Excellence in Structural Engineering
New Buildings Over $10 Million
Arizona State University Science and Technology Building IV
Tempe, Arizona
Paragon Structural Design
Paragon Structural Design, HDR, and Ehrlich Architects teamed up to design the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building IV (ISTB IV) for Arizona State University (ASU). The project team was tasked with designing a 9 level 293,000 square foot facility that would accommodate the needs of ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) and the Fulton School of Engineering. The building is intended to encourage trans-disciplinary research between SESE and the Fulton school, respect and enhance the ASU campus and surrounding environment, and promote science, curiosity, and exploration within the community. Construction of ASU ISTB IV was completed in April 2012 and the building is on track to receive a LEED Certification level of Gold.
A reinforced concrete structure was chosen as the basic structural system for the facility. Concrete structures have inherent durability, fire protection, energy, acoustic, and vibration benefits that are of great importance to a facility that houses offices, classrooms, high-tech laboratories (wet, dry, general purpose, and sensitive instrument), and an auditorium under. The structural column grid layout was chosen with input from the architect to accommodate flexibility of the lab modules and facilitate ASU’s goal of creating lab spaces that are able to adapt and evolve with state of the art research.
Merit Award in Structural Engineering
New Buildings over $10 Million
Unisource Energy Office Tower
Tucson, Arizona
Grenier Engineering Inc.
The Unisource Office Tower is a $65M, LEED Gold, Corporate Headquarters in Downtown Tucson, with 3 levels below grade parking, and 9 levels above grade office space. The foundation is a concrete mat with the largest single pour of 2,800 cubic yards (300 trucks from 3 different batch plants). The basement walls are 12" shotcrete over a soil nail tie back system. The floors are a Post-Tensioned concrete banded beam and slab system, which optimized the floor to floor heights at 14’. 28,000 cubic yards of concrete; 5,320,000 pounds of reinforcing steel; 380,000 feet of post tensioning cable was used.
Merit Award in Structural Engineering
Other Structures
The Green Wall
Palm Beach County, FL
M3 Engineering & Technology Corporation
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Palm Beach County, Florida, selected Barbara Grygutis to create a useful public space for their Centennial Plaza. M3 engineered the centennial bell tower and shade canopy. Aluminum pipe columns support the canopy front while the back rests on a curved masonry wall. A clerestory truss down the middle carries aluminum beams radiating outward like palm fronds. The artist, engineer, and fabricator encountered various challenges including: hurricane wind loads, analysis and design of welded aluminum, connection detailing and limited fabrication tolerances for erection. The shade canopy construction ran smoothly and the completed artwork will serve the community well.
