Analysis 1: Floor System Redesign

 

The first technical analysis will perform a constructability review on the Hambro floor system and highlight why this system should be redesigned.  Two alternative systems will be determined and a technical analysis will be conducted to understand differences between these system’s construction means and methods, costs, schedule duration and overall safety.  A structural breadth will also be incorporated in this analysis to understand if the current superstructure could support alternative floor systems and if any changes would be feasible.  Ultimately, a recommendation on the best floor system based on added value will be selected.

 

Analysis 2: MEP Coordination

 

The second analysis identifies opportunities that could improve MEP coordination.  This analysis address a major design mistake that caused ceiling space to be very tight therefore making MEP coordination much more in depth than expected.  To relieve MEP coordination issues, this analysis outlines potential solutions such as ductwork modification and layout design where the ductwork meets the fire rated shafts.

 

Analysis 3: Foundation Wall Placement Method

 

The third analysis will focus on the issue of how the foundation wall concrete was placed.  Due to inadequate formwork strategies, major schedule delays and safety issues affected the project.  A constructability review of the current formwork method will be performed to understand why these issues occurred.  Furthermore, a potential alternative formwork method will be analyzed to understand what type of schedule, cost and safety differences there are between the two methods and how the foundation wall concrete placement issues could have been avoided. 

 

Analysis 4: Effects of Turf Field Construction using Crumb Rubber

 

The final analysis highlights the critical industry issue research topic for the spring proposal.  The U.S. Lacrosse Headquarters has many unique features, one of which being the installation of a 98,000 SF synthetic turf field.  This lead to the research topic of how turf field construction using crumb rubber is affecting human health.  Research of case studies will be performed to gain perspective on this issue.  Additionally, interviews will be conducted on synthetic turf installers and athletes to understand what type of awareness of the issue there is and what potential solutions there are to solve the problem.

 

Structural Breadth

 

The first breadth topic is within the first analysis titled “Analysis 1: Floor System Redesign” which features a remodeling of the Hambro floor system, a major structural area of the overall project.  With that being said, it is important to understand what changing the entire floor system means to the overall superstructure.  For this structural breadth, construction load calculations will be performed on the current Hambro floor systems and two alternative systems in order to see if the superstructure is adequate for the support of these systems.  A redesign of the superstructure would be infeasible due to the extensive knowledge needed for this type of detail, but this breadth will determine if a redesign of the superstructure would be needed for the installation of the alternative floor systems.

 

Mechanical Breadth

 

The second breadth topic is embedded in the second analysis titled “Analysis 2: MEP Coordination”.  This analysis focuses on how the MEP coordination was completed and where the coordination team had the most issues.  A major issue for the project team is that round ductwork was used in some areas of the project.  This was an unnecessary design since the round ductwork is above ceiling and has no type of aesthetic purpose.  The mechanical breadth being performed will include a redesign of the round ductwork to either rectangular or flat oval ductwork and air quality control will be assessed to see if this redesign is feasible for building occupancy and that commissioning requirements are met.