After exploring the architectural design, the designer’s aesthetic and spatial design goals seem to be fairly open and connected to the outdoors. This is made clear through the large atrium with a garden, the wall of windows on the east side of the building, and light-coloured interior/door elements. In addition, given the colour choices for the exterior facade, it appears to be a building that is relatively in touch (or blends into) nature. I think it would make sense to incorporate the structural system into the design aesthetic. As for the structural requirements, it is a relatively small building, which makes the use of wood-framing feasible. For this reason, an exposed wood-frame system will be incorporated into the design as the structural system.
I selected 14”x14” mass timber columns, 12”x24” mass timber beams, and 4”x12” deep LVL joists at 2’ o/c spacing. I utilized cutouts for the stairs and atriums, and cantilevered the roof joists over the southeast stairs. Given the generic floor in place was 12”, I assumed that this was the total depth of the floor system, so the beams and joists were vertically offset 12”. All of the beam spans were less than 25’ (the maximum suggested for wood). The structure can be seen below:
Overall, I think the chosen design made proper accommodations for atriums, stairs, elevator, while considering the design intent of the building. This was accomplished by using cut-outs in the beam systems and extra beams to frame in the atrium, elevator, and stairs. There was one column placed in the middle of the dining area, but besides that the columns were placed strategically to avoid this.