The Health Centre: Structural Redesign with Reinforced Concrete Flat Slab and Shear Wall Systems

Open Access
- Author:
- Valentine, Hannah Nicole
- Area of Honors:
- Architectural Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Architectural Engineering
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Richard George Mistrick, Thesis Honors Advisor
Dr. Linda Morley Hanagan, Thesis Supervisor - Keywords:
- structure
flat slab
shear wall
vibration sensitive equipment
hospital - Abstract:
- The Health Centre is a 750,000 square foot university hospital expansion located in the southeastern United States. Built adjacent to existing hospital facility ‘Clinic B,’ this ten-story Lshaped offers state-of-the-art medical technology, additional research space, and hundreds of new hospital beds. At a height of 166 feet, the Health Centre will be the tallest building in the surrounding area when its construction is complete in 2016. The Health Centre takes its architectural cues from classical Italian and contemporary sources. Façade materials used on the building include stucco, metal panels, and a glass curtain wall. A green roof and four story underground parking garage contribute towards its goal of LEED silver certification. Structural design considerations by the engineer of record included flexibility of interior spaces and the possibility of future vertical expansion. This structural redesign of the Health Centre aims to reduce slab thickness for a more efficient use of materials and potential reduction in floor-to-floor heights. After an initial study of the existing cast-in-place skip joist gravity system, a flat slab was selected as an alternative design option. Precast reinforced concrete shear walls replaced the existing concrete moment frame system to resist wind and seismic building loads on the building. Three-dimensional modeling and hand calculation methods determined the modal response of the redesigned gravity system and its feasibility under the current criteria for vibration sensitive research equipment. Relocation of mechanical equipment Impact of the redesign and vibration criteria on construction cost and schedule.