Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

Building Engineering

Spring/Summer 2011

About AECOM
AECOM is a global provider of professional technical and
management support services to a broad range of markets,
including transportation, facilities, environmental, energy,
water and government. With approximately 45,000 employees
around the world, AECOM is a leader in all of the key markets
that it serves. AECOM provides a blend of global reach, local
knowledge, innovation and technical excellence in delivering
solutions that create, enhance and sustain the worlds built,
natural and social environments. A Fortune 500 company,
AECOM serves clients in approximately 125 countries and has
annual revenue in excess of $7.0 billion.

The technical journal for AECOMs global

Building Engineering services

Are green
buildings
healthy?

More information on AECOM and its services can be found at

www.aecom.com.

Shaken, but
not stirred
Buildings designed
for Californian
earthquakes

Staying green,
keeping warm
Sustainable
buildings
for cold climates

High and
mighty
A new tall building
for Macau
AECOM

Printed using vegetable based inks on material made from 50

percent recycled, 50 per cent virgin fiber from sustainable sources.

Foreword

ON SITE: ZAYED UNIVERSITY, CAPITAL

DISTRICT - ABU DHABI, U.A.E.

With the low carbon agenda driving thinking at

government levels globally, now more than
ever AECOM continues to evolve new ways to
drive a sustainable agenda.

As building engineers, our role is to

design solutions that work better,
perform more efficiently and deliver
more productively.
Some of our many ideas for new
ways of delivering sustainable
thinking around the world have found
their way into this issue of Agenda.
Weve selected projects that reflect
the breadth and range of creative
engineering innovation that AECOM is
known for, delivering sustainable
thought leadership in particular.
Even the smallest project can cast a
wide sphere of influence. A great
example is the zero carbon homes
development in the U.K., a potential
blueprint for future housing developments that is generating considerable
interest. At the other end of the
sustainable scale, our work delivering
two key commercial buildings in
Edmonton, Canada, demonstrates
that it is possible to build sustainably
while facing the extreme challenges of
a cold climate. Integrating form and
function gave rise to a visually
exciting, highly sustainable office
development in Perth, Australia.
Seismic activity sets its own set of
design challenges. Our team rose to
the challenge when asked to design a
critical essential services facility able

to withstand powerful earthquakes in

California, U.S. Vibration in building
movement, but from a different
perspective, influenced our thinking
for a new home for the highest
resolution microscope in Australia.
Similarly, FC Spartak Moscow Stadium
has sophisticated advanced analysis
to thank for its elegant yet robust
structures. In Macau, a new tall
building has made headlines, built
using our innovative fast-track
construction solution.
AECOM is committed to igniting
creative excellence. Our experts
continue to think ahead, leading the
way on key issues worldwide. In this
issue, David Cheshire puts forward
some thinking about occupant
comfort green buildings, while Andy
Parkman considers the opportunities
facing city leaders.
Agenda is a rich showcase for the
dynamic variety and breadth of
challenge that we face in our day-today work, driving our determination to
evolve the best possible solutions for
our clients worldwide.

Agenda

Spring/summer 2011

The 75 hectare green-field site

will provide state of the art
classroom and laboratory
facilities for teaching and
research across 27 buildings,
serving a mixed, segregated,
daytime population of 6,000
students ,with capacity for future
expansion to accommodate
10,000 students.
AECOMs team in the Middle
East developed the master plan
for the entire full build-out of the
$879m campus, and delivered
full multidisciplinary design
services for 19 buildings.
With structural work well
advanced, the landmark
university project is due for
completion in mid 2011.

26

Ken Dalton
Chief Executive
Global Building Engineering
E: ken.dalton@aecom.com

34
2

Construction is well underway

at Zayed University, a prestige
education campus that will
enhance the social and economic
development of Abu Dhabi
through higher education.

Technical editor
Peter Ayres

Editor
Helen Elias

10

Graphic design
Matt Timmins
Building Engineering executive
Ken Dalton
Hamid Adib
Mike Biscotte
Steve Campbell
Abdul Hagh
Geoff Hardy
Steve Hodkinson
David Lee
Andrew McDougall
Andrew Schofield

A sharp focus on the detail

The Monash Centre for Electron
Microscopy (MCEM), Victoria, Australia.

A new landmark building for Perth,

Western Australia, looks good and
exceeds sustainability expectations,
explains Marcello Greco.

26

34

Air chairs: seats of cool

Jim Saywell and Alastair MacGregor

keep their cool in the busy, sunny airport
in San Jose, U.S.

40

Dynamic design

FC Spartak Moscows new Moscow,

Russia stadium is making headlines.
Andy Coward goes into the detail.

46

High and mighty

Are green buildings healthy?

Are green buildings also healthy
buildings? David Cheshire investigates
from the U.K.

Meeting the
sustainable vision

20

Send us your thoughts and subscribe to

future issues: agendamagazine@aecom.com.

Housing benefits

Innovative zero carbon homes break

new ground in the U.K.

16

Contact/subscribe
Agenda is the technical journal for AECOMs
global building engineering services.
Technical papers submitted to Agenda are
both reviewed by an editorial board and peergroup verified. Agenda is read by our clients
and our experts around the world.

10

David Lee, Hoi Yeun Lee and Chester

Chan review innovative fast-track
construction techniques for the striking
258-meter-tall Grand Lisboa Hotel and
Casino, Macau.

52

Emerging city challenges

Andy Parkman considers sustainable

options for cities that are experiencing
economic growth.

54

References

55

On site: Zayed University

Shaken, but not stirred

David Kilpatrick and Shafiq Alam
report from California, U.S. on a
critical building designed to survive
major seismic activity.

Staying green, keeping warm

Jill Pederson and John Munroe
showcase two sustainable commercial
buildings in Canada designed for
extreme cold climates.

16

20

40

46
Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

Housing
benefits
Zero carbon homes
break new ground
Residents have moved into one of the U.K.s largest zero
carbon developments in Slough, Berkshire. Greenwatt
Way uses the latest construction methods and
technologies to deliver zero carbon housing to Level 6 of
the U.K. Code for Sustainable Homes.
It is important for the U.K. housing market to trial
different low carbon technologies and fully understand
their performance in a low energy home. The first U.K.
development where this range of renewable technologies
has been deployed, Greenwatt Way, will allow effective
monitoring of each system.
The development, ten homes with two or three
bedrooms and a few one bedroom flats, an information
hub and an energy center, will be monitored for two
years to improve understanding of energy usage and
requirements. Each home has a private patio around a
shared garden, with space to grow vegetables.

ZERO CARBON MEASURES

Roofs are covered with solar
photovoltaic tiles (63 kWp in total),
providing enough renewable
electricity to achieve net zero
carbon emissions in each home
irrespective of heat source. Excess
electricity is sold back to the
national transmission system.

Special tapes and

seals ensure required
air tightness levels.

The biomass boiler, ground and

air source heat pumps all run
independently to demonstrate
that these renewable
technologies can each generate
enough low carbon heat to meet
zero carbon requirements.

The energy centre includes solar

thermal panels, an air source heat
pump (ASHP), a ground source heat
pump (GSHP), a biomass boiler and
a spare bay for future renewable
energy technology testing.

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

The ventilation
system features
high efficiency
heat recovery.

A north-facing roof light

above the stairs allows
natural daylight
penetration into the
houses, also acting as a
chimney opening in
summer to draw out
warm air.

A grey water recycling

system recycles bath and
shower water to flush toilets
and recover waste heat. A
centralized rainwater
harvesting system collects
rainwater to flush toilets
and provide water for
irrigation and car washing.

REAL LIFE BENEFITS

RESEARCH
By testing a wide range of
solutions, Greenwatt Way is
enabling research into the real
life benefits of living in zero
carbon homes:
the energy center will test five

different types of renewable energy

generation, including: an air and
ground-source heat pump, a
biomass boiler, solar thermal panels
and solar photovoltaic tiles
a low temperature district heat

network will reduce heat losses and

maximize heat source performance
low energy appliances, cooking and

lighting technologies
Low carbon heating and hot
water is supplied via an
innovative low temperature, low
heat loss district heating
system serviced from the
energy center.

low water use fittings, rainwater

harvesting and greywater (including

heat) recovery
energy monitoring/smart metering

systems.

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

A SHARP FOCUS
ON THE DETAIL
A world-class research facility located in the heart
of Monash Universitys Clayton Campus, Victoria,
Australia, called for innovative mechanical services
noise and vibration design solutions to ensure that
ten highly-sensitive electron microscopes achieve
magnifications to atomic scales.
The Monash Centre for
Electron Microscopy (MCEM),
Victoria, Australia, is a purposebuilt laboratory, one of a handful
of similar facilities around the
world. The center houses ten
microscopes, including the
highest resolution electron
microscope in Australia.
AECOM was briefed with the
challenge of eliminating almost
all noise and vibration in the
MCEM. Engaged by Monash
Project Management, AECOM
worked closely with lead architectural consultant, Architectus
Melbourne.
Matthew Stead, AECOMs
global acoustic practice leader,
led the team for this one-of-akind project. There are only a
handful of facilities worldwide
with this type of specification.
Andrew Tull, a member of the
team who had previously worked
on the award-winning Australian
Synchrotron, traveled to Germany
and Holland, to meet with the
lead scientist from McMaster
University, Ontario, Canada, to
inspect similar facilities.
Investigation into other
international facilities provided

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

the team with insight into how

the detailed specifications could
be achieved in the Australian
environment, where the location
of the building within a working
university campus provided a
further set of unique design
challenges.
Designing for the unknown
The assignment was a challenge as the microscopes to be
installed within the facility were
still not known at the time of
building design. This meant that
a comparison of vibration criteria
between different electron
microscope manufacturers was
needed to maintain maximum
flexibility in the buildings design.
A combination of conservative
design, allowing for future capacity, and flexibility in the penetrations into the rooms for future
services addressed the unknown
specifications. The conservative
approach resulted in a design
that addressed the most stringent specifications of potential
equipment to be installed in the
laboratories.
The initial brief nominated
mechanical vibrations of

Interlocking glass
panels allow light to
enter the internal
spaces.

<0.5 micro-g <10Hz and

<5 micro-g >10Hz one thousand
times less vibration than can be
felt. Sound had to be below 20 dBA
across full frequency range, making it as quiet as a concert hall.
These specifications were further developed into the required
noise and vibration spectra, with
significant noise attenuation
required at the very difficult low
frequency of <50Hz.
Thermal stability was critical,
with specifications requiring
<0.1C/30 minutes and
<0.005C/seconds at 20C,
humidity below 60 percent and
dew point below 18C. Air flow
was not to be within 1 meter of the
microscope column.
With the level of attenuation
required of the background
environmental noise and vibration and therefore the design
solutions, unknown at the start of
the project, the design challenge
was significant. Whats more, the
site was surrounded by buildings
containing a variety of vibration

A comparison of vibration criteria

between electron microscope
manufacturers was needed to
maintain maximum flexibility in the
buildings design.

THE CLAYTON CAMPUS

Electron microscopes
are extraordinary. These
extremely large and
expensive pieces of
equipment are difficult
to operate. Using
electrons as a source of
imaging (having a lesser
wave length than light),
they can achieve a resolution thousands of
times greater than light microscopes, with
the resulting image able to be magnified more
than a million times.

mechanical services for the building would be another source of

vibration and noise if not carefully
designed.

