Andrew Solomon
Structural
M. Kevin Parfitt
September 9th, 2005
Owner...................................................... Willow
Valley Retirement Community, Inc.
Designer/Builder........................... Paul
Risk Associates, Inc.
Architect................................................ Bernardon
Haber Holloway Architects
Structural Engineer....................... Baker Ingram and
Associates
Mechanical Engineer................... Protech Mechanical
Contractors
Electrical Engineer........................ Haller
Enterprises
Civil Engineer.................................... RGS
Associates
Interior Designers......................... JSA Architects
Food Service Designer...............
Geotechnical Consultants...... CVM Industries
The
site chosen for the new
$11.8
Million is the estimated total owner cost in which Paul Risk and Associates
presented to the owners on this Design-Build project.
Construction
started on May 15th, 2005 and is expected to commence by April 1st,
2006
A
two toned brick façade with mansard/false gabled shingle roof was used on this
building to complement the existing buildings in Spring Run. There are three wings to this Y shaped
building and each wing is anchored on the building end with a hipped roof
tower. False windows were added to some
of the towers to minimize the amount of blank exterior walls. A Porte-cochere is to be added at the grand
entrance to allow for a tour bus to pass through.
The
entrance is to act as a “grand hotel” entry lobby with a two story atrium. The first floor public thoroughfare (from
entry to dining room) is designed to reflect as a retail “main street” to the
residents and visitors with access to dining, café, administration, rest rooms,
library, mailroom, and lounge areas.
IBC
2003 was used in the design of this building along with local codes and zoning
restrictions. The height restriction was
exceeded so to fall back into code, the designers were forced to shift the
footprint. The zoning setbacks on the
North and South boundaries forced the architect to be creative. After the building moved, redistribution of
parking spaces had to be approved again.
The deletion of an originally planned parking garage made this a bigger
issue. I am still waiting on a reply
from the owner’s rep
During
excavation, bedrock levels varied greatly from that of the geotechnical
surveys. This caused a combination of
blasting/over-excavation/stone column work in order to get a class A rating.
Because
of the complications with this project and zoning, 3 different architects were
utilized and the project was reviewed by the township two times.
The
building site is original zoned R-3 (Medical/Residential). The final land plan was approved after going
through a second conditional use hearing but it had 22 conditions
attached. This is a significant amount
of conditions for such a small building.
Construction Method – Paul Risk and Associates was hired by the owner to
supervise the design and construction of the building. It is a design build project with little
prefabricated structural elements. This
is important to Paul Risk because they can order material on an as-needed
basis. I am waiting to hear from the
contractor on any more special construction means or methods.
Structural System – The 8” load bearing reinforced masonry walls are also the
shear resistance for the building. The
floors and roof are comprised of pre-cast concrete plank flooring along with a
topping to make for a smooth surface.
The use of a pre-cast floor system limited the distance of spans to 30
feet. There are steel columns where a
masonry wall or pier is not feasible.
The load bearing masonry walls rest upon wall footings while the steel
columns are supported by spread footings.
Electrical - Willow Valley
Retirement Community, Inc. owns their own primary electric grid on their
properties. All buildings are supplied
with 480/277volt secondary services.
Electrical systems within the buildings are pretty standard; power,
lighting, fire alarm, communications, data, and sound systems. Emergency power
generation is provided through diesel and natural gas powered generators.
Lighting – The typical lighting
system in the building is 48” florescent lamps in 2’x4’ light fixtures which
are going to fit into the suspended ACT ceiling.
I
am waiting to hear from the contractor about the use of any special lighting
anywhere in the building. From previous
conversations he implied he did not know of any but is going to talk to someone
who would know more.
Mechanical - Most buildings in this
area are served by a water source heat pump system. This system uses a closed loop of circulated
water to serve as the primary heat exchange media for both cooling and heating
seasons. Heat is rejected from the loop with an outdoor cooling tower; heat is
introduced to the loop through a gas boiler depending on the building demand
for cooling or heating. This system is very efficient for large, full time
occupied buildings such as apartments.
Telecommunications - A communications duct
bank parallels the primary electric grid throughout the property.
Transportation – There are two elevators
located near the main lobby/grand entry along with 1 stairwell at the end of
each wing.
Fire Protection – there are both passive and active fire protection
systems. All masonry walls act as a fire
wall and the pre-cast concrete floor planks contain their own fire rating. There is a full sprinkler system in all parts
of the building to suppress a fire.