General Building Statistics

Building Name:  American Eagle Quantum III South Side Works
Location:  19 Hot Metal Street, Pittsburgh, PA
Building Occupant:  American Eagle Outfitters
Building Occupancy/Function:  Office
Size:  150,000 Sq. Ft.
Height:  72’-4” to top of parapet
Story Data:  5 Stories, lower 4 floors: 13’-8” Height, upper floor varies
Dates of Construction:  May 2007 to October 2008
Project Cost:  $16 million for Building Shell and Core
Project Delivery Method:  Design-Bid-Build

Project Team

Owner:  American Eagle Outfitters
Architect:  The Design Alliance Architects
Construction Manager/Developer: The Soffer Organization
Structural Engineer:  Atlantic Engineering Services
MEP Engineer:  Tower Engineering
Civil:  The Gateway Engineers, Inc.
Landscape:  Environmental Planning and Design

Architecture

Overview and History:

American Eagle Quantum III will expand the corporate office and retail space provided by American Eagle Outfitters in the Pittsburgh, PA area while broadening the spectrum of goods offered in SouthSide Works. 

SouthSide Works formerly was the home of 40,000 immigrants who would walk to neighboring steel mills for work, but the collapse of the industry in the 1970’s cleared the area.  Since then, the local Bingham Street Church has been converted to studio residential spaces and the Jones and Laughlin Steel Mill has been converted to a retail and dining plaza.  Fine cuisine and upscale retailers to top-end living units now occupy the 34-acre site of the mill.

Building Envelope Architecture:

Quantum III will reflect the existing mood in SouthSide works with an envelope that emphasizes mass through brick façade while providing transparency through aluminum and glass curtain walls.  The building is set atop a solid concrete retaining wall, and the large yellow colored mass in the forefront of the renderings is a “branding wall” featuring a larger than life American Eagle Outfitters logo. The branding wall has since been removed from the project.

Vertical columns of façade brick backed by an airspace and 6” to 8” light gauge steel studs segment and add mass to a façade dominated by aluminum and glass on the south elevation. The north elevation includes this envelope but presents more brick with frequent large bay windows. Riverfront terrace, with the featured “Branding Wall” lines the north elevation as well.  The east and west elevations are progressively clad with increasing amounts of brick façade, and the west elevation features the service entrances.  Facades are all tied together with composite aluminum panel walls and a similar cornice.

The roofing system consists of fully adhered EPDM single ply membrane on rigid insulation; backed with 3”, 20 gauge, galvanized steel roof deck throughout.  The deck has at least 3 continuous spans, and the rigid insulation is added to allow a ¼” per foot slope to drain water while providing an R-value of 30.  The membrane is wrapped around the inside and top of the parapet to prevent leakage throughout the structure and wall systems.

Building Plan Architecture:

American Eagle Outfitters SouthSide Works features an open plan featuring only those partitions required in the core of the building: where elevators, stairs, bathrooms, storage, and lateral resisting frames are present.  The remainder of the plan is dotted with steel columns.

Zoning:

B-2 new construction classified as B (business) in Pittsburgh County, Pennsylvania.

Applicable Codes:

2003 International Building Code (IBC) as amended by the City of Pittsburgh Building Department
2003 International Mechanical Code (IMC)
2003 International Fuel Gas Code (IFGC)
2002 National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA)
2002 National Electric Code (NEC)
NCHD – Article 15

Construction

The delivery method is design-bid-build, with The Soffer Organization managing and developing the land.  American Eagle Outfitters Quantum III went out to bid December 2006, and bids were selected based on economy, constructability, and quality.  Groundbreaking occurred in May 2007 and the building envelope and core construction is scheduled to be completed in October 2008.

The contractor is responsible for the demolition of existing steel mill foundations, estimated at +/- 40’ thick, with their location to be field verified.  The majority of the site is covered by the proposed building, with roads on two sides and the Monongahela River on another—construction will therefore be tight.  Storage of materials and the construction process will require thinking outside of the box to limit interference with Pittsburgh area traffic and congestion.

Electrical Systems

American Eagle Outfitters Quantum III has 277/480 V incoming power in a 3 phase 4 wire system including a 150 kVA transformer, two 277/480 V panelboards, and four 208/120 V panelboards on the first floor. There is a separate panel for low voltage lighting as well. Floors 2 and 5 have four panels of each voltage while floors 3 and 4 have similar layouts, but only have two 277/480 V panels. Finally, power is transferred between floors via 2000A vertical bus systems.