The Clayton Campus MCEM FEI Titan3

microscope (the most noise and vibration
sensitive version) has a resolution of 0.08 nm,
smaller than the distance between atoms.
Achieving this kind of magnification is no
easy feat, with the performance of electron
microscopes heavily dependent on their
environment. The more inert the space
housing the microscope, the better the
image. The three main sources of disturbance
being vibration, noise and electromagnetic
interference.

The perfect cocoon

These stringent technical
requirements formed the basis
of the buildings architecture
and design its form a perfect
square sitting independently atop
a spherical mound sculpted from
the earth.
The mound, 50 meters in
diameter, is the first device
used to isolate the building
from surrounding disturbances,
defining an exclusion zone for
interference. The square building
sits above the mound, built on a
series of isolated floor slabs and
foundations, each individually

The improved analysis of the atomic

structure of material enabled by worldclass facilities such as the MCEM enables
scientists to build on our understanding of
material properties, helping to advance the
design of materials for new technologies in
a predictive manner. Applications include
computer chips, electronic devices,
nanotechnologies, alloy design and structural
materials used in space and aeronautical
engineering. More
generally, atom
structure influences
chemical functionality
and reactivity,
important elements in
materials, chemical and
drug design.

The building form is a perfect square, sitting on top of a spherical mound.

sources, including pumps, fans,

generators, cooling towers,
lifts and other miscellaneous
air conditioning equipment, and
a roadway to the west, along
with numerous car parks. These
features meant that there were
numerous potential sources of
excessive vibration that required
significant treatment.
In fact, preliminary measurements found vibration levels to be
close to the criteria levels, making
the design critical to ensure they
were not amplified in any way.
Similarly, the site was surrounded by numerous noise
sources including the addition
of aircraft noise overhead and
the daily activity of the campus, resulting in noise levels
above 60 dBA. Additionally, the

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

Stringent technical requirements

formed the basis of the buildings
architecture and design.

inspected and tested during

construction to ensure vibration
isolation was achieved. This building is unique to Australia, featuring
three skins to isolate the sensitive
interior laboratories from the
hustle and bustle of daily activity
on the campus outside.
Each of the nine individual
laboratories is cocooned within
multiple layers of structure and
material. Plywood is used to brace
the fully timber structure, while
an outer skin of interlocking glass
panels allows light to enter the
internal spaces.
Each laboratory is constructed
from masonry within the buildings core. The space for the most
sensitive instrument is specially
designed with electromagnetic
field (EMF) shielding to shun
electromagnetic interference.
The building is designed to allow
the equipment it houses to operate
perfectly. It is also strong on utility,
with high doors and wide corridors
allowing large equipment to be
delivered to the buildings loading
bay and subsequently moved into
the designated laboratory with
relative ease.
With the need to isolate any
impact of the mechanical plant on
the laboratories, the system was
designed to achieve low air-flow
velocity, with large duct crosssections and noise control of the
plant warranting long duct runs.

The Heating, Ventilating and

Air Conditioning (HVAC) system
selected to minimize air movement
within the laboratories has multiple
functions equipment cooling,
room heating and cooling, and
emergency ventilation in the event
of an SF6 gas leak. (Hazardous SF6
gas is used in the operation of the
electron microscopes.)
Equipment cooling and room
heating and cooling is achieved
through chilled ceiling panels supplied by a dedicated chilled water
ceiling panel loop (at 17C) via the
buildings air-cooled chiller plant,
minimizing air movement in and
around the microscopes.
Outside air (100 percent fresh)
is also delivered at 19C via
constant-volume air-handling units
located remotely in the adjacent
plant room, and supplied at low
velocity through specially designed
diffusers near floor level. A process
cooling water system removes heat
from the associated microscope
equipment.
Most of the plant was located in
another building to reduce vibration
transmitted to the laboratories.
Flexible connections were also
used to prevent transmission
across the isolated slabs and
isolated walls.
Acoustically lined ductwork
formed with steel of increased
thickness and acoustic attenuators control noise break-in and

The new building

has won many
architectural design
awards.

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

The building
is designed
to allow the
equipment
it houses
to operate
perfectly.

break-out from ductwork entering

the laboratories.
The buildings mechanical
services were designed to
isolate vibration and noise using
the source, path and receiver
approach. Rotating plant was
carefully selected to minimize
noise and vibration levels through
comparison of different selections
and efficiency of operation. The
operating speed was reviewed to
ensure it did not coincide with the
natural frequencies of the critical building structure. Vibration
sources were carefully isolated
with selected spring and neoprene
isolators.

Operationcritical
design, and
sustainable
solutions,
are not
necessarily
mutually
exclusive.
Treatment of the path was
achieved by physically separating,
as much as possible, the plant from
the sensitive electron microscopes,
with services ducted into the laboratories in separate conduits via an
underground culvert. The further
away the plant, the lower the noise
and vibration levels. The separation
was critical because otherwise
excessive noise, vibration and
electromagnetic interference (EMI)
isolation would be needed.
The path of noise attenuation,
designed to limit air and fluid
flow velocities, deploys internal
acoustic lining. The vibration path
attenuation was further improved
by including numerous structural
breaks in both the ductwork and
building structure, including the
foundations, the timber frames and
supports.
Finally, receiver attenuation was
achieved through installation of
sound absorption on walls within
the most sensitive laboratories,
and through the massive 900 millimeter thick concrete foundations
under the sensitive laboratories to
minimize vibration.
With non-standard design and
materials, time and effort was
taken to ensure contractors were
aware of the special needs and

requirements of the installation, an

approach not normally employed
on standard buildings. Particular
focus was placed on flexible connections in gas pipe work and EMI
isolators in ductwork at designated
spacings. A rigorous inspection
process also helped with the quality assurance process. The MCEMs
inherent high-level thermal
insulation, combined with the use
of minimal outside air, helps the
facilitys thermal performance. Its
an indication that operation-critical
design, and sustainable solutions,
are not necessarily mutually
exclusive.
Delivering on performance
Since it was commissioned,
the Monash Centre for Electron
Microscopy has performed up to
design expectations. According
to Dr Peter Miller, manager of the
MCEM, the facilitys $9 million plus
Titan3 double-aberration corrected
transmission electron microscope
has performed exceptionally well
since installation, while two of
five older microscopes have seen
a dramatic improvement in their
performance since being moved to
the facility from elsewhere on the
campus one by a factor of four
and another by a factor of ten.

As one of the most stable

electron microscopy facilities of
its kind to be built anywhere in
the world, the MCEM is attracting
international attention, not only
for the research being conducted
using one of the worlds best
electron microscopes, but also for
the design of the facility.
Along with winning the 2009
Australian Institute of Architects
Victoria Chapter Award for Public
Architecture, and the 2009
Victorian Engineering Excellence
Award for infrastructure projects
up to $20 million, the facility
has also been recognized by the
Australian Acoustical Society.
From a vibration and noise
perspective, the building is
operating well within the specified parameters, with monitored
ambient vibration levels less than
0.3 micrometers/second (m/s);
with the criteria generally being
greater than 0.5 m/s.
Residual vibration comes from
vehicle movements and, on windy
days, from the trees on the Monash
campus. Indeed, a few trees were
removed during landscaping due to
their proximity to the facility.
With only three double aberration corrected Titan3 electron
microscopes in the world, the
Monash Centre for Electron
Microscopy is now an important
contributor to both the Australian
and international scientific
community.
This feature, based on an article
published in the July 2010 issue of
Ecolibrium, is reprinted with
permission from AIRAH.
www.airah.org.au

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

Are green
buildings
healthy?
David Cheshire wonders just what it takes
to make a building healthier. In a healthy
building, occupants are not distracted by
environmental discomfort or prevented
from working by chronic, building-related
illness. A healthier building can potentially
increase productivity, reduce absenteeism,
promote higher job satisfaction and improve
engagement with the organization. What do
organizations have to lose?

Organizations increasingly
seek greener buildings.
Green buildings are all well
and good, but are sustainable
buildings also healthy for the
people who work in them? How
can an employer ensure that
a building provides a healthy
internal environment? Can the
interior affect occupants? Is it
enough to follow good practice
and carry on designing buildings
in the way that we always do?
Wanting to know the answers
to these probing questions,
the U.K.s Royal Institute of
Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
called in AECOMs sustainability
experts to investigate.

 Green, or sustainable, building

definitions often lay claim to being
healthy. For example, a green
building should meet the following
objectives8:

buildings are actually healthier for

occupants.
The best way to assess the
healthiness of green compared
to conventional buildings is post
occupancy evaluations (POEs) to
efficiently using energy, water,
directly survey the impact of green
and other resources
building strategies.
protecting occupant health,
We reviewed a selection of
improving employee productivity publicly available POEs of green
reducing waste, pollution,
buildings, finding that occupants
environmental degradation.
tend to have a higher satisfaction
and lower absenteeism in green
These important objectives are
compared to conventional buildtoo broad and need to be broken
ings. However, the studies also
down into ways that can be clearly
showed that green buildings had a
defined and measured. This was the larger range of performance than
starting position for many building
conventional buildings, indicating
environmental assessment meththat some green buildings were
ods. Environmental assessment
underperforming and in some cases
tools such as BREEAM, LEED and
were worse than conventional
Green Star all measure whether a
buildings. Lighting and acoustics
building is considered to be green. performance in green buildings
Each of these schemes includes was worse than in conventional
a section covering occupant health buildings9.
and Internal Environmental Quality Without sufficient evidence
based on post occupancy
(IEQ), with the measures covering
evaluations that green buildings
similar issues, demonstrating a
are indeed healthy, we identified a
strong overlap between health
range of individual measures from
in buildings and environmental
laboratory and field work studies
assessment methods.
researching the health impacts of
However, it is still hard to
the internal physical environment.
find direct evidence that green

Healthy buildings:
A quick guide
The World Health Organization
(WHO) defines good health
as a state of complete
physical, mental and social
well being, not merely the
absence of disease and
infirmity. 1
In terms of health in buildings, Bluyssen
et al2 say that the ideal situation (for
occupant health) is an indoor environment
that satisfies all occupantsand does not
unnecessarily increase the risk or severity of
illness.
The two key categories of ill health have
been identified as3:
stress induced diseases/disorders,
relating to sensory discomfort (smell,
heat), and physical and mental effects
(tiredness, depression, anxiety)
diseases/disorders induced by external
noxious effects, such as irritation,
infection and toxic chronic effects.
Although salary, benefits and effective
management have the greatest effects on
job satisfaction and employee engagement,
the effect of the internal environment is also
significant. Gallup surveys have indicated
that employees are three times as likely to be
engaged with their companies if they work in
comfortable environments4.
People are able to psychologically adapt
to a wide variety of environmental conditions.
For example, a series of surveys (PoE)
studying occupant reactions to discomfort
found that people coped through a mix of
environmental alterations (closing curtains),
changes in behavior (adjusting clothing); and
psychological coping (ignoring the problem).
While occupants frequently altered the
environment to make it more comfortable, (by
introducing fans and desk lamps or covering
up poorly placed lighting sensors), the
main response to many problems remained
psychological coping.
This solution is not ideal. A recent review
of the health impacts of buildings stated:
Humans are surprisingly adaptive to
different physical environments, but the
workplace should not test the limits of human
adaptability5.
Reducing stress levels associated with
internal environments can potentially
increase productivity, reduce absenteeism
and improve organizational performance.
Indeed, workplaces with fewer stressors
and improved environmental satisfaction are
significantly linked to higher job satisfaction6
Worker productivity has been linked to
physical and behavioral factors such as
ventilation, heating, lighting, office layouts,
interaction and distraction7.

