How is water and weather infiltration managed with a hole in the building during construction? The cardinal rule of architecture is to do everything you can to keep water out of a building–except when you can’t. While the micropiles and foundations were installed in the basement with the exterior envelope of the building intact, the building had to be opened to install the structural steel with the crane. Once portions of the first and second floors were removed along with the second-floor roof, the building was open to the sky and all the elements. This “hole” was temporarily finished to create a waterproof funnel that directed water down to the basement and then pumped it out of the building through the stormwater system, similar to rain falling on the roof and going down through the building’s drainage system. New temporary exterior perimeter walls were installed, insulated, and waterproofed to direct the water. Insulated walls were critical to protect people working in adjacent interior space and to prevent existing interior piping and utilities from freezing during the cold winter months. Conclusion A significant number of buildings in the United States from the same era as the Theodore Levin US Courthouse will be undergoing renovations in upcoming years. Modernization projects and existing building renovations present a Tetris-like challenge. There is never just one solution; the process is highly collaborative. Project decisions require working through existing constraints while discussing a myriad of other important considerations like programming, cost, constructability, tenant disruption and systems integration. The success of this project was largely due to a passionate team that worked collaboratively across all professions. The team faced a multitude of challenges in working within the existing building. When items came up, roundtable discussions and working sessions were held with everyone involved to develop a path forward. It was necessary to have a group that could turn on a dime and develop new options considering new information discovered during the process. As designers, we spend a lot of time looking at systems, calculations and developing technical details within a computer model. It's necessary to take this knowledge and adjust the design or thinking with input from the construction team, suppliers, and the understanding of building occupants in order to create successful real-world solutions.
Andrea Righi, AIA , is a Senior Project Architect and Associate Principal at Page in Washington DC. She can be reached at arighi@pagethink.com .
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csengineermag.com
NOVEMBER 2023
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