College of Engineering Unit:
The client has requested the design of a public safety building and surrounding site improvements for a site located along Old Portland Road in St. Helens, Oregon. The goal of the design is to propose a building that can house police department facilities while also serving as a community social hub. The Hard Rock Engineering team’s objectives are to develop a cost-effective design that minimizes the structure’s environmental impact, while also ensuring its safety and durability against design loads.
Based on the site analysis, the project site spans approximately 2.3 acres and is characterized by grass, trees, and blackberry bushes. It is located in climate zones 8a and 8b in Oregon, with an elevation ranging from 50-70 ft, which is relatively low. The site receives an average annual rainfall of 52 inches and is situated within the Scappoose Bay watershed, near the Multnomah Channel. There are also some site constraints that can pose challenges in the design, such as existing infrastructure like an 18" concrete storm sewer line and a 27" concrete sanitary line that run through the site and must remain untouched. Additionally, the site's proximity to a wetland boundary may require special permitting and careful consideration of additional factors if the wetland area cannot be avoided. Lastly, there are 100-year and 500-year floodplain impacts that run through the site, and although there is no action required per code, it would be beneficial to look into them for long-term success.
Furthermore, once existing conditions were assessed the design of a public safety building and surrounding site improvements for the project site were underway. To achieve a successful design solution, the team has collaborated and evaluated various alternatives and methods for all disciplines involved. As a result, our structural team has placed careful attention on the lateral force and gravity load resisting system designs of the proposed building and explored different alternatives for the foundation design. The water resources engineer has focused on the civil engineering components with a specific emphasis on innovative approaches to stormwater management solutions. Lastly, our building envelope designer has looked into solutions to provide building efficiency and incorporate energy saving techniques.
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 2023.expoposter.ce_.ps_.07.pptx_.pdf | 1.32 MB |