Green Turns Platinum for Biotech Firm

Genzyme, the world’s third largest biotech firm, set out to create a signature building to serve as a hub for its global business and home to 900 employees. The structure had a mandate: stand as a reflection of the company’s core values, including innovation, and set a new standard for environmentally sensitive architecture.

The 12-story, 350,000-square-foot office building, received Platinum certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system (one of only 13 buildings ever to receive this rating). The $107-million Genzyme Center met or exceeded rigorous standards in sustainable site development, water savings, energy, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

The design is a concrete frame superstructure, a flat slab floor system, and a concrete core for lateral load resistance. A composite system was utilized using precast and cast-in-place elements. Traditional reinforced cast-in-place concrete of varying depths is tied to the precast elements by welded wire trusses that are partially embedded within both components. More.

The concrete structural system, chosen in large part for its environmental merits, played a key role in bringing the building to life. With inherent thermal mass, buildings constructed with concrete offer excellent energy efficiency. Also, because concrete is designed for each specific project, very little material is wasted. Post-tensioned floor systems further optimize building weight and material usage. More examples of green buildings and office buildings.

January PPI: Steel Prices Decline

According to the January 2006 Producer Price Index (PPI), steel prices declined 0.2% in January reversing four consecutive months of increases. Lumber, concrete and asphalt prices all rose in January, 3.3%, 2.7% and 1.7%, respectively. Asphalt prices have risen for seven straight months.

The Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, publishes the data.

Building Green with Grey Concrete

Everywhere you look today, there are innovations causing cement and concrete to be vital to sustainable design. New concrete mix designs create sleeker, stronger structures that achieve amazing energy efficiency. Manufacturing refinements reduce pollution and energy use. Manufacturing and construction processes use more recycled materials—both in volume and variety. Architects, engineers, and contractors are enhancing time-tested methods that have always been sustainable. More.

PCA Announces Earthquake Response Contest

The School of Engineering at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), the Portland Cement Association (PCA), and NEES Consortium Inc. (NEESinc) are pleased to announce a seven-story building-slice earthquake blind prediction contest. The contest is open to teams from the practicing structural engineering community, the academic and research community, and the undergraduate engineering student community.

The contest aims to compare analytical response “predictions” with those measured during experimental testing. All predictions are due on May 15, 2006. PCA will award $2500 to each winning team. NEESinc will also provides travel reimbursement to a representative of the winning team to attend the NEES Annual Meeting that will be held in Washington D.C. June 21-23, 2006. Read full announcement.

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Assessing Damage to Engineered Buildings in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina

Investigators from the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER) headquartered at the University of Buffalo conducted post-disaster field reconnaissance to examine the impact of Hurricane Katrina on engineered buildings. The preliminary findings of the investigators showed that the majority of multistory commercial buildings constructed of steel or reinforced concrete framing performed well structurally. However, extensive losses were incurred from nonstructural damage to cladding, windows, and roof-mounted equipment. None of the cast-in-place concrete structures suffered any structural damage because of the storm surge. Partial collapse of two buildings (one five-story reinforced concrete with unreinforced masonry infill and the other a cast-in-place parking garage) was caused by extreme loads as a result of the impact of multi-story casino barges colliding into the buildings.

Read full report

pcaWall Upgrade Coming Soon

A new upgrade of pcaWall v3.50 will be released this month. This version will incorporate recently published concrete design standards of ACI 318-05 and CSA A23.3-04 along with other improvements in the user interface.

The remaining products, i.e. pcaMats, pcaSlab, pcaBeam and pcaColumn, are also scheduled to incorporate the new design standards later this year.

More about software products available from pcaStructurePoint.

Post-Tensioned Concrete

Many of today’s “high-performance” concrete structures, including landmark bridges and buildings, employ post-tension prestressing. Parking garages, high-rise residential towers, and many other kinds of structures also employ post-tensioning techniques.

While concrete is strong in compression, it is weak in tension. In prestressed members, compressive stresses are introduced into the concrete to reduce tensile stresses resulting from applied loads including the self weight of the member (dead load). Reinforcing steel is strong under forces of tension, so combining the two elements results in the creation of very strong concrete components. Prestressing steel, such as strands, bars or wires, is used to impart compressive stresses to the concrete.

Post-tensioning can help create innovative concrete components that are thinner, longer, and stronger than ever before. The end results are lighter, more durable and structurally efficient buildings. More on post-tensioned concrete.

Click for luxury residential buildings and mixed-use buildings with post-tensioning.

PCA Notes on ACI 318-05

This publication helps the designer understand and apply the provisions of ACI 318-05 to the design and construction of concrete structures. Prepared with the engineers and architects in mind, the PCA Notes is also a valuable aid to educators, researchers, and students. The publication contains 34 chapters that provide detailed coverage of ACI 318-05’s 22 chapters. Each chapter is introduced with a summary of code changes in 2005. The newly revised publication complies with the current referenced Codes and Standards. Revised numerical examples and new examples on torsion and seismic design are introduced to help design professionals to better understand and apply the code provisions. More.

ACI/PCA One-Day Seminars on Changes in the ACI 318-05 Building Code
Learn the new Code provisions and how to implement them correctly in your day-to-day work. Instructors that served on the ACI Committee that produced the Code will explain each change, why it was made, and what it means to you as a designer and specifier of structural concrete. A portion of the day will be set aside to discuss Appendix D, Anchoring to Concrete, and answer many of your questions. More.

Come see us or visit our booth at...

ACI Spring Convention—Bridging the Carolinas
March 26-30, Charlotte, N.C.

SEI Structural Congress and Exposition—Structural Engineering and Public Safety
May 18-20, St. Louis, Mo.

AIA National Convention and Design Exposition—Innovation, Engagement, Inspiration
June 8-10, Los Angeles, Calif.