Standards Engineers To Develop Guidance On Disproportionate Collapse The Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers is seeking volunteers to join a two-year project to develop a standard for the mitigation of disproportionate collapse in buildings. Among its many provisions, the standard likely will address the risk assessment necessary to determine the need for extra collapse resistance against extraordinary damaging events. In another standards action, SEI/ASCE plans to release for public comment an updated standard on seismic rehabilitation for existing buildings; that standard is expected in May. ASCE/SEI 41-13 is scheduled for completion in September; it will
Rendering Courtesy Elkus Manfredi Proposed New Balance headquarters building (left) will anchor a 14-acre complex that will include a 175-room hotel (center). Athletic shoe manufacturer New Balance plans to build a 14-acre world headquarters complex featuring LEED-certified buildings in Boston's blighted Allston-Brighton area, located along the Massachusetts Turnpike. The proposed complex includes at least four office buildings, restaurants, a 175-room hotel and a sports complex with a 200-meter track-and-field facility, according to a master plan filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority on March 21. The new 250,000-sq-ft headquarters building, designed in the shape of a running shoe, will not exceed 130
Surprisingly positive results from the first of four large-scale tests of reinforced-concrete link beams with embedded structural steel sections have further opened the door to more-constructible concrete towers in highly seismic zones. Link beams over openings in concrete shear-wall cores have long been the bane of builders because of intense reinforcing-steel congestion, which slows construction.During the first-ever large-scale test, the beam performed much better than anticipated. Given the importance of link beams in core-wall buildings, understanding performance at a meaningful scale is of "critical importance," says Ron Klemencic, president of structural engineer Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), Seattle.MKA is one of
The main structural elements of the retractable skylight, each 10.5 tons, had to be lifted at night onto their rooftop rail girders, using three cranes.
With all the heavy lifting done, three waterfalls cascading and the fish spawning, no one would suspect how much strenuous exercise it took to design, engineer and construct a 1,225-ft-long replica of Salt Lake City's City Creek.
Score another small victory for more-constructible high-rises, especially in seismic zones. Results of recent load tests on a "sandwich" shear-wall assembly, designed to simplify and speed construction of core shear walls surrounded by steel frames, are equal to or better than anticipated, say researchers.The sandwich, called a dual-plate composite shear wall because its steel- plate walls are filled with lightly reinforced concrete, is not for use only in seismic zones. "It is a great system for multihazard mitigation because it is good for seismic, wind and gravity loads as well as blast resistance," says Ron Klemencic, president of Seattle-based structural
Rendering courtesy of Related Cos The choice of a firm not based in New York City has angered some groups. Work on the $4-billion Hudson Yards project on Manhattan's West Side is set to start by late summer with the recently announced surprise choice of Tutor Perini, Sylmar, Calif., as prime contractor. New York City-based developers Related Cos. and Oxford Properties Group say they will form Hudson Yards Builders, a joint venture with Tishman Construction, to operate as owner-builder for the 26-acre site that is Manhattan's single-largest undeveloped property."[Tutor Perini] has an exemplary track record with complex, large-scale developments," says
Image courtesy FXFOWLE Work will soon begin on the 606-foot-tall Renaissance Tower in Istanbul, Turkey. Image courtesy FXFOWLE Located on the Asian side of Istanbul, the 44-story tower will be a highly visible landmark in this city of roughly 12 million people. A 606-ft-high chiseled obelisk designed by FXFOWLE, New York City, will delineate the eastern entrance to Istanbul when construction finishes in July 2014. Renaissance Tower, as the office building will be known, is being developed by Ankara-based Renaissance Construction Co., which plans to lease most of the 914,900-sq-ft high-rise.Located on the Asian side of Istanbul, the 44-story tower
The inventors and original supplier of a popular shear-stud reinforcement for two-way flat slabs in concrete frames are up in arms over charges, based on recent research, that the American Concrete Institute's model code governing use of the studs is flawed. The researchers claim that, consequently, there is potential for premature failure due to punching shear at slab-column connections, especially under earthquake loads.A. Ghali, professor emeritus of civil engineering, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and the lead researcher for original studies on shear studs dating back to the 1970s, disagrees. Extensive testing shows that code-specified "equations and detailing for the
The Council on Tall Buildings & Urban Habitat is vigorously advancing its mission—to help upgrade skyscraper production by offering better design tools and standardizing practice worldwide. In a fundamental shift, the 42-year-old CTBUH is engaging in research, including a $2-million fire study that will culminate in a real building burn.Next year, CTBUH plans to publish five design guidelines on wind-tunnel testing, structural outriggers, performance-based seismic design, column shortening, foundations and natural ventilation. “There is a need for better tall buildings around the world,” said Antony Wood, CTBUH's executive director, at the CTBUH 2011 World Conference in Seoul. The Oct. 10-12