wall with new LSL studs where the TJI studs were removed. The architect lost 6" of space in the storage room as a result.