Reengineering an Icon By Carlo Taddei, PE
At an institution steeped in tradition, engineering has been in the DNA of Texas A&M University (TAMU) since opening its doors in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. Combining the tradition of engineering education with two of the university’s core values, excellence and leadership, TAMU seeks to establish itself as the nation’s preeminent institution for engineering research and educa- tion and lead the charge in transforming engineering education. The College of Engineering (COE) is now the largest college within the TAMU College Station campus and largest undergraduate engineering program in the nation with 22 engineering majors across 14 depart- ments and over 20,000 students. According to the President’s Council on Science and Technology, it is estimated that more than one million additional science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees will be needed in the next decade. The Texas Workforce Commission also projects the need for 62,000 more engineers in the next decade. To address the criti- cal and growing demand for engineers, the TAMU COE launched the 25 By 25 initiative in 2013, which aims to increase enrollment from 14,000 students in 2013 to 25,000 students by 2025. The initiative was designed to enhance the quality of engineering education and shape the engineer of the future by transforming the engineering classroom into a 21st century model focused on technology-enabled learning, hands-on projects, and collaborative, multidisciplinary learning spaces. As stated by Dr. M. Katherine Banks, Dean of Engineering, “The 25 By 25 initiative is not just about increasing enrollment, but also about providing better instruction and opportunities. We will transform engi- neering education to mold the engineer of the future.” The first major step toward this goal was the completion of the Zachry Engineering Education Complex (ZACH) which is focused entirely on undergraduate education. The ZACH stands at 525,000 SF and was achieved by renovating the original 300,000 SF building, adding a vertical expansion onto the building, and adding two, new five-story lateral additions. As a company that employs many graduates of the TAMU Department of Civil Engineering, we were honored to provide structural and civil engineering, and surveying services to TreanorHL Architects on this highly important project. Originally opened in 1972, the H.B. Zachry Engineering Center served an enrollment of 15,000 students. The original Zachry building fit the traditional model of 1970s academic facilities: faculty offices, dean’s suite, enclosed research laboratories, tiered classrooms, large lecture halls, and underutilized atrium space. While the building was iconic for engineering students, it lacked energy and failed to provide the multi- disciplinary, interaction, and collaboration spaces that truly enable engineering students to succeed in today’s environment.
Original H.B. Zachry Engineering Building (Southeast Corner)
As was common in the 1960s and 1970s, the building was designed in the brutalist style of architecture with large monochromatic precast concrete panels covering approximately 75 percent of the building exterior, which many considered to be an eye-sore. The structure did have some cutting edge design techniques and creative solutions, such as the load-bearing precast concrete façade, two-way post-tensioned joist “waffle” slabs, precast concrete double tees for the basement wall, Vierendeel steel trusses across the atrium clerestory, and was designed for vertical expansion. However, the large sloped-floor lecture hall, tiered classrooms, and large atrium posed challenges for reconfiguring to accommodate smaller active learning classrooms and lab space. The solid interior finishes, compartmentalized interior layout, and precast façade did not provide transparency or foster excitement about engineering. The first question posed to us at the project kick-off meeting was “How are you going to make all of the exterior precast concrete disappear?” It was made abundantly clear to us that the COE did not want to see any of the original precast concrete façade. This created a significant challenge because the precast concrete served as the perimeter support for the concrete superstructure. This set the tone for the project and we quickly realized that the project was going to have some unique challenges that would allow us to showcase our ingenuity and creativity. The project was broken down into three distinct phases: Deconstruc- tion, Reconstruction, and Expansion. Deconstruction and Site Challenges The first phase of the project involved issuing a demolition package to cover removal of all building finishes, HVAC services, and major structural demolition. In addition to removing the load-bearing precast concrete panels, structural demolition also involved the large sloped- floor lecture halls, steel Vierendeel trusses at the clerestory, interior stairs, mezzanine structure, and portions of the existing floors and roof. The precast concrete panels were 10-feet wide C-shaped columns at 16-feet, six inches on-center with a void space in the middle that served as mechanical exhaust. The precast columns were supported by cast-in-place concrete columns between the basement and level 1. To further complicate matters, the existing grade was approximately seven feet above level 1 on the north, east and west sides of the build- ing and the main entrance(s) to the building occurred at level 2. The existing basement wall was located eight feet beyond the building face and consisted of precast concrete double-tees. A structurally spanning concrete sidewalk was present, which braced the basement wall back to
18
csengineermag.com
august 2020
Made with FlippingBook Annual report