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

11

Humans are surprisingly adaptive to different

physical environments, but the workplace should
not test the limits of human adaptability.

Healthy green measures

Looking at healthy buildings, we
established these key topics:
visual environment
daylight
artificial light
indoor air quality
ventilation
source control
thermal environment
acoustic environment.
Daylighting
Daylight, strongly linked to
human health, helps regulate
our daily bodily rhythms.
Office workers have a strong
preference for good daylight.
Indeed, good daylight and a view
out are traditionally associated
with seniority in organizations.
However, potential heat load
and glare means few offices use
daylight as the primary source of
lighting10. Daylight and lighting
are areas where green buildings

have been found to be lacking in

recently published Post Occupancy
Evaluations, compared to
conventional buildings11.
Studies in schools and offices
showed significantly higher
performance in tests (between
10 and 20 percent) in rooms with
high predicted daylight factors,
while a view out was associated
with a 1016 percent increase in
performance in offices12. Workers
with a view out were 86 percent
more likely to be engaged13, while14
research also found that workers
in windowed offices worked for 15
percent more time than colleagues
without windows.
Glare control is recommended,
despite its relatively high cost, as
a good way of providing occupant
control to spaces, as well as
reducing solar gains, especially
important in hot climates with high
solar gains. A reduction in glare
was associated with a 37 percent

increase in reading speed and error

reduction17. It was also found that
occupants close to windows were
more satisfied on north and south
elevations, due to lower glare and
luminance than on the east and
west faade16.
The key outcomes are to meet
best practice standards for
daylight factors by improving the
penetration of daylight into rooms,
maximize the occupant view out,
and provide glare control for
occupants.
The relative green and healthy
performance for daylighting
measures are summarized in Figure
01. This presents the approximate
impact of each of the measures
on health and sustainability,
estimated based on the evidence
found in the literature, and
discussions with stakeholders and
green building experts.

Low height partitions

Daylight and view out

Healthy

Glade control

Not green

Glass partitions

Green
Low desk partitions
High reflectance finishes
Shallow plan/atrium
Perimeter workspaces

High impact

Low impact

High impact

01 Daylight and view out. Blue bars on the left show the impact
on health (longer = higher impact). Green bars on the right
show the impact on sustainability. Where a measure has
a negative impact on sustainability, the bar is colored red.
An example of a practical measure is the use of low height
partitions in open plan space.

12

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

02 Low height partitions. These allow greater penetration of lighting

through the building across an open plan area, as well as potentially
allowing a greater proportion of occupants to have a view out or
into an atrium. Studies in schools and offices showed significantly
higher performance (between 10 and 20 percent) in rooms with high
predicted daylight factors. Furthermore, studies showed that a view
out was associated with a 1025 percent increase in performance17.
Research shows that in a variety of situations and for different
lighting measures, workers in low cubicles are significantly more
satisfied with lighting conditions than those in high cubicles18.

Pollutants may arise from

furnishings, equipment,
construction materials, or
even the ventilation system
components themselves.

Indoor air quality: Source control of pollutants

Low VOCs
Flush out/bake out
Post occupancy IAQ
Dedicated tenant risers
Permanent entryway
Smoking ban

Healthy

Avoid legionella

Not green

Indoor plants

Green

High impact

Low impact

High impact

03 Indoor air quality: source control of pollutants. Blue bars on the

left show the impact on health (longer = higher impact). Green bars
on the right show the impact on sustainability. Where a measure has
a negative impact on sustainability, the bar is colored red.

Indoor air quality

Numerous studies have reported
health and productivity increases
linked to indoor air quality (IAQ).
One study19 found performance of
office work increased by 5 percent
when air quality was improved to
a high level from the average level
often found in practice. A survey
described in the U.S. EPAs 1989
report to the U.S. Congress20 the
average self-reported productivity
loss due to poor indoor air quality
was 3 percent. A report21 on
several studies conducted in
local government departments
in the U.S., U.K. and Denmark
showed large numbers of health
complaints related to air quality
and ventilation (2043 percent
headaches, 2857 percent
lethargy, 1237 percent eye
irritation) which could possibly
result in loss of productivity.

The report concluded that both

ventilation/air movement and
humidity can have a profound
effect on productivity in the
workplace; however they cannot be
singled out by themselves.
Source control of pollutants
aims to improve Indoor Air
Quality (IAQ) by removing
sources of pollution from within
buildings. Pollutants may arise
from furnishings, equipment,
construction materials, or even the
ventilation system components
themselves. Many of these sources
were identified during studies of
Sick Building Syndrome (SBS).
This syndrome was introduced to
describe a variety of symptoms
causing discomfort and a lack of
wellbeing, which appeared linked
to particular buildings, often
air conditioned office spaces.
Studies have shown links between

Working in
hot and cold
environments
can hinder
performance
and comfort.

Numerous studies have reported health and

productivity increases linked to indoor air quality.

SBS symptoms and specific

building parameters such as CO2
levels22 showing a potential link
between building systems and
productivity.
In studies where subjects
performed tasks representative
of office work (typing, addition,
and proof reading) test
performance improved by 4
percent after removing an
unseen section of old carpet
from the test space23. Similar
studies24 with office equipment
found that text typing errors
diminished by 16 percent and
typing speed improved slightly on
removing old monitors from an
office space.
Volatile Organic Compounds
(VOCs) have been considered
as possible contributory
factor of SBS, as are known
irritants. Formaldehyde is
the main constituent of most
VOCs. It arises from a range
of indoor sources such as
ureaformaldehyde foam (UFF)
cavity wall insulation, particle

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

13

Creating comfortable thermal environments

is one of the key duties of buildings, allowing
us to live and work comfortably in a range of
different external climatic conditions.
and fiberboard, and cleaning
agents. According to the WHO
(2000), formaldehyde levels are of
concern in over 10 percent of the
indoor environments in which they
have been measured. Products
labelled green (timber, flooring,
paints) showed significantly
less VOC emissions than their
traditional counterparts25.
Laboratory and field studies26
found that plants reliably reduced
the level of VOCs by 75 percent,
to below 100 ppb. A study of
building Bake-Out (heating up
the building to release gases
before occupation) showed that
this reduced the initial level of
VOC following the fit out of an
apartment, and over the following
six months27. The key outcomes
are to reduce the level of VOCs
and other pollutants in the indoor
environment, by either reducing
the levels introduced in furnishings
and fittings, or by implementing
strategies to remove indoor
pollutants.
An example measure is the
flush-out/bake-out of a building
before occupation. The level

of VOCs in a building is highest

during and immediately after
construction, due to off-gassing
from new furnishings and finishes.
The level of VOCs can be reduced
by flushing the building out with
a high level of ventilation before
occupation for a minimum of
seven days. The off-gassing
can be enhanced by raising the
internal temperature (bake out),
which encourages higher rates of
off-gassing.
This measure seeks to reduce
the level of VOCs in the internal
environment linked to health
issues and SBS. However, this
measure does increase energy
use prior to occupation due to
high ventilation rates and raised
temperatures.
Thermal comfort
Creating comfortable thermal
environments is one of the key
duties of buildings, allowing us
to live and work comfortably
in a range of different external
climatic conditions. Working in
hot and cold environments can
hinder performance and comfort.

Thermal environment
Healthy

Thermal modeling

Not green

Thermal zoning

Green
Dress code
Steam humidification

High impact

Low impact

High impact

04 Thermal comfort. Blue bars on the left show the impact on

health (longer = higher impact). Green bars on the right show
the impact on sustainability. Where a measure has a negative
impact on sustainability, the bar is colored red.

14

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

In cold environments, human

performance is reduced largely due
to physiological reasons, although
decreased motivation and pain at
thermal extremes can also play a
part. Humans can cope with mild
heat through sweating, though
this can also be accompanied
by a reduction in performance
through increased irritability and
drowsiness28.
Studies on internal thermal
environment have continued since
the British Industrial Fatigue
Research Board started research
in the 1930s on factory workers.
These studies show that artificially
adjusting the climate had benefits
on work productivity, psychomotor and cognitive activities29.
(In the 1970s, an energy balance
equation for thermal comfort was
produced30, based on laboratory
experiments, with repeatable
results that are the basis of
many of todays thermal comfort
standards). However, more recent
field studies indicate that workers
can adapt to a range of conditions
outside the predictions. Some
researchers31 have suggested
the theory of adaptive comfort,
which states If a change occurs
such as to produce discomfort,
people react in ways which tend
to restore their comfort32. This
indicates that allowing occupants
to control systems may allow
thermal systems a greater range
of comfortable temperatures. A
relaxed dress code also allows
occupants to adapt to discomfort
by adjusting their level of clothing.
This could include wearing lighter
clothes in summer, or removing
jackets and ties, though in certain
organizations the prevailing culture
may not allow this.
A review of 24 office-based
studies33 stated performance

05 Acoustic partitions between workspaces in open

plan offices can reduce the transmission of sounds
between workspaces. Noise, especially conversation and
ringing telephones, is one of the most disturbing factors
in open plan offices. This can be measured using the
sound intelligibility index (SII). The key ways of improving
the acoustic performance of workspace partitions are
increasing panel absorption and increasing panel height.

06 Dedicated tenant risers/separate printer/copier

rooms. Photocopiers and other office equipment can
cause local high concentration of internal pollutants,
such as VOCs, particulates and ozone. Dedicated tenant
risers will remove these pollutants from the source, while
separate rooms will keep them apart from the people
working in the building.

increases with temperature up

to 2122C, and decreases with
temperature above 2324C. The
highest productivity is at a temperature of around 22C. The study
also noted that high temperatures
were often associated with low ventilation rates and poor air quality,
which could also affect productivity. Individual/desktop temperature
controls have also been studied,
with one34 review of 20 studies
showing a mean increase in productivity of 5.5 percent. There was
a large variation in results however,
from 0.2 percent35 to 24 percent36.
Humidity also affects comfort.
A range of 4060 percent relative
humidity (RH) is generally considered acceptable. The combination
of high temperatures and high
humidity cause a feeling of oppression or sultriness, which occurs
at around 70 percent RH 21C, or
60 percent RH at 23C. This also
affects perceived indoor air quality
(IAQ): lowering the temperature
and humidity improves perceived
IAQ, even when the ventilation
rate reduces37. When the humidity
drops to less than 40 percent RH,
dry skin, lips and throats can be an
issue, and below 20 percent it can
have negative effects on the eye
blinking rate (contact lens users
are particularly affected). Lower
humidity promotes dust generation, increase the perception of
smells and irritation from cigarette
smoke38.

