The following report is a result of the past year's research and analysis of the St. Joseph Hospital of Orange Patient Care Center & Facility Service Building.

To view the Full Final Report in PDF format, click here.

To view the Condensed Final Report (without the appendix) in PDF format, click here.

Executive Summary

This report evaluates the existing main lateral force resisting system of St. Joseph Hospital of Orange Patient Care Center & Facility Service Building. Special centrically braced frames were originally designed as the main lateral force resisting system. The system was evaluated and it was determined that a redesign to an eccentrically braced frame system with moment connection away from links would be beneficial in a construction cost stand point.
The redesign was able to reduce the seismic base shear coefficient hence reduce the amount of steel required in the main lateral force resisting system. 2 bays were eliminated from each bay set, while the overall system used smaller steel shape sections compared to the original design. A built up section was also introduced into the design of a link, which was customized to the appropriate loading criteria to ensure efficiency of the overall EBF system. Typical connections were taken into consideration and designed for according to the new AISC 341-05 seismic provisions.
The overall EBF design was then comparable to the original and a cost and time estimate was performed. The EBF system was able to reduce the structural steel density by 2.4 pound per square foot from 10 to 7.6 pounds per square foot. The redesign would save approximately $1,562,500 which is approximately 1% of the total project cost.

Breadth Study

A lighting study and redesign of the central courtyard located on level 2 was performed. That creates a place of refuge for patients and even hospital workers looking to escape the high stress, hectic and uncomfortable environment of the hospital.