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Building Statistics Part I

General Building Data

Building Name: New Classroom Building

Location: Blacksburg, Virginia

Building Occupants: Faculty and Students

Occupancy: Business, Assembly, Mixed, Non-Separated

Size: 73,400 (GSF)

Number of stories: Three stories

Primary project team:

            Owner: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

            Architect: EYP, Inc.

            CM: WM Jordan Company

            Structural Engineer: Pinnacle Engineering PLC

            Civil Engineer: CHA

            Landscape Architect: Rhodeside & Harwell, Inc.

            Interior Design: MDesign Studio

Dates of Construction: Late January 2015 – Early August 2016

Estimated Overall Project Cost: $42,650,000

Project Delivery Method: CM at Risk

Architecture

The New Classroom Building will stack three stories high and will be located in the northwest corner of the campus. Such a location allows for students and faculty to travel to and from class with ease; as well as create a first impression of the campus for visitors approaching the school from West Campus Drive. The building will house 15 classrooms, 4 teaching labs, study rooms, and group meeting areas. Altogether, the New Classroom Building can accommodate over 1,450 students. The classrooms include tiered lecture halls along with flexibly designed rooms that can alter form in order to keep up with new teaching methods. From the outside, this building fits in with the rest of campus due to the use of Hokie stone and Architectural precast. The grey dolomite-limestone, called Hokie stone, is only located in Blacksburg and marks the staple of Virginia Tech’s campus. However, running through the middle of this building and coming out at the ends is a more modern form with curtain walls and metal panels. In the center of the hallway in a large open stairwell that connects the first and second floor. There are two landings between floors that breaks up the 18’-8” vertical distance. A large portion of the stairwell from the second to third floor is located underneath a 38 foot long skylight. 

  • Code Requirements:

    • 2009 Virginia Construction Code

    • International Building Code 2009

    • International Plumbing Code 2009

    • International Mechanical Code 2009

    • NFPA 10, 2007

    • NFPA 13, 2007

    • NFPA 14, 2007

    • NFPA 70, 2008

    • NFPA 72, 2007

    • NFPA 80, 2007

    • International Fuel Gas Code 2009

    • International Energy Conservation Code 2009

    • 2009 Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code

    • Americans With Disabilities Act Standards For Accessible Design 2010

    • 2012 CPSM

    • 2006 VTDCS

    • ICC/ANSI AI17.1

  • Historical requirements of building/historical district where built: None

Building Enclosure

The New Classroom Building will have three main wall types. The first wall type is metal panel. The MP4 panel is glazed into a curtain wall. The glazing types for all curtain walls include: clear insulating glass, clear insulating glass fully tempered, high performance clear insulating glass, high performance clear insulating glass fully tempered, and triple glazed glass. The below picture shows the cross section of the four unique cases when metal panels are used.

The next wall type used is precast wall panels. There are cases where Hokie stone is placed on top of the precast panels; with a ½” drainage layer and air cavity placed in between. This can be seen in the figures below.

The last wall type is Hokie stone on concrete or CMU or both. All variations contain 2” type 2 insulation (a rigid extruded polystyrene), ½” drainage layer, and an air cavity in between the Hokie stone and concrete/CMU. The figures below show these wall types.

All roofing will consist of 4” rigid insulation on top of the roof decking. The top layer of the roofing will be a fully adhered EPDM roof system. This is a sturdy rubber roof membrane designed to be weather resistant and mainly used for low sloping roofs. Lastly, there will be a board acting as a protective barrier between the EPDM and rigid insulation. Some areas of the roof may have a layer of decorative washed river stone on top of the EPDM system.

Sustainability Features

One of the many goals for this project is to obtain LEED Silver certification based on USGBC’s “LEED 2009 for New Construction & Major Renovations.” This means the use of a waste management plan throughout construction to allow for proper recycling and minimize waste. Also, a construction indoor air quality plan will be used to reduce the amount of energy needed. All glass-fiber blanket insulation will be made with 100% acrylic binders and free of formaldehyde. Lastly, this project uses a large amount of Hokie stone, which is a regional material. Thus, reducing the amount of energy needed to transport this building material to the site.