The key outcomes for the

thermal environment are to
provide an environment that meets
comfort standards in terms of
temperature and humidity, while
allowing occupants some means
of local control. This may include
opening windows in naturallyventilated buildings, or having
local thermostats and fans in air
conditioned offices.
Conclusions
Our research identifies practical
measures that can be implemented
in offices to improve the health
and wellbeing of occupants,
ranging from measures to improve
air quality and the acoustic
environment, through to improving
the daylight and view out. The
research shows links exist between
green and healthy buildings, but
some measures with positive
health benefits are actually
detrimental to the environmental
impact of the building.
Most importantly, there is
a global body of evidence that
shows links between these
healthy building measures and
improvements in productivity,
physical and mental health, and
employee engagement.
David Cheshire is a sustainability
consultant based in AECOMs
London Office.
E: david.cheshire@aecom.com

Our research identifies

practical measures that can
be implemented in offices
to improve the health and
wellbeing of occupants.
Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

15

Meeting the

sustainable vision
Landmark buildings can both look good
and successfully exceed sustainability
expectations. Its a matter of integrating
building form and function with worldclass low-energy knowledge and a rigorous
design approach, reports Marcello Greco.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Exceeding the vision

WATER USE kL/m2

75

0.75

50

124

0.50
125

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

0.25

0.6

25

100

Saving

-520.5
MW hrs

Equivalent of
$78,000 per annum

150

CO2 EMISSIONS kg of CO2/m2

1.01

1.25

25

Saving

4414

75

50

1.0

1.50

100

114
51
.7

ENERGY USE kW.hrs/m2

*(including 36 MW.hrs from wind turbines

which represents 10 percent of the
buildings energy use)

16

automated operable louvers minimize

solar radiation load, while individually
addressable lighting design allows greater
flexibility of the office spaces and provides
outstanding energy usage control.
The first three helical wind turbines in
Western Australia, located on the rooftop,
provide green energy to a portion of the
building, with the on-site generated power
reducing demand from the grid and the
buildings carbon footprint.
The project beat all expectations,
achieving a 6 Star rating on the GBCA Green
Star accreditation scheme, based on the
Office Design v2 rating tool. A 6 Star rating
is the highest possible, representative of
world leading sustainability practice. The
development also achieved desired 5 star
NABERS energy efficiency rating and a
Property Council of Australia (PCA) Grade A.

Two Victoria Avenue was designed

by Woodhead Architects, with AECOM
commissioned to develop the building
services solutions and provide advice on
acoustics, sustainability (ESD) and Green
Star accreditation with the Green Building
Council of Australia (GBCA).
Our design solutions addressed the brief
to evolve a visually interesting four-story
sustainable building that has quickly
become accepted as a new landmark for
Perth. A sustainable agenda informed the
AECOM teams thinking for each design
challenge. The flexible design solution
allows for maximum commercial viability
through the potential for split-tenancy
occupation of the larger floor plates. All
tenancy areas are cooled by active chilled
beams with floor-by-floor plant. Fully

51.
5

The vision for the four-story

7,200-square-meter building at 2
Victoria Avenue, Perth, was to achieve
a sustainable design that exceeded the
previous standard design practice for
Western Australia.
The speculative commercial office
development was commissioned by
Stockland, Australias largest diversified
property group, a leading development
company that owns and operates major
landmark offices and retail complexes.
Like AECOM, Stockland has an enlightened
reputation for respecting the environment,
identifying and responding to the risks
and opportunities associated with climate
change.
Stockland set a dual vision for the
building, believing environmental and
economic targets to be as important
as creating a visually stimulating new
landmark building for Perth. The Terrace
Road location overlooks Perths Swan
River foreshore an open recreational
parkland abutting the river, and adjacent
to the picturesque Supreme Court Gardens
and famous Bell Tower. Given the scenic
location, the new building had to integrate
sympathetically with the immediate
environment, as well as deliver a statement
of the development companys strong
principles of sustainability and quality.

Saving

-447.3

tonnes of
CO2

kL

Equivalent of
~$4400 or ~4.4 Olympicsized swimming pools

125

150

Equivalent of
~54 households or
~6,400 m of 5 star ABGR office space
2

2 Victoria Avenue

Benchmark

Two Victoria Avenue, a prestige

new speculative commercial
office development in Perth,
Western Australia, is the first
project to be awarded a 6-Star
rating (Office Design v2) under the
Green Star environment rating
scheme established by the Green
Building Council of Australia
(GBCA).

the many innovation initiatives

developed to deliver against the
challenging brief were subjected to
whole life costing and cost benefit
analyses using cutting edge technology. Indeed, in some instances
analysis availability trailed behind
our design agenda.
This rigorous process took the
project beyond initial estimates,
providing an exemplary building
Setting the standard
where the impact of successful
from start to finish
sustainable design initiatives is
The developers economic
validated by solid engineering and
targets were of equal importance to economic viability.
the less tangible aesthetic objec The initial capital required to
tives of creating a local landmark
deliver the building was approxibuilding for Perth. These targets
mately 15 percent higher than
affected the decision making
the equivalent cost of a standard
process for the project, influencoffice building. However, energy
ing every design discipline. All of
and water efficiency improvements

The faade lighting provides a balancing

architectural element to 2 Victoria
Avenue, Perth, Western Australia.

Sustainable
design
initiatives
are validated
by solid
engineering
and
economic
viability.

reduced and thus offset operational cost by approximately A$

80,000 per annum.
All of the sustainability initiatives
implemented were monitored and
tracked throughout the construction phase to ensure that all the
stringent Green Star rating criteria
were followed. This included the
use of American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers (ASHRAE) and U.K.s
Chartered Institution of Building
Services Engineers (CIBSE)
guidelines for pre-commissioning,
commissioning and quality monitoring for the building services,
control and management systems,
due to the absence of equivalent
Australian Standards for these
processes.

AUSTRALIAN BUILDING
RATING SCHEMES
Green Star is a comprehensive
environmental rating system
established by Green Building
Council Australia (GBCA) to evaluate the environmental design and
construction of buildings. Similar
to BREEAM or LEED, Green Star
was developed for the property
industry in order to:
- establish a common language
- set a standard of measurement
for green buildings
- promote integrated, wholebuilding design
- recognize environmental
leadership
- identify building life-cycle
impacts
- raise awareness of green
building benefits.
NABERS is a performance
based rating system (formally the
Australian Building Greenhouse
Rating) for existing buildings,
developed by GBCA. NABERS
measures the environmental
performance of a building during
its operation.
PCA Grades. The Property
Council of Australia (PCA) grades
buildings from A (Highest) to D
(Lowest) according to criteria set
out in the PCA Guide to Office
Building Quality.

PERFORMANCE TRACKING

2 VICTORIA AVENUE: SUSTAINABLE DESIGN FEATURES

Predicted vs actual cumulative CO2 base building emissions

Actual
consumption

Tonnes CO2

350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0

Predicted
consumption
5 star NABERS
energy benchmark

A
M
Month

Carbon emissions track well in comparison with the prediction

and NABERS rating target.

Tonnes CO2

Modeled total
tenant
5 star tenant
Tenant BMS
measurements

Presence and light detectors,

combined with strategic zoning of
the building enabled energy savings
to be maximized.
2 Victoria Avenue CO2 emissions breakdown

Total tenant occupancy and hours adjusted

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

1 Daylight harvesting via light

sensors, and the dimming of
artificial lighting

Pumps
6%
Fans
15%

Tenant equipment is excluded from the base build assessment,

however the energy use compares well against predictions. Our
team carried out tenant reviews to ensure that the fit out design
aligned with the landlord systems and energy saving initiatives.

Generator
testing 4%

Modeled total
tenant

120
Tonnes CO2

5 star whole
building

80
60

Whole building BMS

measurements

40
20
0

Month

Chillers occupancy and hours adjusted

20

Modeled total
base building

MWh

16

5 star NABERS
energy
benchmarks

12
8

Actual BMS
measurements

4
0

Month

4 Indoor air quality

Lifts 15%

Cooling
25%
Heating 1%

House lighting
18%
Domestic water
heating 4%
General
ventilation 4%

Whole building occupancy and hours adjusted

100

The grey water treatment plant

recycles water from showers and
basins. Combined with water saving
accessories, the plant saves more
than four Olympic-sized swimming
pools of water each year when
compared to an average building.

Supplemental
cooling loop 8%

Month

3 Grey water treatment plant,

waterless urinals

2 Vertical axis wind turbines

The wind direction is fairly predictable in Perth with south-westerly

winds in the afternoons which
works well for this buildings
location, making vertical axis wind
turbines particularly suitable.
The central location of 2 Victoria
Avenue in the Perth CBD provided
challenges to our acoustic team,
who evaluated the environmental
impact as part of their duties in the
project team and advised the city
authorities, enabling negotiations
with the neighbors.

The air exchange effectiveness

was subject to computer modeling,
combined with natural light and
views to the outside. This innovation makes the interior environment
pleasing and comfortable. The
lower air flow, in conjunction with
the chilled beams, enables a full
fresh air system that provides a
better internal environment.
Air exchange effectiveness
demonstrated by
CFD modeling

MWh

HVAC fans occupancy and hours adjusted

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

Modeled total
base building
5 star NABERS
energy benchmarks
Actual BMS
measurements
D

Month

Tonnes CO2

DHW cumulative predicted vs actual energy usage

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Actual
consumption
Predicted
consumption
5 star NABERS
energy benchmark
D

Month

Water is the most heavily weighted resource in the Western

Australia version of the Green Star rating tool. The initiatives in
2 Victoria Avenue exceeded expectations.

18

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

Natural light and views to the outside help

make the internal environment comfortable.

AECOM continues to monitor and contrast building

performance against modeled performance.

The western faade provides the

greatest heat gains, according to
the computer model of the thermal
performance of the building. A
solar trajectory model for 2 Victoria
Avenue demonstrated the benefits
of automatic solar pattern operated louvers provided a benefit in
terms of net present value of the
building.
The operated louvers are
supported by a purpose designed
secondary structure. Our lighting
engineers designed a cabling system that provided award winning
faade lighting, with all associated
wiring carefully concealed in the
system.

The award winning

building exterior
lighting solution
carefully conceals
wiring within the
faade.

6 Efficient water cooling

towers for chillers

The cooling towers used in the

cooling system at 2 Victoria Avenue
have been specified to bleed
approximately 40 percent less
water than the design standard for
Western Australia. These environmental innovations allow for water
savings in the order of 4,414kL or
nearly four and a half Olympic size
swimming pools every year.

7 Active chilled beams

Marcello Greco is an associate

director, Building Engineering with
AECOM, based in Perth, Western
Australia.
E: marcello.greco@aecom.com

Active chilled beams use water as

the main heat transfer medium,
which compared with air based
air conditioning systems can
exchange heat 4,000 times more
efficiently than air. A small amount
of air induces air flow through the
active chilled beams and produce
net savings on the plant room
floor space, fan power and energy
requirements.
Air side life cycle analysis
$6.5M
NPV current dollars

5 Active western faade

The final stages of commissioning overlapped with the first of 2

Victoria Avenues occupants moving
in. AECOM engineers were able
to remotely access the building
management system and assist
with the detection of teething
issues in the installations. Lighting
controls, advanced louver controls,
irrigation water usage, were
amongst systems that were closely
monitored.
AECOM has continued to monitor
and contrast building performance
against modeled performance
post-construction. Our team produces regular reports, comparing
design intent with actual performance on a number of parameters.
The design included complex
computer modeling and simulation
that predicted the performance of
the building over seasons and in
accordance to occupancy levels.
Our design estimates proved to be
accurate when compared to the
actual energy usage of the finished
2 Victoria Avenue in use.

