Building Name: Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield Headquarters

Building Location and Site: Parkersburg, WV, located downtown on the corner of Market and 7 th St.

Building Occupancy: Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield

Function: Office

Size: 128,496 Square Feet

Number of Stories: 4 Stories top of steel 53’-10” with a screen wall for mechanical equipment extending to 67’- 6 ½”

Cost of Construction: 18 Million (GMP)

Project Delivery Method: Design Bid Build

Project Team

Historic Requirements: Not Applicable

Zoning: B, A-2, and A-3 Business and Assembly

Applicable Codes:

Architecture:

Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield Headquarters is a 4 story office building built with the intent to accompany an additional 170 employees. It is located in downtown Parkersburg, WV. The floor plans consist of mainly open office space to maximize the amount of employees in just 4 stories. The building houses the mechanical equipment on the roof. The mechanical equipment is surrounded by a screen wall that extends roughly 13’ above top of steel. The exterior of the building is a combination of brick veneer and a glass curtain wall. This helps the building sit well into the site because the majority of the surrounding buildings are older, also with a brick veneer. The large glass curtain wall shows the move towards a more modern building without completely causing the building to separate itself from the site.

Building Envelope:

The exterior wall system consists of brick veneer and a glass curtain wall. The glass curtain wall consists of 1 ½” curtain wall insulation, and gypsum board on 3 5/8” metal studs. Behind the brick veneer façade is an air space, 3” mineral wool fiber insulation, and 5/8” gypsum sheathing. The roof system is fully adhered EDPM. There is ½” cover board, 2 layers of 1 ½” rigid insulation, and 1 ½” 20 GA wide rib galvanized steel roof deck.

PART 2

Structural:

The foundation system is drilled caissons that range from 30” in diameter to 66”. They were designed to have an allowable skin friction of 550 psf. They contain a variation No. 7 to No. 8 vertical reinforced bars, and have ties that are No. 3 reinforced bars. Depending on the location on the plan the caissons are driven into the ground 59’ to 74’ below grade. The caissons support the steel framed system and the 4” concrete slab on grade. The grade beams surrounding the perimeter of the building are 24” x 30”.

MSBCBS has a composite system with 30’ x 30’ typical bay size. A 3-1/4” light weight concrete slab sits on a 2” – 20 gauge composite steel decking with ¾” studs. The deck is supported by mainly W18 x 35 beams that are spaced 10’ center to center. The majority of the girders are W21 x 62 which transfer the loads from the beams to the columns. This floor system is used for all floors except for the roof and the 4” slab on grade. The roof is made up of a 1-1/2” 20 gauge wide rib galvanized steel deck and is 3 spans continuous with 3” of concrete. The roof floor system is mainly supported by K-series joists that are spaced 6’ center to center.

The gravity columns for MSBCBS are typically W10’s. The gravity base plates have a 4 bolt connection and have a thickness varying from 1” to 1-5/8”. The lateral columns are W12’s. The lateral base plates typically have a 12 bolt connection with a thickness of 1-1/2” to 2-1/2”. The mechanical screen roof is composed of HSS 12 x 12 x 3/8 post, which connects to the beam, with a 1” thick base plate.

Four braced frames make up the lateral force resisting system for the building. The placements of these braces were based on the location of interior walls throughout the building. The purpose was to be able to conceal the braces within the walls. Several different types were used, from diagonal bracing to x bracing to uneven inverted chevron bracing. All of these braces are laid out in between floor to floor spaces. The braces range from HSS 8x8’s to HSS 10x10’s. The braces are connected using gusset plates with a minimum thickness of the beam’s web thickness. Typical base plates for these lateral columns are 2-1/2” thick with large caissons to transfer the shear forces.

Fire Protection:

Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield is equipped with automatic sprinklers and is fully sprinkled throughout the entire building. Fire alarms are also placed throughout the building in addition to the sprinkler system. The buildings wall systems are rated for a 1 hr fire rating with an exception of the masonry walls surrounding the stairways and elevators, which have a 2 hr fire rating.

Mechanical:

Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield mechanical system is designed for office space. Two rooftop air handling units supply air to these office spaces at 65000 cfm. The kitchen is supplied by a separate air handling unit that can supply air to the space up to 34000 cfm. All of the air handling units feed VAV (Variable Air Volume) Boxes for optimum heating and cooling, which individually condition the interior spaces. Several equipment rooms throughout the building are conditioned utilizing split system AC units.

Lighting/Electrical:

The main distribution panel for Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield is 277/480V, 3 Phase, 4 Wire, 4000A buss electrical system. This provides power to each panel board on the separate floors. There is also a 225 kVA uninterruptible power supply located on the first floor with a 60 minute battery backup. The feeders throughout the building are a mixture of copper and aluminum.

The majority of the lighting fixtures in this building are 2’ by 4’ decorative high efficiency fluorescent troffers, and direct/indirect linear fluorescent pendants. This optimizes light in the office spaces while using as little energy as possible. Windows placed along the façade are to utilize natural lighting of these office spaces in addition to these fixtures.

Construction:

Construction on Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield is being performed by G. A. Brown. The projects delivery method was Design Bid Build with a GMP. Construction began in March of 2008 and is projected to be completed by April 2009 costing approximately 18 million.

Telecommunications:

Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield is supplied with outlets and receptacles throughout the building. The building’s occupants will be able to set up communication systems as needed.

Transportation:

There are 3 sets of stairs throughout the building and three elevator cabs that are located right by the entrance lobby. The set of stairs that is located in the projects North West corner of the building extend all the way to the roof. The other two stair cases that are located in the south end and middle of the building only extend to the fourth floor.