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Confidential Tech Client
AUE worked with NBBJ to design a space for a tech client in the Puget Sound area. Our analysis and design work was wide-ranging from support for interior features, framing, column removals and speciality features.
The first-floor feature stair was designed to appear floating with no visible posts at the landing platform. Due to the skew of the stair a column was needed to minimize the stair deflection due to the sway of the upper stair rise. A column was hidden in the adjacent wall to maintain the visual of a “floating” stair. During design we had to account for both the vertical deflection of the stair under design loading as well as the horizontal deflection due to lateral loads. The stair is open to below so coordination with the architectural needs as well as the structural requirements was necessary and the end result produced a very architecturally pleasing stair.
We provided the anchorage of two large fish tanks (12,000 lb and 5,000 lb). During construction we provided guidance on securing the acrylic tanks to the steel frame without penetrating the tank. Additional steel beams were located under the slab in order to adequately transmit the loads to the concrete beams.
At the café area on the 4th floor we designed several interior faux greenhouses. These were framed with HSS steel members to form an A-frame structure. The greenhouse has acrylic panels inserted in the walls and the roof. In order to reduce the demand on the structure the HSS members were designed as frames with bases that would not develop a moment.
We provided design and support for the overhead soffit in the boathouse area on the 6th floor. The design utilized HSS steel beams and cold-formed metal stud members. Using the HSS members allowed for us to minimize the number of rod drops from the ceiling above as well as minimize the bracing locations. The result provided an aesthetically pleasing area to gather without columns.
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Photos courtesy of NBBJ and Tech Client