$5.5M
$4.5M
VAV
Displacement

$3.5M

Chilled beam
$2.5M
0

10

Year

15

20

25

The design
included complex
computer
modeling and
simulation.

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

19

Shaken, but
not stirred
Designing for the big one
The brief to design a critical essential service
facility that must survive major seismic activity
gave AECOM engineers an opportunity to break
new ground. David Kilpatrick and Shafiq Alam
report from California, U.S.

INLAND EMPIRE TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT CENTER (IETMC)

The $28.9 million IETMC building
is located at the southeast quadrant
of Interstate 15 and State Route 210,
Fontana, California, U.S.

The IETMC building, Fontana,

California, U.S.A.

20

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

The new facility houses the

combined services of the California
Highway Patrol (CHP), the CHP
911 communication center and
the California Department of
Transportations management and
emergency services groups.
The new building, operational 24
hours a day, seven days a week, is
equipped with the latest technologies
to respond to any major emergencies.

The building is also designed to

function as a 911 emergency operation
center that will serve as the command
post for the county and local
municipalities in the event of a major
public catastrophe.
With a location close to major
earthquake fault lines, it was imperative that this important building be
designed to remain standing in the
event of any scale of seismic activity.

Building design for high seismic

areas draws on the thoughtful
expertise of experts responsible
not just for the building, but
protecting human life during an
earthquake.
Structural engineering in high
seismic areas such as Southern
California, U.S. involves design
methods above and beyond
conventional building engineering
practice. In-depth expertise in the
field of earthquake engineering
is essential in order to develop
structural solutions that successfully protect human life and
property during a significant
seismic event. The responsibility of such a design challenge
becomes all the greater, and even
more complex, when the brief is to
design a critical essential service
facility able to remain operational
during and subsequent to a catastrophic earthquake. Particularly

when the building in question is

to be located near major seismic
faults. AECOMs structural team
in Orange, California took on this
challenging task designing the
Inland Empire Transportation
Management Center (IETMC)
for The Department of General
Services (DGS), State of
California.
Californias new 43,000-squarefeet IETMC essential facility is
located near three major faults,
including the San Jacinto and the
famous San Andreas Fault. Both
faults are capable of a 7.5 magnitude seismic event with little or no
warning.
With the brief to design a
facility with an excellent chance
of survival during a catastrophic
seismic event, AECOMs structural
team drew on innovative building
technology and performancebased design expertise to meet

this unique design challenge.

The team
The California Building Code
(CBC) approval and review requirements for a base-isolated building
involve a very comprehensive
process. Design and performance
of the isolators and dampers,
including critical material properties, must be verified by full scale
testing in order to be acceptable
by the designer and building
authorities.
A group of highly trained
professionals from various fields
of expertise worked together as
an integrated team to complete
the task. AECOM in conjunction
with DGS assembled a team of
highly qualified technical experts
to navigate through the rigorous
design process.

BASE ISOLATION

It is common for the loss

associated with damage to a
buildings contents to exceed the
cost of damage to the buildings
main lateral resistance elements.
In the case of the IETMC, as an
essential service facility, it was

not only critical to protect the main

structural system but it was also
necessary to prevent or minimize
any damage to the non-structural
building systems. This allows the
user to maintain critical mission
capabilities with minimum
interruption.
The IETMC building rests on a
base isolation system of natural
rubber isolators in conjunction
with viscous fluid dampers. This
combination is expected to deliver
the high level of performance
demanded by the exacting and
uncompromising project design
criteria.

Increasing damping

Base Shear

Base isolation is a structural

engineering technique that
enhances the performance of
the structure of a building by
reducing its response to ground
accelerations. This reduces the
force levels felt by the structures
lateral load resisting system and
also the floor level accelerations
that non-structural components in
the building will experience.

Period

T1

T2

Without
isolation

With
isolation

Spring/Summer 2011

Effect of seismic
isolation
(Acceleration
response spectrum
perspective):
increased period
of vibration of
structure to reduce
base shear.

Agenda

21

Earthquakes
near the
IETMC
project
site are
expected to
be as high
as 7.5 on
the Richter
scale.

The CBC defines design basis earthquake

(DBE) and upper-bound earthquake
(UBE) as seismic design events having
exceedance of probabilities of ten percent
in 50 years and ten percent in 100 years
respectively. These two events correspond
to approximately 475- and 950-year
average return period (ARP) earthquakes.
The UBE is mathematically equivalent to
the maximum capable earthquake (MCE)
defined in CBC 1655A for seismic design of
base isolated structures.

Key
Site
Faults
Seismicity
8.5 to 9.5
7.5 to 8.5
6.5 to 7.5
5.5 to 6.5
Less than 5.5
Unknown magnitude
Liquef. Suscept.
(USGS OF00-444_PP1360)
Very high
High
Moderate
Low
Very low

Table 01 Recommended earthquake events and strong motion recording stations for
selected time histories.
USGS site
classification

Station owner

7.4

rt lat strike
slip

274
247
255

89
89
89

180

Yarimca
Petkim
Station 772

KOER

2.6

USGS C

Landers, CA
1992-06-28

7.3

rt lat strike
slip

355
140

90
90

180

Yermo Fire
Station

CSMIP

31.0

USGS C

Landers, CA
1992-06-28

7.3

rt lat strike
slip

355
140

90
90

180

Lucerne
Valley

SCE

1.1

USGS A

Northridge, CA
1994-01-17

6.7

thurst/
reverse

122

40

180

LA reservoir
Rinaldi
Station

LADWP

8.6

USGS C

Closest
distance to
fault (km)

Dip

Izmit-Koeaeli,
Turkey
1999-08-17

Rake

Strike

Spring/Summer 2011

Station name

Magnitude

Agenda

4.2 km from the Cucamonga Fault

(Potential 6.9 Richter scale)
11 km from the San Jacinto Fault
(Potential 6.7 Richter scale)
15 km from the San Andreas Fault
(Potential 7.5 Richter scale)

Fault sources, historical

seismicity and liquefaction
susceptibility

selected. The Pacific Earthquake

Engineering Research Center
(PEER) recommendation, selecting
records with magnitudes within
0.25 units from target values, was
used. The target values for the site
were established between 6.5 and
7.5 for the maximum magnitude
earthquake. Three time histories
were then selected and scaled
using EZ-FRISK version 7.20 (Risk
Engineering, 2006), for the DBE and
UBE events.

22

Earthquakes near the IETMC project site

are expected to be as high as 7.5 on the
Richter scale.

Mechanism

The facility is built to survive

the tests of time and nature.

EARTHQUAKE PROBABILITIES

Earthquake

Site geo-hazard determination

The first step in designing a base
isolated building is to determine
the site-specific seismic demand,
in the form of a site-specific
response spectra developed
using a probabilistic seismic
hazard approach (PSHA). Next,
representative ground-motion time
histories are selected from a suite
of existing ground motions, with
consideration given to response
spectra developed for the site,
local and regional geology and site
faulting characteristics.
The PHSA for the site was
performed to estimate peak
horizontal and vertical ground
accelerations and five percent
damped dynamic response spectra
for two design earthquake events
designated as the design basis
earthquake (DBE) and the upperbound earthquake (UBE).
The PSHA yielded peak
horizontal ground accelerations
of 0.7 g for DBE and 0.85 g for UBE
events, which were compared with
CBC required minima and found to
exceed the CBC requirements. The
vertical peak ground acceleration
values for DBE and UBE were
0.64 g and 0.81 g respectively.
Representative time histories
with magnitudes, fault distances
and source mechanisms that are
consistent with those that control
the design earthquakes were then

Preliminary building and

isolator design phase
While the geo-hazard report
was being developed, the structural engineering team worked
with other disciplines and client
to develop the building layout
that accommodated the clients
requirements and allowed for a
base isolator layout that would
minimize uplift on the natural rubber isolators (elastomeric isolators
can resist limited tensile stresses

without significant softening). In

addition, an isolator layout that
balanced the gravity loads was
selected. This allowed for a common isolator size, something that is
important considering the amount
of prototype testing and verification
required for these components.
A three dimensional building
model was created in ETABS V9
(Computers & Structures, Inc.
Berkeley, California). This simplified model was used to estimate
the building mass (approximately
6800 kips) and resulted in the use
of 31 isolators mounted in a crawl
space beneath the building. At
this point a preliminary bearing
stiffness estimate was made
assuming a system natural period
from 2.3 to 2.7 seconds. Knowing 1/
T= (1/2) (K/M), we then estimated
Kmin and Kmax for the overall
system, (Kmin= 100 kips/inch and
Kmax=135 kips/inch). These values

are the overall system stiffnesss

that are divided by the number of
isolators (31) to yield the minimum
and maximum bearing stiffness
requirements. Kmin=3.23 kips/inch
and Kmax=4.37 kips/inch.
For a static analysis the CBC
requires that the base isolated
building be designed for a minimum
design displacement (DD= (g/42)
CVD TD/BD) and a maximum
displacement (DM=(g/42)CVM
TM/BM). CVM, CVD, BD, BM are
values related to the code based
site seismic coefficients, and the
amount of effective damping for
the system. Although a time history
approach was anticipated, these
values were used as beginning
benchmark values.
In order to provide supplemental
damping necessary for a system
utilizing low damping rubber
isolators, the design team used
eight viscous fluid dampers at

A threedimensional
building
model was
created.

