Project 1: Nexus condominium tower and parking structure, San Diego
Seemingly overnight, downtown San Diego’s quiet, industrial East Village has transformed into a bustling urban multi-story residential, mixed-use neighborhood in conjunction with the opening of Petco Park, the San Diego Padres’ Major League Baseball park, in 2004. Competition is fierce among residential developers in the area who are anxious to complete projects as quickly as possible.
Speed of construction was a critical consideration for the developers of the 76-unit Nexus condominium tower, the first multi-story residential project constructed in San Diego since the 1980s. The speed and efficiency offered by the design-build steel team of eSteel, Albuquerque, NM, reduced the design, fabrication and erection time of the framing system for the tower to a minimum, allowing the prime contractor, Dallas-based Centex Construction (now Balfour Beatty Construction), to complete construction and developer Centex Homes to open the project in late 2006.
The eSteel team, comprised of the Albuquerque, NM-based structural engineering firm Chavez-Grieves Consulting Engineers Inc., steel fabricator AmFab Inc., and steel detailer dtl’s Inc., consulted with the rest of the project team, including architecture firm KMA Architects, San Diego, on a number of framing solutions before selecting a buckling restraint braced frame system (BRBF). In all, 2,000 tons of structural steel was used on the project, which included eight floors of steel-framed above-grade residential and mixed-use space and three floors of below-grade steel-framed parking.
Because this was the first time the BRBF structural system had been used in San Diego, the design team worked with the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and the city in an extensive review process to gain approval for the system, which acts as a large shock absorber versus a typical braced frame, which resists loads rigidly. The system works with a steel strap or band inside a tube that is grouted solid, says Chavez-Grieves VP Scott Heatly, P.E.
Inefficiencies that exist in the design and construction of a typical project that uses 2-D drawings were drastically reduced with the steel package. The eSteel team used 3-D modeling and interoperable Building Information Modeling (BIM) software so that design, detailing and fabrication information could be exchanged between the team members, reducing duplication in the creation of models and shop drawings as they are passed from one team member to another.
Project 2: The Palazzo Resort, Hotel, and Casino, Las Vegas
The largest steel-frame building project under construction in the US, the Palazzo’s 52-story tower rises 643 feet above four levels of steel-framed underground parking. Using 70,000 tons of structural steel in all, the seven million s.f., $1.6 billion expansion to the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino will feature 3,025 luxury suites, a 105,000-sf casino, 375,000 s.f. of enclosed upscale shopping, dining, and entertainment, and 475,000 s.f. of added meeting and conference space.
Upon completion this year, the combined Venetian, Palazzo, and Sands Expo Center will be the largest resort and hotel complex in the world with more than 7,000 suites and two million square feet of meeting and convention space. The project is the second expansion to the Venetian Resort and the third project that structural steel specialty contractor Schuff Steel Co., Phoenix, will complete at the site. Walter P. Moore, Houston, is the project’s structural engineering firm.
Having completed two earlier expansions, Schuff was brought onboard the fast-track project to assist the Palazzo design development team, which included Las Vegas construction firm Taylor International and Dallas architecture firm HKS, Inc., with regular participation and input in the team’s design meetings as the various project scenarios were evaluated. Schuff’s input included materials availability coordination, early production capacities commitments, project best cost evaluations and alternatives to achieve overall project construction schedule reductions. This methodology allowed the Palazzo team to stay current with project cost projections, as well as reduce the project development and construction cycle historically encountered on mega-projects.
Project 3: Denver Newspaper Agency, Denver, CO
Structural steel specialty contractor Puma Steel, Cheyenne, WY, and steel erector LPR Construction, Loveland, CO, won accolades from design-build contractor Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Greeley, CO, for their contributions in a design-assist capacity toward the successful design, construction and completion of the new Denver Newspaper Agency headquarters. The building, which opened last year, houses Denver’s two daily newspapers.
The 481,305 s.f. project is comprised of a seven-story structural steel office building on top of a four-story concrete parking garage. Derek Hoeschen, project engineer for Hensel Phelps, credited Puma Steel’s early involvement in the schematic design phase, which “allowed for innovative design of the various connections in the building, including many different radiuses, cantilevers, and architecturally exposed structural steel.”
Puma Steel’s involvement early and throughout the design and construction process enabled it to procure the structural steel early, reducing the impact of volatility in the market. The company also played a key role in coordination with other trades including the M/E/P and exterior curtain wall specialty contractors. As for the steel, sequencing was critical to the project, which was located on an urban site with little laydown area.
On the design side, with the design-build project moving fast and construction documents not well defined — and some details not shown at all — the structural steel specialty contractor demonstrated an “ability to create shop drawings and fabricate functional elements of the building from little more than a schematic sketch,” Hoeschen said.
The building, which cost $65 million to construct, proved profitable for its owner, which recently sold the building for $92 million.
Project 4: Vought Aircraft manufacturing complex, North Charleston, SC
If you have a good thing, then stick with it. That could be the mantra of the design-build team that is at work on its third building at the Vought Aircraft Industries manufacturing complex in North Charleston, SC. The 480,000 s.f. plant, which was completed in 2006, manufactures fuselage sections for Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
Led by design-builder BE&K Building Group, Greenville, SC, the project team, which included Suitt Construction, Greenville, SC, as contractor, and BRPH Architects-Engineers Inc., Melbourne, FL, as architect, brought Greenville, SC’s CMC South Carolina Steel and its structural engineering firm CMC Cary Engineering Consultants into the project to assist from the outset. The first two projects came in on schedule and on budget and the third paint building will use 5,000 tons of structural steel and 2,500 tons of joist.
