Chicago Hospital Facade Repairs

Title: Chicago Hospital Facade Repairs

Award Category: Exterior Wall

Project Address/Location

West Side of Chicago

Chicago, IL 60622
United States

Submitted By: Kristen Navaid

Company Info

Walker Consultants

327 BALMORAL DR

Bartlett, IL 60103
United States

8476244869

[email protected]

Project Description and Background: The building owner knew that the facade was in need of repair. They were looking for a consultant to be able to prioritize the scope of work, reduce project costs where possible, design repairs that could allow the hospital to remain open during construction and design new repair detailing as unforseen conditions arose.

Scope: The client's goal for the project was to reduce overall project costs, where possible, as well as keep the hospital functional during the repair project. Walker was able to reduce the overall project budget by limiting how many sandstone units required removal and replacement by developing a detail for epoxy pinning several units at mortar joints. Walker worked with anchor manufacturer to perform on-site testing and confirm that the repair design exceeded required design loads for negative pressure on cladding. During the masonry rebuild portions of project the original concealed steel beams supporting the roof were found to have significant section loss. Replacement of these beams would have required invasive shoring throughout the east and west portions of the hospital. Walker was able to design unique welding repairs to strengthen the steel beams with new steel sections while remaining in place. The biggest challenge of the facade repair project was the masonry rebuild for the south stairwell. The underlying steel beams supporting the intermediate landings at the south stairwell were found to have section loss beyond the point of being able to strengthen the existing steel. These steel beams would require replacement. Since the hospital was still in operation during the repair work, the stairwell needed to remain available for emergency use. Therefore, shutting down of the stairwell for comprehensive masonry and steel beam replacement was not an option. Walker was able to design an interior CMU installation at each intermediate landing that would support the intermediate landings and inner wythes of masonry while the exterior wythes and steel beams could be removed and replaced sequentially. This allowed the stairwell to remain available for emergency use throughout the duration of the project.

Solution: Through development of unique detailing that allowed components to remain in place rather than removal and replacement for each element of distress, disruption to the hospital functions and total project cost were reduced. Additionally, innovative thinking of designing interior shoring through installation of CMU and epoxied dowels allowed the emergency stairwell to remain safe and available throughout the duration of a major masonry and steel beam replacement project.

Value: Inclusion of a consultant on the team provided the opportunity to develop unique solutions where standard detailing could not be applied. These details allowed the client to minimize hospital disruptions, reduce the total project costs, and most importantly keep the second means of emergency egress during construction.

Project Images

Additional Info: During construction the team was contracted to not discuss the work being performed with anyone outside of the client's organization without their presence. We are in the process of confirming if the building name and client name are able to be shared at this time.

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