F | E’s UC Berkeley Jacobs Institute Receives AIA & AIASF Awards

UC Berkeley Jacobs Institute of Design Innovation

Forell | Elsesser is proud to announce UC Berkeley Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation’s recent awards. Awards include: AIA 2016 Committee on the Environment Top Ten Green Projects and AIASF 2016 Special Commendation Award for Sustainability which were both awarded last week.

Designed by Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, the new 24,000 sf Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation provides a variety of flexible “maker spaces” that foster interdisciplinary, collaborative creativity. The structural steel framed building utilizes buckling restrained braced frames and concrete shear walls for the lateral system and is founded on drilled pier foundations. This project achieved LEED Platinum.

The Forell | Elsesser team included Mason Walters, Chris Petteys, Mei Kuen Liu, Masume Dana, Keith Lopez, and Hayley Dickson. The design and construction team included Hathaway Dinwiddie (GC), BKF Engineers (Civil), A3GEO (Geotech), and Integral Group (M/E/P).

For AIA 2016 COTE Award information, please read the AIA Top Ten award materials PDF.
For more information on the UC Berkeley Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, please visit UC Berkeley College of Engineering.

Posted April 2016

UC Davis Walker Hall Renewal & Seismic Corrections

Customized Solution

Forell | Elsesser Engineers Elsesser provided structural engineering services for the renovation and adaptive reuse of Walker Hall at the UC Davis campus. Walker Hall is a historic agricultural engineering building built in 1927 and is located at the center of the campus. The reprogrammed building converts the existing structure into a 34,000 sf Graduate Student Center, including classrooms, lecture halls, and administration office space.

The structural strengthening was designed to upgrade the seismic performance from its current poor rating to meet an ASCE 41 BSO performance goal for this Risk Category III building while largely leaving the existing historic structure intact. This building achieved LEED Platinum certification.

UC Berkeley Jacobs Institute of Design Innovation

Located in a seismically active region, the building was designed to meet University seismic requirements that exceed the California Building Code in order to enhance life safety and minimize damage in a seismic event. Strategies included the use of simple, self-bracing forms and high-efficiency seismic systems.

Customized Solution

A detailed Building Performance Narrative was prepared and presented to the University Seismic Review Committee for approval early in the design phase.
The structural steel framed building utilizes buckling restrained braced frames and concrete shear walls for the lateral system and is founded on drilled pier foundations.
Approximately 13′-0″ of the floor plate cantilevers over the adjacent Etcheverry Hall.
The roof is framed with structural steel cantilevers up to 24′-0″ long to optimize square footage for the rooftop-mounted photovoltaic array.