SPEEDCORE 2.0 FROM THREE PERSPECTIVES
The structural engineer, the developer, and the construction firm relate their experiences building California’s first SpeedCore tower.
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Author Archives : Ron Klemencic, P.E., S.E.
Ron Klemencic is Chairman and CEO at Magnusson Klemencic Associates, Seattle, WA (rklemencic@mka.com).
As a Distinct Seismic Force-Resisting System in ASCE/SEI 7-22
Coupled composite plate shear walls/concrete-filled (coupled C-PSW/CFs), known as the SpeedCore system by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), is a non-proprietary composite solution for the design of mid- to high-rise buildings. The coupled C-PSW/CF system is a revolutionary modular system that reduces the construction schedule considerably. The coupled C-PSW/CF system provides adequate lateral stiffness, capacity, and ductility (deformation capacity) needed to be considered as a primary seismic force-resisting system. This structural system is an alternative to conventional coupled reinforced concrete walls in the wind or seismic design of buildings. A typical coupled C-PSW/CF system using planar C-PSW/CFs and composite coupling beams (CBs) is shown in Figure 1.
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St. Louis’ latest high-rise building, the 36-story 100 Above The Park, brings a new flavor of architecture to the Gateway City (Figure 1). Eight tiers of stacked and undercut floor plans, each four stories high and shaped like the leaves of a tree, create a form at once organic yet modern. Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA) teamed with Studio Gang Architects (SGA) to make this unconventional form a reality by using novel framing solutions following this leaf-like building form. The result embraces Forest Park immediately to the west and provides a direct line-of-sight to the Gateway Arch to the east.
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Rising along the Chicago River, Vista Tower poses a never-before-seen structural challenge: how to design a 1,200-foot-tall building constrained by a plan width of 80 feet and vertical support elements that offset at every level. After years of planning and design, construction is underway on Chicago’s third tallest tower, using an aggressively unique building geometry and lateral bracing system arrangement. …
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Salesforce Tower.
New Benchmarks in High-Rise Seismic Safety
When completed in 2017, Salesforce Tower will be the tallest building in San Francisco at a height of 1,070 feet (901 feet to the top occupied floor). This super-tall building advances the state-of-the-art of high-rise seismic design through implementation of a number of first-ever design and analysis methods that push limits and set new industry benchmarks. The structural innovations required to create this record-setting, city-defining tower address enhanced performance objectives, foundation challenges, and interactions with adjacent buildings… issues applicable both to this building and future tall buildings in areas of high seismicity. …