Projects

Foothill Community College Physical Sciences & Engineering Center
How do you create a modern multi-building complex on an existing college campus that blends in with its surroundings?

Customized Solution

  • Forell | Elsesser provided structural engineering services for the new 57,000 s.f. four-building PSEC complex that includes a new laboratory building, a commons building, and two classroom buildings.
  • The laboratory building is a 2-story, 36,000 s.f. classroom facility with the first floor partially below grade.  Concrete shear walls serve as the seismic force-resisting system on the lower story, and special steel concentrically braced frames serve as the seismic force-resisting system on the upper story.  The commons building is a 1-story building with an area of approximately 8,000 s.f. The classroom buildings are two 1-story structures with an area of 13,000 s.f.  The buildings are structural steel with steel deck without concrete fill.   The lateral force resistance is provided by a combination of special steel moment frames and braced frames.

Highlights

  • Architect: Ratcliff Architects
  • Owner: Foothill Community College
  • Steel braced frames and concrete shear walls with a LEED Silver rating
  • The buildings will serve as the home of the Foothill College Science Learning Institute
Foothill Community College Physical Sciences & Engineering Center

Team

Foothill Community College Physical Sciences & Engineering Center

Russell Berkowitz

Principal

Foothill Community College Physical Sciences & Engineering Center

Paul Rodler

Senior Principal

Foothill Community College Physical Sciences & Engineering Center

Susan LaFore

Senior Associate