SEISMIC ISOLATION SYSTEM

1

Isolator (1) and damper (2)

Isolator

- Natural rubber material

- 31 isolators in total
- Diameter: 29.5 inches
- Height: 26.6 inches
- Max. displacement: 26 inches
- Max. vertical load 954 kips
- Min. vertical load: -125 kips uplift
- Max. lateral load: 117 kips

2
1

Damper

- Viscous fluid damper

- 8 dampers in total
- Total stroke: 26 inches
- Design velocity: 62 inches per
second
- Forces at MCE 439 kips max. and
325 kips min
Damper
Damper pedestal and connection
pedestal and connection

Typical cross section at the isolator

Typical
cross section at the isolator

the extreme corners of the building. This position maximizes the

dampers ability to control torsion
responses during the design earthquake. The dampers also resist
low level wind and seismic forces.
Damper design parameters such as
the total stroke, maximum velocity
and the damping velocity coefficient and exponent are determined
during the time history analysis
phase based on an iterative trial
and error methodology.
Non-linear time history analysis
The analytical model of the
isolated structure created earlier
using ETABS was refined to include
the isolators and the dampers.
Bilinear biaxial (shear) hysteretic
elements with linear axial stiffness were used to model the
elastomeric isolators. Because the
isolators have lower axial tensile
stiffness than axial compression
stiffness, three ETABS elements
were necessary to model the
isolator behavior an ISOLATOR
1 element with horizontal and
vertical stiffness equal to the
actual isolator, a GAP element with
a vertical stiffness equal to the
difference between the isolators
compression and tension stiffness, and an extremely rigid LINK
element connecting the other two
elements. Damping elements were
added to the structure to explicitly
model the viscous fluid dampers. By adjusting the values and
checking the displacements during
trial runs the design team was
able to establish target upper and
lower bounds for these values that
provided consistent and controlled
responses.
Initially all three sets of time
history input data were run to
determine if one of the records
governed over others. This required
four independent models using
the DBE and MCE time histories as
well as the minimum and maximum
bearing stiffness and damper
characteristics. The Landers earthquake (Lucerne Station) was found
to govern for all design parameters,
(base shear, overturning moment
and isolator displacement) at the

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

23

Initial
0

-0.7
10

15

20

25

30

35

40

-0.7

45

10

15

Time (sec)

20

Velocity (cm/sec)

2
Target
Start of Round
Matched
Original

70

B-1

0.1

Displacement (cm)

0
0.03

10

15

60

-0.9
0

45

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

70

10

20

TM

LT

ST

AL

13.0

14.1

22.9

26

785

930

268

35

Prototype testing
RSLs initial isolator design had
a calculated effective lateral stiffness of 3.65 kips/in, with an axial
compression stiffness of approximately 10,200 kips/in. First article
testing of their prototype isolator in
their manufacturing plant indicated that the designed isolators
had lateral stiffness of 3.87 kips/
in while the axial compression
load stiffness was only 6,652 kips/
in. The project specification for
compression stiffness was found
to be 9000 kips/in.
The design team re-ran the critical time history models to confirm
that this softer vertical stiffness
did not adversely affect the
displacements and stress levels
in the building, and was able to
modify the specification to reduce
the required vertical stiffness to
6000 kips/in as a result.

Effective stiffness1 (kips/ins)

DM

30

40

45

@DM

MIN TARGET

MAX

MIN TARGET

MAX

3.23

4.37

3.23

4.37

3.80

3.80

Type of
isolator

Number

Aggregate effective stiffness @ DD2

(kips/inches)

Aggregate effectiv stiffness @ DM2

(kips/inches)

B-1

31

100

118

135

100

118

135

Total

31

100

118

135

100

118

135

Notes: DD = Design Displacement; TD = Total Design Displacement; DM = Maximum Design Displacement; TM = Total maxium Design Displacement;
LT = Long Term Max. Load; (D+L)max; ST = Short Term Max. Load (1.2D+L+Emce)max; AL = Average isolator test load; (D+0.5L_ average at DD;
D = Dead Load; L = Code reduced live load; Emce = MCE earthquake load; MAX. and MIN. = Upper and lower bound property, respectively, accounting
for all factors including, but not limited to, manufacturing tolerances, age, dynamic effects, environment, scragging, recovery etc. First cycle virgin
stiffness shall be used as the upper bound (MAX) and last cycle stiffness as the lower bound (MIN) stiffness.

35

40

45

30

35

40

45

30

35

40

45

Final

-70

10

15

20

25

60

Final

-60
0

10

15

20

25

Time (sec)

475-Yr Initial corrected time history

1992 Landers Fault parallel
(Yerno Station).

@DD

TD

25

Time (sec)

Acceleration time history and

acceleration response spectra of
input ground motion. 475-Yr ARP,
1992 Landers Fault parallel
(Yerno Station).

Each
isolator is
basically
a uniquely
designed
component.

15

30

Time (sec)

-60
5

25

45

20

Time (sec)

Initial

Period (sec)

Vertical loads
(kips)

Spring/Summer 2011

Final
0

Time (sec)

DD

Agenda

40

-70

Isolation system specified design properties

24

35

Individual isolator specified design properties

Type of
isolator

30

Initial

Isolator testing
Because each isolator is
basically a uniquely designed
component and the design process
for them involves material property
assumptions, it is necessary to
have a prototype and production
testing program. The CBC has
specific prototype and production
testing requirements that were
followed on the IETMC project.
The specifications provided the
isolator design criteria for use by
the manufacturer.

Displacements (inches)

25

0.9

Time (sec)

Velocity (cm/sec)

Initial

Displacement (cm)

0.7

Acceleration (g)

0.7

Acceleration (g)

Acceleration (g)

NON-LINEAR TIME HISTORY ANALYSIS

Spectral acceleration (g)

MCE levels. At DBE levels it was

found that the Landers earthquake
(Yermo Station) governed base
shear and isolator displacement,
and it almost governed overturning
moment as well. In order to simplify
future runs, this time history was
used with an increase factor of 1.15
to assure that it also governed the
overturning moments.
In order to model the CBC
mandated 5 percent accidental
mass eccentricity the center
of mass was offset in all four
quadrant directions, resulting in
four additional building models.
These were checked for the most
critical direction and the resulting
model and mass offset was used
for all other models and analysis
runs. Eight additional models
were created, each with a specific
purpose. These modeled MCE and
DBE events, with isolator upper
and lower bound properties and
damper upper and lower bound
properties in order to completely
envelope the buildings displacement responses as well as component stress levels.

475-Yr Spectrum compatible

time history 1992 Landers
Fault parallel (Yerno Station).

Two prototype isolators

were tested at the University of
California San Diego, Charles
Lee Powell Structural Research
Laboratories/CALTRANS SRMD
Test Facility, in order to confirm
the physical characteristics of
the isolators designed by RSL.
Each isolator was subjected to 27
different load variations in order
to measure the isolators effective
stiffness under varying compressions loads, rates of loading, and
deflection amplitudes. Results
from these tests confirmed the
design of the production isolators.
Production testing
Production testing during
the fabrication process at MIN
Industries in Baranang Selangor,
Malaysia involved an abbreviated
version of the prototype test
schemes. Each production isolator was subjected to a sustained
one hour compression test, a
compression stiffness test, a
combined compression and shear
load test, and a tension stiffness
test. This data was compared with
the prototype test data and the
targeted design values.
Final production testing included
four randomly selected isolators
from the production run. These four
production isolators were tested
at both the production facility in
Malaysia and again in San Diego at

Top left: UCSD test

lab reaction beam
and movement
table.
Bottom left: The
UCSD test facility
was used because
the MIN Industries
testing equipment
could not move
laterally 26 inches.
Right: Compression
stiffness test at MIN
Industries, Malaysia.

the UCSD test facility. This added

verification was used to calibrate
the UCSD and production test
results.
The production test results,
along with the random sample
tests, provided the necessary data
to validate the consistency of the
production isolators properties
and confirm the analytical building
model. The results were reviewed
by the engineer of record, independent peer reviewer and State
of California plan check division
(DSA) prior to final approval and
installation.

A facility
to survive
the tests
of time and
nature.

The facility is
designed to
survive even a
catastrophic
seismic event.
Installed damper
and isolators in
the crawl space
below the building.

Damper design requirements

MCE Design
Force at MCE Design
Velocity (Kips)

Total Stroke
(inches)

MCE Design Daming Velocity Coefficient (C) and

Velocity (ips) Exponent ()

Quantity of
dampers

325 min. to 439 max.*

+/- 26

62

Lower bound curve: C=68.51, =0.38;

Upper bound curve: C=92.69, =0.38

F=CV ; F=Damepr MCE Design Force (Kip); V = Dameper MCE Design Velocity (inches/second);
C = Damping coefficient, as defined by F/V (kip-sec/inches); = Damping Velocity Exponent

Damper testing
The viscous fluid dampers
designed and fabricated by Taylor
Devices were also subjected to
rigorous test protocol developed
by Taylor Devices to confirm their
design. The dampers do not involve
the level of material variability
associated with natural rubber
isolators therefore the test and
quality assurance programs focus
on confirming manufacturing tolerance, material grades and damping
characteristic of the damper. All
the test results of viscous damper
were within the acceptable range
given in project specifications.
These results were reviewed by the
engineer of record, independent
peer reviewer and DSA, prior to
final approval and installation.
In summary, the design of a
base isolated building involves the
integration of multiple engineering
disciplines, complex mathematical
analysis and elaborate testing
protocol. The end result is a facility
with an excellent chance of survival

during a catastrophic seismic

event, built to survive the tests of
time and nature.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank
all specialty consultants and
product manufacturers for their
contribution to the project including
Coffman Engineers, Diaz-Yourman
& Associate, Wilson Geosciences
Inc, HAI, MACTEC, Stantec, Taylor
Devices, RSL and IDS.
David Kilpatrick is associate
principal and senior structural
engineer with AECOM based in
Orange, California.
E: david.kilpatrick@aecom.com

Shafiq Alam is vice president,
Building Engineering and structural
engineering manager with AECOM,
based in Orange, California.
E: shafiq.alam@aecom.com

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

25

Staying green,
keeping warm
Sustainable buildings in cold climates
Jill Pederson and John Munroe look at two
new Canadian buildings that showcase
successful energy efficient solutions
despite their extreme local climate.

A thorough understanding of the

climate and analysis of weather
information can allow designers to
find advantages. Solar insolation can
be quite high in an extremely cold
climate, despite the temperature
variance. Captured appropriately,
solar energy can provide an excellent
source of daylight and radiant heat
in the cold months, reducing the
energy requirement for a building.
2 Buffer the building
Providing a buffer between the
building occupants and the extremes
of the climate is critical. A high
performance building envelope can
dramatically reduce the loads on its
operating systems and the impact
of the weather extremes on the
occupants.

26

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

Reykjavik, Iceland

Helsinki, Finland

Moscow, Russia

Edmonton, Canada

2500

London, U.K.

40

Winnipeg, Canada

Reykjavik, Iceland

Helsinki, Finland

Moscow, Russia

Edmonton, Canada

1 Understand the local climate

Winnipeg, Canada

There are two key factors behind

the design of success and
sustainable buildings for cold
climates.

London, U.K.

THE EXTREME CLIMATE CHALLENGE

2000
30

1500

Designing a highly energy efficient

building with a comfortable
environment for occupants that
is also cost effective in a climate
where the temperature can vary
by 65C (117F) over the course
of a year, is the kind of challenge
that engineers find hard to resist.
An extremely cold climate
can present unique challenges,
but can also provide a means to
achieve even greater sustainable
solutions compared to other
buildings in the same climate, if
approached properly.
These two case studies, both
buildings recently completed in
Canada, demonstrate that it is
possible to design highly energy
efficient buildings that operate
successfully and sustainably in an
extreme climate.

1000
20

500
0

10

Annual sunshine hours

4

-10

-20

-30

1
Design high
Design low

-40

Design temperatures
in order of increasing
latitude (C)

Annual average solar

insolation (kWh/m2)

An extremely cold
climate can present
unique challenges,
but can also
provide a means
to achieve even
greater sustainable
solutions.