Lighting Systems

Lighting fixtures will be provided only in stairs, emergency egress areas, and the receiving and storage facilities. Four foot fluorescent fixtures will be pendant mounted in receiving and storage, and fixtures are ceiling mounted in stair wells. Metal halide is provided for the terrace area, building façade, and aesthetically mounted in trees.  Fluorescent bulbs must have a minimum of 80 color rendering index (CRI) while metal halide lamps must achieve a CRI of 70.

The curtain wall façade will provide natural light throughout the interior of Quantum III while allowing for spectacular views of the Pittsburgh skyline and historical bridges.

Building tenants must supply all other lighting and electrical components to suit individual needs.

Mechanical Systems

QIII has two 35,000 pound rooftop air handling units providing a total 120,000 CFM. Heat recovery wheels are installed and operate at 64% efficiency for cooling and 77% efficiency for heating. The system is designed to use 36,000 CFM, or 30%, outside air.

The boiler room is located on the fifth floor, simplifying HVAC system layout by placing the units and boiler room close vertically and horizontally. Hot water is supplied via two pumps operating at 66% efficiency, pumping 250 gpm.

There are typically two VAV boxes per floor, regulating air flow vertically throughout the building.

Structural Systems

The structural system for American Eagle Quantum III is primarily composed of wide-flange steel columns and beams.  The first floor is typically 4” slab on grade reinforced with welded wire fabric (WWF); a 6” slab with similar reinforcing is placed under the fire pump, generator, switch pump, and loading areas on the northwest side of the building (opposite of Hot Metal Street). The above floors (2-5) are 3” composite light weight reinforced slab on 2” 20 gauge steel deck, with typical W18x35 beams and W24x55 girders.  The second floor contains slight cantilevers on the northwest side, overhanging the loading areas.  This is composed of cantilevered W33x141’s and W12x19’s spaced at 6’ center to center.  Third and fourth floor framing plans are exactly the same, while the fifth differs only in minor details (being a couple beams) to aid in supporting the roof system above. All three floors (3-5) are composed of the aforementioned beams and girders.  Finally, the roof framing contains mostly W16’s with W12 infill beams.  A center portion of the slab is depressed 2” and is 3” lightweight concrete on 2”, 22 gauge galvanized composite deck.  This area houses the top of the elevator shaft and mechanical units, with sloped a slab to allow for precipitation drainage. A screen surrounds this area to hide it from sight of the pedestrian below. Connections are mainly simple shear connections with few details required. Columns are typically W10’s and W12’s placed on a 30’ by 30’ grid.

The main lateral load resisting systems is comprised of five vertical trusses sporadically placed throughout the building.  One is a K-truss, visible through the curtain wall on the south elevation.  Another K-truss as well as an X-braced frame are located on the exterior walls on the east corner of the building; the last two trusses are placed at the building core, around stairwells and elevator shafts limiting architectural conflicts.  All trusses are constructed of HSS7x7 tubes with mostly W16 beams and fillet welded connections.

Foundations are 3000 psi concrete with 5000 psi, 16” end bearing 60 ton auger-cast piles. Reinforced concrete grade beams aid in counteracting lateral load uplift underneath the six vertical trusses as well as provide stability around the perimeter of American Eagle Outfitters Quantum III.  Foundation stability is a pressing issue given the Monongahela River is but 45’ away.

Please refer to Technical Report I for in depth description of all structural systems.

Fire Protection

All exit passageways, storage rooms over 100 square feet, and elevator shafts are rated for 2 hours, while stairwells are rated for 1 hour.  A smoke control system is proposed though not required by code.  The structural frame and other floor and roof construction require no specific fire protection—therefore no special protection is provided.

Two fire pumps supply water to the two sprinkler zones, with sprinklers located 12’ on center—spacing is lowered where NFPA has special wall spacing requirements.  Also, standpipes are located in each of the two stairwells of American Eagle Outfitters: Quantum III.  One stairwell is located on the exterior wall towards the east corner of the building, and the other is an interior stairwell on the north half of QIII.

Transportation

There are three entrances/exits on the first floor with two exits on each floor above. A loading and unloading area is provided on the northwest side of the building.  The loading docks are angled roughly 45 degrees to allow a semi trailer and trash collection to fit on the site, given the tight edge clearance of the building on all sides.

Three elevators are provided. The first is a cargo elevator provided by the interior stair, while the remaining two border the core bathrooms and mechanical shafts.  These two elevators are open to future tenant use.

Communications

Two way communication between the building tenants/operators and fire agencies is provided with each individual tenant installing personal communication needs. Service and data rooms are provided with their own VAV boxes on each floor and are aligned vertically for easy installation of multiple floor systems.