John Peace Library

Title: John Peace Library

Award Category: Building Enclosure

Project Address/Location

1 UTSA Circle

San Antonio, Texas 78249
United States

Submitted By: Jennifer Smith

Company Info

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.

1344 S Flores St
Ste 201
San Antonio, Texas 78204-1672
United States

2103035366

[email protected]

Project Description and Background: Designed in the Brutalist style by Ford, Powell, and Carson Architects, and completed in 1975, the John Peace Library was built to be a focal point for the newly founded University of Texas at San Antonio. The four-story structure consists of a square plan of repeated bays spanning between floor plates at each level. The bays are clad in precast concrete and curtain wall panels. The third floor, originally intended to house book stacks with study spaces at the perimeter, was designed and constructed without windows. In response to the changing functions of libraries and the reduced circulation of books in favor of digital media, the University planned to renovate the third floor to include collaborative spaces and to add windows. Due to the low occupancy of the library during the pandemic in 2020, we were asked to turn around the assessment and design of the project on an accelerated schedule so construction could occur while the building was unoccupied. We completed the assessment, design, cost estimation, and bid documents in three months.

Scope: As a long-standing consultant of choice for challenging building enclosure scopes, the University chose WJE to implement the first phase of the library renovations, which included removal of the existing precast concrete panels at the third-floor exterior of the library to be replaced with floor-to-ceiling curtain wall panels along the north and south elevations. To support the window renovation, our design scope also included interior renovations along the building perimeter, exterior concrete repairs, targeted concrete cleaning, and repair to an existing curtain wall. We served as both the architect and structural engineer of record for the project and obtained a local subconsultant for the MEP scope.

Solution: We conducted a predesign assessment that included water testing at an existing curtain wall, investigative openings at the back of precast panels, and close-up visual observation and mechanical sounding at limited areas of the concrete exterior. From the assessment, we concluded that a thinner-than-typical mullion depth was required for the curtain wall design. We also worked with the client stakeholders to review and choose appropriate color matches for the existing 1970s-era bronze glass and curtain wall frame. Our design included a dual-stage perimeter sealant with weeps and flashing provisions for controlling bulk water at the curtain wall exterior. Our design also included provisions for saw-cutting and removing the 250-square-foot precast panels as well as partial depth and shallow depth concrete repairs. Our specifications included subcontractor qualification requirements that helped to ensure a qualified glazing subcontractor was chosen for the work. Our specifications also included sealant adhesion testing for the perimeter sealants that prevented the use of a bad batch of sealant and third-party air and water leakage testing that helped to find and repair leaks at the installed curtain wall.

Value: One of the most unique challenges on the project involved working closely with the general contractor and concrete repair subcontractor to develop an appropriate mix design for the partial depth concrete repairs that was fluid enough to flow around the oversized rebar but had the right colors and aggregate pattern to match the appearance of the historic precast panels. WJE has extensive knowledge and expertise in working with historic concrete. Following our direction, the subcontractor created a matrix of sixteen 1-foot by 1-foot by 4-inch-deep concrete samples of different mixes for review with the general contractor, with the client, and with us. The graceful execution of the addition of windows around the third floor of this building required a fundamental understanding of the performance and flashing of the window system, considering the shedding of water from the roofs above and the lack of redundancy and a separate weather barrier in the wall system. Also, the integration of concrete materials knowledge and understanding the logistics of actually performing this work were essential to success. WJE's respect for the historic brutalist style of architecture and replication of the clean lines of the other existing elements of the building makes the new windows blend into the building such that they would appear to have always been a part of the design. It is the unique skill sets that WJE possessed that allowed for all of these characteristics to be incorporated into the design.

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