Building Statistics

General Building Statistics:

Building Name: Penn State Recreation Hall Wrestling & Fitness Center Addition & Renovation
Location and Site: University Park, PA 16802
Building Occupant Name: The Pennsylvania State University
Function: Student Fitness Center & Wrestling Area
Size:         Addition: 19,794 ft2
                  Renovation: 28,587ft2
                  Total: 48,381 ft2
Number of Stories Above Grade: 1 Mezzanine
Primary Project Team:
                 Owner: The Pennsylvania State University
                 Architect & Engineer: L. Robert Kimball and Associates
                 Construction Manager/General Contractor: Gilbane Building Company
                 Main Primes:
Dates of Construction:
Start: April 1, 2005
Substantial Completion: September 1, 2006
Final Completion: October 15, 2006
Construction Cost: $13,145,206.00
Project Delivery Method: Fast Track Method

Building System Information:

Architecture:

The Recreation Hall Wrestling & Fitness Center offers a new face on an older building. The curved glass curtain wall on the main face of the building allows a smooth transition for passerbies traveling along Atherton Street as well as a scenic view looking outside onto the newly developed West side of Pennsylvania State University. The brick that encompasses a large portion of the façade, allows the new section of the building to correlate with the existing building façade. The interior of the addition is very spacious due to the use of a mezzanine level for the second floor which occupies only half of the building footprint. This allows students using the fitness equipment on the mezzanine level to oversee the activities occurring on the ground floor wrestling mats. A trellis on the side of the building facing the Burrowes Street draws the attention of pedestrians as well as creates a more inviting entrance into the building. Upon entering the building through the covered walkway, the “Walk of Honor” corridor allows visitors to view the many accomplishments of the Penn State Wrestling Team in trophy cases and on hanging plaques.
One aspect of the renovation phase of this project will furnish the wrestling team with a new locker room as well as a Trainer’s room. The remaining portion of the renovation phase is a face lift to the existing wrestling room and fitness area, which includes new wrestling mats and the installation of bleachers in the wrestling room.

Codes:

The main codes followed for the design of Recreation Hall Addition were:
IBC 2000
NFPA 72

Zoning:

Penn State University has their own zoning codes, which I am in the process of obtaining from Penn State officials.

Historical Requirements:

No historical requirements were used in the design and construction of this building.

Building Envelope:

The façade of the building is composed of three parts. The majority of the part of the building facing Atherton Street consists of a glass curtain wall. The remainder of the building is enclosed using clay brick, which matches the brick façade of the existing building, with a masonry back up wall.

The roof system consists of acoustical metal decking, on which a layer of rigid insulation, R-30, is placed. The remainder of the roof system is a single ply membrane roof system.

Construction:

The method for the renovation phase of this building is very delicate, as the work must be completed without affecting ongoing classes and sports. In order to accomplish this task night work was implemented, and coordinated very closely with the appropriate subcontractors and owners. It was very crucial to comply with the dates scheduled with the owner for various MEP shutdowns, as many arrangements were made to allow for such work to occur. Also, with the continued operation of the building during construction required the building of many temporary walls, doors and handicap ramps in order to maintain safety for the occupants.

The contract for this job was made of three parts, the primary section, alternate 1 and alternate 2. Alternates 1 and 2 were placed into effect as money became available to the owner. The primary scope of work consisted of the addition and renovation of the South section of the ground floor. Alternate 1 involves the renovation of the wrestling locker room and trainer facility. Alternate 2 includes the renovation of the basket locker room into an aerobics facility.

Electrical:

The electric service for this building is 480/277 and will be attained from the existing high voltage utility feed. The existing switchgear will be replaced with a 1000 amp, 480V, 3 phase switchboard. Two transformers will be installed to reduce the Voltage from 480/277 to 120/208 for receptacles and lighting. Secondary distribution will be installed in the addition section of the building.

Standby emergency power will be fed by the existing campus emergency distribution loop. A transformer is required to feed a 60A, 277V, single phase panel for the emergency lighting.

