Building Statistics Part I
Project Architecture
Landis Run Intermediate school is seperated into four areas: A,B,C, and D. Areas A & B which are one story with the exception of the gymnasium
generally contain the core services of the building (i.e. mechanical room) and public gathering spaces (i.e. stage and gymnasium) as well as
administrative offices and specialized classrooms (i.e. music, orchestra, etc.). Areas C & D are two classroom wings which are three stories tall
near mirror images of eachother. Area D also contains the Library of which Picture 1 shows a rendering. The major architectural features include
the masonry veneer which includes three different types of veneer at some locations. Another notable feature are the massive curtain walls placed
throughout and most notably in the classroom wings and library. The extensive use of bamboo and daylighting makes for a bright and warm interior as seen in Figure 2.
Zoning & Codes
Landis Run Intermediate School was designed to adhere to the following codes: IBC 2006, IMC 2006, IPC 2006, IFGC 2006, ICCEC 2006, IECC 2006, and ICC/ANSI A11.1.
The building sits on land that is zoned as R-2, R-3, and B-2. The construction of a school on the residental zones was permitted by special exception.
The school is one building on part of a larger campus which also contains the elementary school and high school for the district. Nearly the entire campus is surrounded
by housing on the other side of a landscape buffer which is why there is a mix of zones on the site.
Building Enclosure
The building façade is composed of load bearing concrete masonry unit walls, which are 8" and 16" thick, with a veneer made up of brick and decorative CMUs.
There's an air space behind the veneer. The veneer is attached to load bearing concrete masonry units which have a layer of spray foam insulationon on their exterior face.
There is extensive glazing through the building and a generous number of windows for daylighting. There is a variety of types of glazing used on this project.
Different glazing used on the project includes: Monolithic Float Glass, Heat-treated float glass, and insulating glass. Depending on where they are located in the building
they may be acid etched or low e and will have varying performance requirements. Aluminum composes many exterior aspects of the building such as louvers, shades, and curtain
wall grids. The roofing system is comprised of EPDM, Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO), and sheet metal systems.
Sustainability
Landis Run Intermediate is seeking a LEED Silver rating from the United States Green Building Councils. The goals set to meet that standard are mix of design features and
construction standards. The building will utilize a white roof to reduce the heat island effect and it will also use light shades in the parking lot to reduce light
pollution in the area. In addition, it will have water efficient fixtures to reduce water consumption. Bike racks will be located on site to encourage alternative transportation
to the building. There was also extensive use of rapidly renewable resources such as bamboo and low volatile organic compound materials used throughout the project.
Other green construction methods were employed during the construction of the site such as diverting construction waste for recycling or reuse. Another construction method
implemented was disturbing as little of the surrounding environment as possible.
Building Statistics Part II
Construction
Landis Run Intermediate School sits on a relatively open site which negates the need for special safety measures and other out of the ordinary requirements. The construction of LRI was phased by areas A, B, C & D. The construction started in area A and proceeded alphabetically to Area D. There was very little excavation on site due to the fact that the building design utilized an existing grade differential. All concrete slabs were poured via pump truck. The masonry walls were grouted via pump truck as well. Scaffolds were used to construct all the walls in areas A & B while hydraulic scaffolding was utilized in areas C & D due to the height of those areas. A 70 ton mobile crane was used to set the open web steel joists and was only brought in only on days when joists were being lifted into place. Scissor lifts were utilized to install the steel angles which also support the decking.
Electrical/Lighting
Landis Run Intermediate has two distribution panels. One operates at a building uitilization voltage of 120/208V for its receptacles, lights, and other low voltage equipment. The other distribution panel operates at 277/480V for its higher voltage equipment. The electrical system has a total capacity of 2500A. The system is partially redundant. While not everything has backup power a 130 kW natural gas generator provides backup power for emergency lighting, essential mechanical equipment, and the fire supression system. There is also an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) which will provide power for all essential equipment and emergency lighting during the couple of minutes it will take for the generator to start up. The vast majority of lighting on the project is either compact flourescent bulbs or T8 lamps. An interesting thing to note is that the outdoor lights have light shades on them in order to reduce light pollution which qualifies for the LEED credit "reduce light pollution".
Mechanical
The mechanical system is a variable air volume (VAV) system. The system has a total of nine air handlers spread throughout the building with a combined total capacity of 141,610 CFM. The air handlers bring in a minimum of 75,435 CFM of outdoor air which accounts for just over 50% of their total capacity. The outdoor air delivery will be monitored to ensure that the minimum amount required is being delivered. This qualifies the project for the LEED credit "Outdoor Air Delivery Monitoring". LRI uses a combination of metal ducts and flex ducts to distribute the air flow through the building. The metal ducts are used for the main branches throughout the school and the sub branches which go into the individual rooms. The flex ducts run from the sub branches to the diffusers in the rooms. This was done so that the ducts could be routed around other objects that may be in the plenum space. The mechanical room in LRI is located in the North East corner of area B. It is seperated from all other rooms by hallways which provides a noise buffer to the surrounding music rooms and faculty room.
Structural
The structure for LRI is a load bearing masonry wall that utilizes open web K joists to support composite metal deck and roof deck. The masonry walls themselves are reinforced, grouted, and composed of Ivany bricks, with a load bearing capacity of 2000 PSI, and standard CMUs, with a compressive strength of 1500 PSI. Steel angles are bolted to the walls to support the decking at its perimeter as oppose to additional joists in order to keep costs down. The 3500 PSI concrete slabs are fiber reinforced throughtout the building. The building sits on 3000 PSI reinforced continuous footings that range from 1' to 1.5' deep. The footings were reinforced with #4 and #5 rebar.
Fire Protection
LRI utilizes a wet pipe fire protection system throughout the entirety of the school. LRI has six large precast concrete water storage tanks in the basement of area B which hold the water that supply the fire supression system in case of a fire. Although the sprinkler system does tap into the main water supply of the building, the township felt that it would not provide enough water to the system in case of a large fire and required the storage tanks to be installed.
Low Voltage Systems
Each classroom in LRI has multiple data outlets for projects as well as a built in sound system in order to facilitate videos and other digital media in order to enhance classroom learning. In addition, the school has an extensive security system in place. There are card readers at all exterior doors as well as a multitude of exterior fixed position security cameras. In addition, there are at least two cameras in every hallway of the school.