General Building Data

Building Name:                                  151 First Side
Location and Site:                             151 Fort Pitt Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA
Building Owners:                              EQA Landmark Communities
                                                             Ralph A. Falbo, Inc.
                                                             Zambrano Corporation
Function Type:                                  Condominium
Size:                                                    250,000 SF
Total Levels:                                      18 Stories
Primary Project Team:                     Indovina Associates Architects - Architect
                                                             Zambrano Corporation - Contractor
                                                             The Kachele Group - Engineer

Dates of Construction:                     5/18/2005 – Expected completion requested from owner
Project Cost:                                      $24M Construction
                                                              $29M Total with Interest Carried
Project Delivery Method:                 Design Build

Major National Model Codes:         IBC 2003
                                                             ANSI/ASCE-7 2002
Zoning:                                                Awaiting verification from Owner/Contractor
Historical Requirements:                Awaiting verification from Owner/Contractor

Architecture

Architecture:    151 First Side is an 18 story 82 unit condominium with units ranging from 1,000-4,000 SF.  It
features an open and adjustable floor plan to allow customization by the resident.  The exterior is covered in a 4” veneer to give the appearance of a concrete finish.  The first three floors are resident parking with a central entrance.  The 4th level is a terrace level with levels 5 through the Penthouse consisting of one to four living spaces per floor. The upper levels are set back to allow large outdoor terraces.  More information will be added when the Architectural drawings are received.

Building Envelope:   The exterior walls consist of 8” CMU covered with a 4” veneer.  The roof system is comprised of Hambro joists with 1½” steel deck topped with 3¼” normal weight concrete.  Deck gage and reinforcement determined by Hambro Systems.   More information will be added when the Architectural drawings are received.

Building Systems

Structural System: 151 First Side is a steel framed building.  The parking levels consist of either 4” or 6” of light weight concrete slab atop 2½” 20ga. steel decking.  This is supported by steel beams and girders ranging from W12 to W24 shapes with beam spacing averaging around 6’ and girders spaced approximately 26’ apart.  The residential levels above are comprised of a Hambro floor system.  This includes 3½” of normal weight concrete upon 1½” steel decking as well as a composite joist which contains a proprietary S-shape top chord spaced every 4’.  The girders are W16 and W18 shapes and are spaced approximately 26’ apart.  Both floor systems are held by W14 columns.
The foundation for 151 First Side is made of pressure injected auger cast piles.  The pile tips were placed at an elevation of 674’-0” and each pile has a listed capacity of 120 tons.  Pile caps are made of concrete with an f’c = 3000psi.
The lateral system is a combination of braced frames and moment connections.  There are 5 total lateral resisting column lines.  Braced frames using W12 braces are the basis of design with moment connections being used in areas in which diagonal bracing is architecturally unsuitable. 

Mechanical System: The building temperature is controlled by a 36.7 ton roof top unit by AAON.  Each unit as well as each major common space also has its own heat pump with wall mounted thermostat.  Hot water for the building is provided by three boilers located in the sub-basement.

Electrical System: The main power system provided by the Duquesne Electric vault is a 120/208 3 phase system.  The main switch is rated at 1800A.  Heating and cooling equipment run at 208V. while the boilers and general building uses 120V.

Lighting System: The units are primarily lit by incandescent downlights.  Corridors contain both fluorescent downlights as well as wall washers.  Offices and general areas contain recessed indirect troffers with electronic ballasts.  The parking area has surface mounted fixtures with magnetic ballasts.  The outdoor canopy lighting is provided by recessed metal-halide downlights with electronic ballasts.

Construction Details: The owner is a cooperation of three individual companies, Zambrano Corp., Ralph A. Falbo, Inc., and EQA Landmark Communities.  The largest of these companies, Zambrano Corp., is also the general contractor.  This building was completed as a design-build project.  Physical construction was typical, with crane tie-ins on the 8th and 16th floors.  A vertical survey had been preformed and designs changed to accommodate an older building which was leaning 3” into the property.

Fire Protection: 151 First Side is a fully sprinklered building.  Most of the building has a fire rating of 2 hours, with the exceptions of partition walls with 1 hour and load bearing walls with 3 hours.  There is also a Fire Command Station which allows controlling and monitoring of fire protection systems as well as transportation systems.

Transportation: Vertical transportation is provided by one main stairway and two elevators.  All allow egress through the ground floor parking level.

The Capstone Project Electronic Portfolio (CPEP) is a web‐based project and information center. It contains material produced for a year‐long Senior Thesis class. Its purpose, in addition to providing central storage of individual assignments, is to foster communication and collaboration between student, faculty consultant, course instructors, and industry consultants. This website is dedicated to the research and analysis conducted via guidelines provided by the Department of Architectural Engineering. For an explanation of this capstone design course and its requirements click here.