Image Source: EYP
Image Source: EYP
Image Source: EYP
Image Source: EYP
Image Source: EYP
Image Source: EYP
Image Source: EYP
Image Source: EYP
Image Source: EYP

Building Statistics Part II

Existing Conditions

        

            The site prior to the start of construction consisted of a parking to the west of Derring Hall. The lot is flat and corners a major intersection for the campus. Groundwater was found at depths from 6.5 to 38 feet below the existing surface level. Also, the existing fill ranges from soft clay to medium sand to compact rock. Demolition is required for this project and maintains a heavy focus on removing existing parking lots and roads. Over 423 parking spaces will be lost from demolition. The contractor will remove all excess materials from demolition from the site.  Existing site utilities include sanitary sewer, electrical, and water. Any utilities that provide a service to existing buildings must have a temporary utility in place before being removed. Materials to be removed during excavation mostly consist of concrete, masonry, or asphalt.

 

Construction

 

            The project is held under a Construction Manager at Risk contract with a Guaranteed Maximum Price. WM Jordan has been selected as the construction manager and EYP as the architect and engineer. The site is surrounded by roads and parking lots; which allows for a large, open site. Perry Street will be closed for a part of construction. However, West Campus Drive is still accessible as a major entrance and exit for the campus as well as site deliveries. All deliveries will be made after 4:30 PM on business days because most classes are done by that time and pedestrian traffic should be at a minimum. Virginia Tech is responsible for supplying the contractor with 1,235 pallets of Hokie Stone in an assortment of shapes and colors. Notice to Proceed was obtained on January 26th, 2015. The project is scheduled for completion in early August of 2016 and will be ready for occupation before that date. It is crucial for Virginia Tech to complete the project before the fall semester in order to use the new SCALE-UP classrooms.

 

 

Structural System

 

            The foundation of this system consists of a slab on grade and spread footings bearing on soil along with compacted aggregate piers. Conventional spread footings would not be able to support the column loads; compacted aggregate piers are required. The minimum allowable bearing capacity for aggregate pier reinforced soils is 5000 psf. The slab on grade has a thickness of 5”. The second floor slab is located in the hallway space only, and consists of 3” of polystyrene under 3” of concrete. The third floor slab takes up more space but contains the same material as the second floor slab. There are two types of concrete walls used in the structure. One type is 13” thick, where as the other type, the shear concrete wall, is 12” thick. The columns used vary between W12, W14, W18, HSS8, and HSS10. Horizontal framing consists of a mix of W8, W10, W12, W14, W16, W18, W21, W24, HSS4, HSS8, and HSS20. Normal and lightweight cast in place concrete are used over steel decking. The cast in place concrete has a minimum compressive strength from 3000 to 4000 psi.

 

Mechanical System

           

            The mechanical room is located in the south corner of the first floor, with the electrical room and trash room surrounding it. Three air-handling units are located on the roof of the building. AHU1-A and AHU1-B serve the classrooms and offices of the building with 17,000 CFM and a single electrical connection. The AHU2 serves the laboratories with 100% outside air and a single electrical connection. Air from these units is dispersed throughout the building using diffusers and ductwork. A fire suppression sprinkler head system will be put in place.

 

Electrical System

 

            The main switchboard is located in the electrical room across from the mechanical room. There are 6 electrical rooms in the building, with three on the first floor, one on the second floor, and two on the third floor. The main has a 3 phase, 4-wire feed, voltage of 480/277, and sized at 2000A. There is also a weatherproof emergency diesel generator that requires 350 KW. Power is fed to the main switchboard via 5-4” conduits 4 #500KCMIL with 1-4” spare, and 1#350KCMIL from the ground service meter. This power then runs from the main switchboard to 37 panels located throughout the building. Electricity also runs to the air-handling units on the roof. The building lighting requires a 108,119 VA connected load. 

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