Mechanical:

The mechanical system for the Recreation Hall addition consists of 4 indoor Air Handling Units. The AHU’s will retain a plate energy recovery unit which will supply pre-condition outside air to the building. The renovation phase requires 4 fan coil units, which Penn State deems AHU’s due to the percentage of outside air used during operation. Both systems include hot water heating coils and chilled water cooling coils.

The heating system uses the campus steam system in a steam-to-heating hot water converter. The cooling system utilizes the main campus chilled water distribution feed, which is fed from an on campus chiller plant.

Structural:

The structural system for this building begins with mini piles, on average 60’ in length. On top of the mini piles are cast in place pile caps which tie into cast in place grade beams and piers. The grade beams differ in size ranging from 18 wide and 24” deept to 45” wide and 36” deep, with reinforcement varying in size from #5 bars to #10 bars. The piers range from 16” wide by 16” long to 40” wide and 100” long, with reinforcement of #4 bars to #7 bars. Tube steel columns are connected into the grade beams and piers through the use of anchor bolts. The majority of the beams in the building are of W shape. Joists span the distance between the steel beams. CMUs are also used on the exterior walls of the building, connecting to the structural steel members.

Fire Protection:

The addition will be equiped with a wet sprinkler system. In order to feed this system, a new underground combination of domestic/fire service will be installed. All sprinkler heads will be quick response type. The feeds for the sprinkler heads will be schedule 10 black steel pipes. Any exposed piping will be painted with corrosion resistant paint. The hangers will be fastedned to the structural members of the building and of the adjustable clevis or band type. The system will be equiped to handle an extension of the fire system into the existing gymnasium on the first floor at a future date. In order to accomodate for this future expansion, a capped wet sprinkler line along with a supervised valve and water flow switch will be located on the first floor near the gymnasium.

No passive system will be in place, as code does not require fireproofing for this size of building.

Transportation:

Two passenger elevators will be installed for this project. One will be installed in the addition part of the building and one in the renovation area of the building. The elevators have one door and span from the ground floor to the second floor of the building.
One decorative interior main stair case will be constructed spanning from the addition to the existing building. Along with this main stair case a fire exit stairwell will be erected in the addition portion of the building, extending from the exterior grade of the building, approximately 8’ below finished floor, to the second floor.

Telecomunication:

Data and telephone lines will be installed to various parts of both the existing building and addition. The data lines consist of fiber optic and CAT 6 for data and UTP riser cable for voice. Penn State will install their own distribution frame for both systems, I am in the process of gathering information on this process from a Penn State representative.

LEED:

It is the goal of the owner, architect, engineers and construction managers to develop Recreation Hall into a high performance green building. The certification that will be obtained on this building is that of silver. Practices that were focused on in order to achieve this certification include:
1.) Soil and erosion control during construction activities.
2.) 25% post-development reduction in storm water run-off.
3.) 30% high-albedo materials for non-roof impervious surfaces to reduce “heat island” effects.
4.) 75% high-albedo Energy Star roofing materials that reduce “heat island” effects.
5.) Exterior lighting designed to eliminate light pollution and light trespass off- site.
6.) Water consumption reductions of at least 20% relative to the Energy Policy Act of 1992.
7.) Fundamental and Additional Commissioning.
8.) Energy consumption reductions by cost of 30% annually
9.) Lighting power density averaging no more than 1.0 watts/SF
10.) Daylighting design with photocell sensored dimming and occupant sensors
11.) High performance thermal envelope including R-32 roof and R-22 walls
12.) High performance windows and curtain wall to eliminate perimeter heating systems
13.) 100% reuse of existing building shell and 50% of non-shell components
14.) Construction waste management plan to diver over 75% waste from landfill disposal
15.) Over 10% of building materials by cost that contains recycled content
16.) Over 40% of building materials by cost manufactured regionally
17.) Over 50% of wood materials certified in accordance with FSC requirements
18.) Blended cement concrete utilizing blast furnace slag to displace 40% of Portland cement
19.) Carbon dioxide sensors with deman-controlled ventilation
20.) Selection of low-VOC adhesives, sealants, paints, carpets composite wood products