Simmons College
School of Management

Boston, Ma

Kevin Wigton - Structural Option

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Building Statistics

General Building Data

Building Name: Simmons College School of Management
Location & Site:  Boston Proper, Institutional Master Plan Area
  300 The Fenway, Boston, Ma
Building Occupant:  Simmons College
Function:  Educational Facility
Size: 66,500 sf
Stories: Five floors above grade, five below grade parking levels
Project Team
Owner: Simmons College
CM: Lee Kennedy
Payton Construction
Project Manager: Lynne Deninger Cannon Design
Bill Massey Cannon Design
Architect: Andy Goetze Cannon Design
Structural Engineer: John Boekelman Cannon Design
Mechanical Engineer: John Swift Cannon Design
Plumbing Engineer: Mike Forth Cannon Design
Geotechnical Engineer: Bob Hoyler McPhail Associates
Dates of Construction
Start Date: August, 2006
Completion Date: December, 2008
Cost: $63 Million, total project cost including the site
Project Delivery Method: Construction Manager at risk, Design, Bid, Build

Figure 1 Image Courtesy of Cannon Design

Architecture
Summary: The Simmons College School of Management building is a five story educational facility with an additional five levels of sub grade parking. Vehicles access the building under its southwest corner and enter into a centrally planned garage. Two way, and one-way traffic patterns are utilized to access the 147 parking spaces per floor. The parking garage transitions to the building at the plaza level. Here, much of the 222 foot square garage is covered by the landscaped quad to the north of the building. The superstructure sits on the southeast corner of the garage. Primary pedestrian access to the building is from the quad into the main lobby area. Interior spaces include classrooms, offices, and administrative areas. A green roof patio overlooking the quad is accessible from the fifth floor. A curving metal screen hides mechanical units on the roof. See figure one above.

Figure 2 Image Courtesy of Cannon Design
Major Model Codes: Massachusetts State Building Code 2006
Zoning: The Simmons Collge School of Management lies within the institutional master plan area of Boston Proper. The project met all local Boston Zoning requirements as well as the requirements of the Longwood medical and Academic Area interm guidlines.
Historical Requirements: During the construction it was necessary to protect adjacent structures. These existing buildings included the Gardner Museum and the Boston Latin School.
Building Enclosure
Sub Grade Parking Garage: The below grade parking garage is enclosed by a 3' thick slurry wall on all sides. For waterproofing of the substructure the exterior of the wall is covered with two layers of liquid membrane waterproofing and a layer of protection board. The surfaces below the quadrangle are treated in a similar fashion with liquid applied waterproofing and protective board allowing for water to flow to drains covererd by decorative pavers.
Building Facade: The facade fo the Simmons College School of Management utilizes a combination of different materials to develope its architectural aesthetic. Curtainwall system veneers are hung from steel angles with metal stud backups for the exterior wall. A limestone veneer is used for the light colored façade elements with a brick veneer used as the darker infill at floors two through four. An aluminum curtainwall system with a kaynar finish and insulated glass is used for the fifth floor and the main entrance. The glazing system uses a combination of insulated vision glass that is tempered and insulated vision glass unit tempered and 100% fritted. Granite bases and aluminum flashing are used throughout the building. For a view of the building materials see figure one above.
Roofing: On the roof of the building membrane roofing with tapered insulation is used to form the weather barrier. Built up from the concrete roof decking is a vapor barrier, tapered rigid insulation, dens-deck board, and a top layer of membrane sheathing.
Sustainability Features
Summary: The design of the Simmons College School of Management building was evaluated by the US Green Building Council according to the LEED rating system. The building obtained all of the prerequisite requirements as well as all 40 credits that were attempted during design to obtain a LEED Gold rating. Reductions in energy usage and potable water consumption were among the design features of the building.
Breakdown of Points Achieved
Sustainable Site: 9
Water Efficiency 2
Energy and Atmosphere: 9
Materials and Resources: 7
Indoor Environmental Quality: 8
Innovation & Design Process: 5
Total: 40

Figure 3 Image Courtesy of Cannon Design
System Summaries
Structural System: The Simmons College School of Management uses two primary sturctural sytems to carry gravity loads through the building. In the below grade parking garage a two way flat plate post tensioned floor system is used. All slabs are 14 inches thick and use 6500 psi concrete to span the typical 36’x32’ bays. Additionally these floor plates provide the lateral support for the exterior slurry wall to resist soil pressure. Interior columns in the parking garage are W14s with linear weights ranging from 159 to 398 lbs/ft. At the below grade levels columns are encased in 2’-8” of concrete forming round columns that allow the connection for PT slabs.

The above grade structure of the building is primarily composed of steel wide flange shapes. Columns at these levels continue to use W 14 shapes with the most common member being a W14x90. Composite floor systems are used at all above grade levels using wide flange shapes with varying number of shear studs to utilize the 5.25” light weight concrete floor slabs. The lateral system for the above grade structure uses a combination of braced and moment frames to resist wind and seismic loads. Provisions are made in the structural system for future expansion of the building.
Mechanical Systems: The cooling loads for the Simmons College School of Management are approximately 165 tons and are handled by the existing campus chilled water loop. The necessary upgrades to the chilled water plant were made prior to the completion of the building project. Spaces are serviced by terminal fan coil units and chilled radiant ceiling panels. The heating loads of the building are met by the circulation hot water through the building to fan coil units serviced by the campus central boiler plant.

A single 9000 CFM dedicated outside air, air handling unit will service the ventilation demands of the building. The below grade parking garage is controlled by a carbon monoxide monitoring system and is ventilated but not heated.
Electrical and Lighting Systems: Main electrical service is provided by the existing 15kV campus loop. Electrical systems in th building, similar to the structural systems, are designed for the current load with considerations for future building expansion. Equipment dedicated for electrical distribution is located in electrical closets on each individual floor. The 480V provides service for lighting with 208Y/120 volts, 3 phase, servicing lower voltage needs such as wall receptacles.

The lighting system is designed to integrate daylighting as well as sensing controls to increase the energy efficiency of the building. Sensors are connected to the HVAC system as well to maximize energy efficiency.  Interior spaces use a combination of fluorescent lighting, halogen, and LED systems. Typical interior fluorescent lighting is provided by T5 and T8 lamps with electronic ballasts. Cold temperature areas are serviced by T12 high output lamps with magnetic ballasts.
Special Construction Considerations: The excavation of the parking garage was executed in the top down construction method. Construction of the slurry wall and installation of interior column and load bearing element foundations were done prior to the main excavation of the sight. Post tension slabs when installed provide the lateral support for the slurry wall as excavation continued. Special considerations were made for a crane to be located at the plaza level of the sight during the construction of the above grade levels.

 

 

User Note

“Note: While great efforts have been taken to provide accurate and complete information on the pages of CPEP, please be aware that the information contained herewith is considered a work‐in‐progress for this thesis project. Modifications and changes related to the original building designs and construction methodologies for this senior thesis project are solely the interpretation of Kevin Wigton. Changes and discrepancies in no way imply that the original design contained errors or was flawed. Differing assumptions, code references, requirements, and methodologies have been incorporated into this thesis project; therefore, investigation results may vary from the original design.”

“This page was last updated on 5/1/10 by Kevin Wigton and is hosted by the AE Department ©2009”