“We were one of the first companies at the table,” says Edward Garvin, executive VP of CMC South Carolina Steel. By coming onboard early in the project, Garvin says the specialty contractor is able to use its experience to give the owner the best return on its investment.
CMC South Carolina Steel’s history of delivering the structural steel package on design-build work since the 1960s and its long-standing relationship of working on design-build projects with BE&K cleared the way for the structural steel specialty contractor’s involvement in the project. “To get to the table you have to have credentials,” says Garvin. “The prime contractor has to be comfortable with the specialty contractors. His players also have to be on solid ground financially.”
Architecture firm BRPH’s existing relationship with CMC Cary Engineering as the structural engineer also was a major factor in the success of the projects. “In most cases you have to do preliminary designs before you are awarded the job,” says Garvin. “Having Cary Engineering helps us design jobs to give a very competitive bid.” This relationship also gives CMC South Carolina Steel a leg up once the company has been awarded the project, Garvin says, because “we’ve already designed the job before it is out.” The BRPH/Cary Engineering/South Carolina Steel relationship has extended to other aerospace projects including one in Savannah, Ga., which involves 2,300 tons of structural steel and 12 380-ft span trusses.
Project 5: William Beaumont Hospital expansion, Troy, MI
William Beaumont Hospital is located in the heart of Troy, MI, an area of Detroit undergoing rapid growth. With the increasing demand for hospital space to service the growing population, Beaumont has expanded its Troy hospital multiple times in recent years. Structural steel specialty contractor Douglas Steel Fabricating Corp., Lansing, MI, has been a part of the building team on its previous major expansions.
The hospital’s west addition project, on which erection was completed in the summer of 2001, had a tight schedule with which to contend. To accelerate the project, the owner chose to negotiate an early contract with Douglas Steel, which teamed up with LCF Skanska and Harley Ellis (now Harley Ellis Devereaux) to optimize the design efficiency. Mill orders were placed early to secure the best material deliveries. Detailing progressed along with finalization of the design.
With the hospital’s two latest additions currently in design, a four-story, approximately 160,000 s.f. ambulatory care center and approximately 268,000 s.f. east campus and cardiac care facility, Douglas Steel has once again been brought onboard early to team with Harley Ellis Devereaux. With the description of the project very general in nature and largely undefined, Douglas based its cost estimates on the west addition.
Early involvement on a project can mean months of commitment from the specialty contractor and on this latest hospital addition Douglas has been involved for months developing ideas and refining framing solutions to enhance the project’s design and constructability. Douglas’ VP of Sales, Mike Szostak, P.E., says that the company began work on the project last fall, but that it wouldn’t start seeing drawings of the project until mid-March.
However, this is where the structural steel specialty contractor adds true value to a construction project, says Lawrence F. Kruth, P.E., Douglas’s engineering and safety manager. Even without yet having drawings to work with, the structural design team has a 3-D model, say Kruth, and “we’re working on the core and shell.”
Project 6: SpringHill Suites hospitality, Terre Haute, IN
The structural system for the 54,000 s.f. SpringHill Suites hotel project under way in Terre Haute, IN, was developed through the teamwork of the contractor, engineer and architect working with Terre Haute structural steel specialty contractor The Benchmark Group, acting in a design-assist capacity. Benchmark, together with the Indianapolis project team of architect Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf Inc., engineer Lawson-Elser Consulting Engineers Inc., contractor Merlin King Inc., and Montreal, Quebec, detailer Datadraft Inc., determined the most efficient, effective, and expedient construction considering winter weather, project location, and owner-driven schedules.
The resulting hybrid frame structural design, which used 200 tons of steel beams and columns supporting precast concrete hollow core slabs on each floor and roof, combined with a collaborative exchange of ideas among teams members, resulted in a project that is expected to open 45 days ahead of schedule following a seven-month construction window.
According to Benchmark, each end of the three-story building was anchored by a fully reinforced and grouted masonry stair tower plus central elevator shaft all erected in advance of the structural steel and plank. The vertical sequencing of the structural fame and plank allowed the other specialty contractors to begin build-out at about the halfway point of erection, thus expediting the overall project.
Being involved up front in the project enabled Benchmark to bring time- and cost-saving benefits to the project. Such was the case with the masonry stair towers, which were erected with notches already cut in them, allowing them to easily accept the precast planks.
The notches are but one example of the innovative thinking and cooperation that has taken place on the project, says Benchmark president Ted Hazeldine.
Project 7: Christina Landing parking structure, Wilmington, DE
Open deck parking structures are well suited for design-build because typically they are simple structures, which require limited coordination with mechanical and plumbing systems. The Christina Landing parking structure in Wilmington, DE, which topped out in mid-2006, is a prime example of the successful design-build partnership forged by structural steel specialty contractor Berlin Steel Construction Co., Kensington, CT, with structural engineer Simon Design Engineering, Wellesley, MA, and precast concrete supplier Bayshore Concrete Products Corp., Cape Charles, VA.
The three companies have combined to produce a number of hybrid parking structures, which use a structural steel framing system with precast concrete double T decks. For the Christina Landing project, the design-build team contracted with the Wilmington office of prime contractor Gilbane Building Co. to produce the structure, which contains 400 spaces on eight levels. Designed by Burt Hill Kosar Rittleman Architects, Pittsburgh, the project is owned by BPG Residential Partners.
The design-build partnership allowed the steel team to put a specific price on the 150,000 s.f. project, develop a package containing clear lines of responsibility, conduct a design process that was free of RFIs — because the team controlled the process — and develop a suitable schedule with firm delivery dates. “Design-build leaves us the flexibility to do what is necessary for the best economy,” says Dave Hunt, executive VP with Berlin Steel. “And it’s headache-free for the owner.”
INFO: AISC (www.aisc.org)