Epcor Tower

EPCOR TOWER

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

An energy efficient office building
maintaining thermal comfort in a
varied and cold climate.

energy cost savings of each option

relative to the worst case, option #4.
The modeling software provided
thermal comfort results based on
Building envelope
defined temperature ranges.
The building envelope plays
Figure 02 shows the thermal
a critical role in energy use,
comfort in each building orientation.
particularly in an extreme climate.
The option #1 product was selected
The envelope is vital to maintain
based on increased energy cost
adequate occupant comfort,
savings and added thermal comfort.
provide a thermal barrier to the
The overall glazing system U-value
outdoors and minimize effects
was calculated to be 1.23 W/m2K
(0.216 Btuh/ft2F). A simulation
of large temperature swings. The
using Window 5.2a determined the
Epcor Tower building envelope has
a window to wall ratio of 49 percent, temperature at the inside pane of
glass on a winter design day to be
with unitized curtainwall glazing.
To ensure envelope performance, 15.1C (59.2F). The computational
four curtainwall options were evalu- fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was
used to determine if perimeter heatated for energy cost and thermal
ing could be eliminated. A typical
comfort (Table 01).
office bay was modeled to calculate
A full building energy model
interior temperatures. Figure 03
using EE4 Version 1.71 was used to
compare the annual energy costs
shows a plan view of a typical office
of the four options. Figure 01 shows bay during the CFD simulation.

The Epcor Tower is located in downtown

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. At 53.3
latitude, the design temperature is -34C
(-29F) in winter and 28C (82F) DB/19C
(66F) WB in summer (annual 62C or 111F
delta) based on the Alberta Building Code.
The climate posed interesting building
design challenges, particularly energy use
and occupant comfort.
The first high-rise to be built in Edmonton
in over 20 years, Epcor Tower is 66,974 m2
(720,902 ft2) in total area, with a building
footprint of 3,073 m2 (33,077 ft2). It includes
a two story retail podium, 26 floors of office
space, and a mechanical penthouse floor.
Four levels of below grade parkade have a
total area of 28,288 m2 (304,489 ft2).
Rendering of Epcor Tower courtesy of Kasian
Architecture

Table 01 Four curtainwall options evaluated with centre-of-glass U-values.

#1

#2

#3

#4

Description

Option

Triple-glazed A

Double-glazed A

Triple-glazed B

Double-glazed B

U-Value (W/m2K)

1.01

1.48

1.20

1.69

0.178

0.260

0.211

0.297

U-Value (Btuh/ft F)
2

C
500

250

Energy savings

01 Annual energy cost savings of four

types of curtainwall2.

20.90

200

19.20

150
100

17.50

North Tower
zone

East Tower
zone

South Tower
zone

02 Thermal discomfort of four types of

curtainwall2. Too hot is above 27C (81F).
Too cold is below 18C (64F).

West Tower
zone

15.80

#4 (1.69)

#3 (1.20)

#1 (1.01)

#4 (1.69)

#3 (1.20)

#1 (1.01)

#2 (1.48)

#4 (1.69)

#3 (1.20)

#1 (1.01)

#2 (1.48)

#4 (1.69)

50
0

0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7%

22.60

300

#3 (1.20)

6.75%

24.30

350

#1 (1.01)

Option #1 1.01

2.37%

26.00

400

#2 (1.48)

4.61%

Option #3 1.20

Option #2 1.48

450

Too hot

#2 (1.48)

0.0%

Annual hours of discomfort

Curtainwall

Option #4 1.69

Too cold

14.10
Resultant temperature

186.86 mins

03 CFD Simulation of Option #1 Curtainwall3.

The pink top line represents tempered air
being delivered to the space, the bottom
dark blue line represents the return air out
of the space. The turquoise line on the right
side represents the interior pane of glazing
at a temperature of 15.1C (59.2F).

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

27

Epcor Tower takes advantage of a unique

system of earth tubes used to pre-heat
and pre-cool outdoor air.
The space is maintained at an
operative temperature range of
19.2C (66.6F) to 22.6C (72.7F)
on a winter design day, meaning the
requirement for perimeter heating
was deemed unnecessary with the
triple-glazed Option #1 curtainwall.

04 The design of the earth tube system

was optimized to make use of the existing
foundation system to minimize any new work
or materials.

(31.2 feet) wide and 2.5 meters

(8.2 feet) high. With an airflow
rate of 18,877 L/s (40,019 cfm)
per earth tube this equates to a
velocity of 0.79 m/s (155.5 fpm). The
earth tubes are designed for the
maximum load, which occurs in
heating mode for this building. The
desired temperature rise is from
Earth tubes
-34C (-29F) to 6C (43F), 6C
Epcor Tower takes advantage
(43F) being the constant ground
of a unique system of earth tubes
temperature below the frost line,
used to pre-heat and pre-cool the
resulting in a 40C (72F) delta.
building outdoor air.
Using a heat transfer rate of 0.5C/
The tower was designed with
meter (10.0F/ft) each earth tube
two vertical intake shafts down
needed to be 80 meters (262 feet)
the parkade exterior walls, conin length. The actual length of the
structed with glycol heating lines
to utilize low grade heat recovered constructed earth tubes are 116
meters (380 feet) and 97 meters
from a stack condenser on the
(318 feet).
boiler plant. Once past the lowest
The earth tubes provide sigparkade level, the shafts turn 90
nificant savings on the ventilation
to continue horizontally below the
parkade structure. The earth tubes heating and cooling loads for the
Epcor Tower. An 8,760-hour annual
form a loop around the buildings
core, connecting to the main tower analysis was used to calculate
air handling unit which provides the energy saved. In heating mode the
rest of the conditioning (Figure 04). earth tube saves 1,473,994 kW/year
(5,033,953 MBH/year). In cooling
The earth tubes are a combination of precast concrete pipes and mode it saves 84,874 kW/year
(289,860 MBH/year). This equates
poured concrete plenums with
internal columns for structural sup- to approximately CDN$51,687/year
in cost savings.
port. The plenums are 9.5 meters

Earth tubes: a quick guide

Boiler

Boiler

To/from boiler
return water

Heating water
heat exchanger

To/from intake
shafts

Glycol heat
exchanger

Flue gas out

Supply fan

Common stack

Earth tubes exploit geothermal

exchange between the air and the
surrounding earth using thermally
conductive material as a separation.
The greater the surface area in contact
with the ground, the better the heat
transfer. Because ground temperature
remains constant below the frost line,
the ground can be used to heat air
in winter and cool air in summer. To
maximize the rate of heat transfer, it is
ideal to flow air at low velocity through
the earth tubes to provide adequate lag
time for heat transfer to occur. Based
on previous experience in this climate,
effective heat transfer can be achieved
at an air speed of 1.02 m/s (200 fpm).

Boiler

05 Schematic of boiler stack condenser system. The heating system, sized for 7,719kW
(26,362MBH), has the possibility for future expansion. The stack condensing system
increases the overall boiler plant efficiency from 85 percent to 95.5 percent, a difference of
998kW (3,408MBH) of input power, by capturing both sensible and latent heat.

28

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

Energy summary by end use

Energy type

Proposed building
Energy
[MJ]

Reference building

Intensity
[kWh/m2]

Energy
[MJ]

Energy
savings
[%]

Intensity
[kWh/m2]

06 Energy model
results4.

Regulated energy
Lighting

Electricity

11,041,525

32

11,041,525

32

0.0%

Space heating

Natural gas

11,735,923

34

33,868,138

99

65.3%

Space cooling

Electricity

1,921,993

2,239,791

14.2%

Pumps

Electricity

1,006,892

510,488

-97.2%

Fans

Electricity

12,404,154

36

14,095,987

41

11.4%

Service water heating

Electricity

3,322,195

10

3,322,195

10

0.0%

41,522,690

121

65,078,123

190

36.2%

Subtotal regulated energy

Non-regulated energy
Plug loads

Electricity

Other Baseline part-control

package heat

Natural gas

Subtotal non-regulated energy

Total energy summary

6,286,640

18

6,286,640

18

0.0%

22,699,697

66

22,699,697

66

0.0%

28,986,336

85

28,986,336

85

Proposed building

Reference building
Energy
[MJ]

Cost
[$]

0.0%
Percent savings
Energy

Percent
savings cost

Energy
[MJ]

Cost
[$]

Electricity

36,073,404

$301,490

37,496,625

$833,117

3.8%

3.8%

Natural gas

34,435,622

$305,184

56,567,834

$501,331

39.1%

39.1%

Total

70,509,026

$1,106,674

94,064,459

$1,334,447

25.0%

17.1%

Subtotal regulated energy costs

41,522,690

$765,821

65,078,123

$993,593

36.2%

22.9%

Exceptional calculation method earthtube heating

-4,736,330

-$41,976

$0

0.0%

0.0%

Exceptional calculation method earthtube cooling

-305,802

-$6,704

$0

0.0%

0.0%

LEED EAc1

Exceptional calculation method prop. part-cond parkade heating

-973,443

-$8,627

$0

0.0%

0.0%

Manual calculation condenser pumps

2,641,967

$58,700

$0

0.0%

0.0%

6,052

$54

6,052

$54

0.0%

0.0%

$0

$0

0.0%

0.0%

38,155,128

$767,177

65,084,175

$993,646

41.4%

22.8%

Manual calculation exterior lighting

Renewable energy credit
Net total

Exhaust air heat recovery

A heat recovery unit located at
the exhaust outlet captures waste
heat from exhaust air in the general
exhaust system and returns it to a
heating coil in the main tower air
handling unit via a glycol runaround loop.
The exhaust air heat recovery is
capable of providing a 19C (66F)
temperature rise for 37,754 L/s
(80,0038 cfm) of outdoor air. This
lessens the load on the main heating coil in the tower air handling
unit and boiler system.

heaters. In free cooling mode,

the chillers are turned off and
bypassed completely.
The chiller plant is currently
sized at 6,400 kW (1820 tons) with
the possibility for future expansion.
Winter free cooling can be used 39
percent of the year in Edmonton,
giving a significant load reduction
from the chiller system.

heating water system and preheats

the boiler return water. Glycol from
the second heat exchanger is used
to heat the intake shafts of the
earth tubes as additional preheating for the incoming air.

Analysis
The building is expected to use
121 kWh/m2/year (40.5 MJ/ft2) of
regulated energy4. The annual
projected building energy cost is
Stack condenser
CDN$767,177/year4 (2009 Canadian
The building deploys convendollars). The reference building
tional boilers in conjunction with
a stack condenser. The boilers are follows ASHRAE Standard 90.1.
breeched together to combine flue The Epcor Tower demonstrates
energy efficiency in a severe
Winter free cooling
gases prior to entering the stack
climate while maintaining occu In Edmontons climate, winter
condenser as shown in figure 05.
free cooling is possible. During the Heat in the flue gases is extracted pant comfort. Using the energy
saving measures, the building is
winter months when the outdoor
in two separate heat exchanger
expected to achieve a 41.4 percent
air wet bulb temperature is less
coils within the stack condenser:
energy use reduction compared
than the chilled water temperature, one using water and one using
in this case 6.7C (44.1F), the
glycol. The flue gas temperature is to ASHRAE Standard 90.14. The
entire cooling load can be achieved lowered below its dew point, result- project is targeting a LEED Silver
through the cooling towers. This is ing in condensation and extraction rating for the core and shell, and
is currently on track to achieve
accomplished by providing cooling of latent heat, in addition to the
towers capable of running year
sensible heat. Water from the first LEED Gold.
round with integral immersion
heat exchanger is returned to the

Spring/Summer 2011

This type of
low energy
approach
can offer
significant
annual
energy
savings.

