Structural Framing System - Lena Bakalian

Strategy

• Material: steel columns and steel beams on concrete on steel decking
• high level of buildability (cost- and time-effective)
• Allows for larger spans between columns; creates more open areas
• non-flammable (important in Northern California)
• steel is generally a good choice for earthquake prone areas
• planning to source recycled steel to lower the carbon footprint
• has a lower carbon footprint than some other materials such concrete and will also use other recycled materials in different parts of my building design
• “over 90% of a steel building or fixture can be recycled and reused  for another project. This is a far higher recycling rate than other common building materials, like concrete or wood. As a result, the steel industry has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 36% in the past 30 years” -https://usbridge.com/recycled-steel-in-construction/
• The structural system has elements that are both hidden from users of the building in areas such as the cafe and in some exhibit areas, but has exposed elements in other areas. I like the “industrial” look of buildings, so some columns will remain exposed in some parts of the building
• The structural framing will thus be visible on the interior of the building but will be either wrapped in concrete or hidden in walls
• My building is rectangular so the grid layout was somewhat simple to lay out; however, due to the atrium space, there were some slight irregularities in the grid layout to be able to support each section of the site
• I will use a very typical, closely-spaced column scheme in the office areas and conference rooms but have tried to eliminate the number of columns in the cafe and atrium to create a wide-open feeling using a long span truss scheme.
• I placed structural columns in locations where they would obstruct walkways the least and could be covered by wall/concrete.

Framing Elements

• W10x33 steel column
• W12x26 steel beams
• 3’’ LW Concrete on 2”” Metal Deck flooring
• Rectangular concrete footing (72’’x 48’’x 18’’)

Structural Challenges

• Modeling the central atrium was somewhat challenging in figuring out how to best extend the beams across to account for the load
• Modeling the elevator shaft
• Working around staircases

Sourcing of Materials

Tried to research some local steel companies in this area that could source recycled steel:

• https://www.globalsteelfab.com/
• https://www.borrmannsteel.com/beams-channel/