CEMS provided civil and structural engineering design and LEED commissioning services for an existing 25,150 SF, three-story dormitory renovated to provide 13 dormitory quads with four private bedrooms and bathrooms with shared laundry, kitchen, and social spaces per quad. Design for this building will allow for LEED Silver Certification. Systems commissioning services were also provided.
Site improvements were made to provide an ADA compliant campus like environment to ease vehicular and pedestrian traffic while providing ATFP and fire protection. Demolition of existing sidewalks, roads, drives and parking areas were utilized along with addition of new walks, curb and gutter and access drives to maintain ease of access to the existing dormitory. Fixed and removable bollards were provided to meet the AT/FP requirements.
The facility required the complete demolition of all interior and exterior walls and the installation of new structural components to strengthen the structure, complying with current seismic and wind requirements while also incorporating Force Protection measures for blast and progressive collapse resistance. New reinforced CMU exterior walls and foundations were installed to comply with ATFP requirements. New interior non-load bearing cold-formed steel studs and shear walls were installed to provide additional seismic, wind and blast capacity. Existing load bearing concrete columns and beams were reinforced to prevent progressive collapse.
The interior was gutted, leaving only the structural columns and slabs. The remaining column layout was atypical and uneven, presenting a design challenge to create uniformly-sized living areas, which was successfully achieved.