Agenda

29

MANITOBA HYDRO

Manitoba Hydro
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Manitoba Hydro: A building designed to

dynamically adapt to the climate
Manitoba Hydro is a new 24-story office
tower. With 10,620 heating degree-days and
a winter design temperature of -35C (-31F),
the project location in downtown Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada, presented the project
team with unique climatic challenges.
Energy efficiency design features include
optimized building orientation, envelope
buffer zone using winter gardens and
a double faade for passive solar preconditioning of fresh air, natural ventilation
and openable windows, a geothermal heat
exchanger, thermo-active slab heating and
cooling, displacement ventilation, a solar
tower and natural day lighting.
The building dynamically adapts to the
continuously changing climatic conditions.
Occupants may individually influence
their environment through glazed buffer
zones, operable windows and adjustable
air diffusers. Beyond energy efficiency, the
65,000 m2 (699,654 ft2) building provides a
new level of occupancy comfort, especially
due to the fact that all workstations have
access to the faade.

07 Winter climate concept.

30

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

The Manitoba Hydro building

achieves 65.9 percent energy
savings compared to Canadas
Model National Energy Code for
Buildings (MNECB) and consumes
88 kWh/m2/year (29.4 MJ/ft2/year)
of energy.
Manitoba Hydro set dauntingly
high goals for their new downtown
office building in terms of workspace quality, signature architecture, positive urban impact,
environmental performance (60
percent energy savings), and
competitive cost. Through a closely
integrated design process, the
design team of client, architect,
and consultants produced a truly
outstanding design.
This building potentially sets
a new North American standard
for the integration of workplace
quality and energy efficiency with
elegant, humane architecture,
and is a leading global example
for cold-climate integrated
building design. The buildings life
expectancy, and flexibility supports longevity. With column-free
spaces, high ceilings, raised floors,
and the absence of ductwork, the
design could hardly be more easily
adaptable to changes in use. This
building is designed to last.
Of greater importance, though,
is the benefit to people. Supporters
of sustainable design often argue
for the economic benefit of even
small increases in employee
productivity, citing that annual
salaries are typically larger than
the capital cost of the entire building. But owing to the ambitiousness of its goals, the buildings
value will eclipse considerations
of productivity in fostering community, garnering appreciation and
instilling pride, publicly as well as
within its own walls. This building
is designed to be valued.

Winter fresh air heating and

humidification
For this distinctive building,
energy use is minimized during the
cold season by carefully restricting heat losses, and collecting as
much heat as possible from natural
sources. Attention to radiant heat
exchange eliminates unnecessary
energy use while providing superior
thermal comfort.
The fresh air supply to each sixstory module first exchanges heat
with exhaust air via a run-around
glycol loop in the per-module air
handling unit. The air handling unit
further heats air (when required) to
10C (50F), and blows it into the
south atrium. The atrium is a buffer
zone, mediating architecturally and
thermally between indoors and out.
It is a semi-heated, sunny space,
less confining than an office interior
yet protected from the elements.
The minimum temperature of 10C
(50F) is not uncomfortable on
sunny days. At the same time, the
low temperature allows the atrium
to efficiently heat incoming air.
This is because the sun-warmed
surfaces transfer heat to the fresh
air at a rate proportional to the
difference of their temperatures.
The atrium features water
walls that enrich the space while
efficiently adjusting humidity. The
water is heated for humidification
in winter, chilled for dehumidification in summer, and achieves
efficiency avoiding the use of fans.
The intermediate temperature of
the atrium allows the interior glazing to act as part of the envelope.
The building is effectively triple
glazed on all surfaces, although
in the north and south atrium and
double faades, the envelope is
delaminated into distinct single
and double-glazed walls, with a
buffer zone between. By allowing
the temperature between the two
walls to fluctuate naturally for

most of the winter, they exceed the

performance of a standard tripleglazed faade configuration. While
the buffer zones are configured in
winter for thermal insulation and
fresh air heating (in the case of the
south atrium), their configuration
changes with the seasons.
Per-floor air handling units
further temper fresh air as necessary and blow it into a pressurized
subfloor plenum on each level, from
where it enters the office space at
outlets located mostly along the
perimeter.
Summer fresh air cooling and
dehumidification
The building stays cool by resisting heat gains and tapping natural
sources for cooling and ventilation.
Activation of the building mass provides comfortable radiant cooling
and reduces the size of mechanical
equipment.
Fresh air enters the module
through the south atrium in summer as well, although in this case it
flows freely, without the aid of the
per module air handling unit, since
heat recovery is no longer needed.
An internal shade is drawn to block
solar gains, forming an exhaust
plenum between itself and the
faade. High and low openings feed
ventilation of the plenum. The water
wall is activated with chilled water
to cool and dehumidify incoming
air. Although it may seem strange,
a water surface that is cooler than
the dew point of the air will dehumidify it. The first mechanical air
conditioning systems worked in this
way, by spraying droplets of cold
water across a stream of air. The
per-floor fan coils further condition fresh air and blow it into the
pressurized plenum, from which
it continues through the displacement ventilation system.
The double faade is reconfigured to reject solar heat and
seal the interior to hot outdoor air.
In winter, both faade walls are
sealed, whereas in summer the
line of enclosure retreats to the
inner wall, behind the protection of
the horizontal louver blinds in the
faade cavity. Solar heat absorbed

by the blinds is purged through

flaps automatically opened in the
outer faade. The inner faade is
kept closed to prevent the passage
of hot air into the interior.
Air exits to the solar chimney via
the north atrium. The air then rises
naturally up the solar chimney. As
in a fireplace chimney, the air rises
because it is warmer, and therefore
more buoyant than the cooler air
surrounding it, and because wind
across the top of the chimney
generates a draft. A black body
mass exposed to solar radiation
suspended in the solar chimney
collects solar heat, augmenting the
buoyancy effect by warming the air
within.
Intermediate season
When outdoor conditions are
pleasant, they are freely admitted to the building interior. When
the direct use of natural sources
maintains a comfortable environment, the air handling units are
deactivated.
The conditions for this mode
depend mostly on the temperatures
of outdoor air and the faade cavity
but typically are a minimum outdoor air temperature of 10C (50F),
and a faade cavity temperature
range of 15C (59F) to 25C (77F).
Ventilation is completely driven
by solar-augmented thermal
buoyancy and wind, through the
solar chimney. Since the air is not
conditioned, it can enter through
large openings in the faade rather
than the restrictive heating coil,
cooling coil or heat exchanger in an
air handling unit. Thus air movement requires much less power,
so that the pressure differences
generated by the chimney are
sufficient.
Both the inner and outer walls
of the faade are opened, the
inner manually, and the outer
automatically. The south atrium is
also configured this way. This vents
solar gains from the faade cavity
or atrium while allowing ventilation
air into the offices. Shades and
screens are drawn as necessary for
glare and solar load control.

08 Summer climate concept.

This building potentially

sets a new North American
standard for the integration
of workplace quality
and energy efficiency
with elegant, humane
architecture.

09 Intermediate season climate concept.

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

31

Year-round daylighting strategies

The building enjoys high ceilings
that allow daylight to penetrate
deeper into the space. Natural
lighting provides a more pleasant workplace environment and
reduces electrical energy use for
lighting. Since natural lighting
produces less heat than electric
lighting, it can also effectively
reduce cooling loads.
Daylight penetration is preserved, when blinds in the faade
cavity are closed, by light redirection. The upper portion of the blinds
are independently adjustable
to reflect sunlight onto the ceilings
of the offices.
The double faade presented a
challenge for daylighting, because
it extends the edge of the building beyond the perimeter of the
occupied space. This means that
the depth of effective daylighting
would be reduced. This challenge
was met by stepping the slab up,
in the faade cavity, to the level of
the raised floor above. This allowed
daylight to penetrate deeper into
the space.

brightness distribution about the

vertical axis gives a good impression of overall performance, and
allows fair comparison between
different schemes. The simulation
results show daylight performance
with daylight factors of about 3
percent in the middle of the floor
plate. This leads to a daylight
autonomy of about 70 percent
close to the faade and about 40
percent at a depth of 10 meters (33
feet).
Detailed thermal simulations
on TRNSYS evaluated the thermal
conditions as well as building
energy consumption. A comparison
to a reference building in
accordance to Canadas MNECB
showed energy savings of 60
percent.

Radiant slabs
Each floor in the tower is
2,744 m2 (29,536 ft2), divided into
two 828 m2 (8,913 ft2) loft spaces,
a 193 m2 (2,077 ft2) central bridge,
core area and two atria. The two
lofts, and the central bridge, are
the designated work space on each
floor.
Heating and cooling is achieved
Simulation results
primarily via exposed radiant
Detailed daylight simulations
ceilings. The floors are constructed
evaluated the natural luminous
environment for the new downtown of 240 millimeter (9.5 inch) thick
concrete, with 19 millimeter
office, giving highly accurate pre(0.75 inch) tubing, on 203 millimeter
dictions of light levels and bright(8 inch) centers, embedded at a
ness distributions in the visual
field. The simulations in this study depth of 65 millimeter (2.5 inches)
from the bottom of the slab.
are for an overcast sky, typically
Each loft is divided into 9-meter
used because the symmetry of its

h = 3.3m

90

Detailed
daylight
simulations
evaluated
the natural
luminous
environment
for the new
downtown
office.

(30-foot) by 12-meter (39-foot)

zones. Each floor has 12,192 linear
meters (40,000 feet) of embedded
tubing, controlled from individual
manifolds, in 120-meter (394-foot)
sections. The slabs within the
double wall cavities also have
tubing, in a separate control zone
from the interior space.
In cooling mode, water between
18.3C (64.9F) and 20C (68F)
is circulated through the tubing.
Based on the modeled internal
loads of 45 W/m2 (14 Btuh/ft2)
(average across the loft) this
will maintain a ceiling surface
temperature of between 20C
(68F) and 22C (72F). In heating mode, the slab tubing water
temperature is adjusted to the
range 23.9C (75.0F) and 29.4C
(84.9F), which maintains a ceiling
surface temperature of between
22C (72F) and 25C (77F).
The slabs within the double wall
faade are modulated based on
curtainwall frame temperature.
The temperature is kept above 4C
(39F) to prevent condensation.
These measures result in operative
space temperatures of 20C (68F)
to 26C (79F) annually.
Displacement ventilation
Ventilation is provided by an
under floor, displacement system.
Pre-conditioned 100 percent
outside air is drawn in on each
floor from the south floor atrium
by four custom under floor fan coil
units of 604 L/s (1280 cfm) each.

h = 3.5m

Tower

25,000
Total energy consumption [MWh/a]

80

Daylight autonomy [%]

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

12 11 10 9

Distance to faade [meters]

12 Daylight simulation results .

5

32

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

Podium

Parkade

Total energy savings: -60.1%

20,000

15,000

-81%

10,000

-63%

5000

-30%

Reference

Proposed

13 Simulation results on building energy

performance.

14 Summer operative temperature.

Each unit consists of a centrifugal

fan, heating coil and cooling coil.
Humidification is maintained
through surface evaporation, and
condensation on a heated and
cooled water feature located in the
south atrium.
The fan coils provide final
tempering to the atrium air,
discharging 18.3C (64.9F) air year
round into the under floor plenum.
The humidity of the discharged
air is controlled between 15
percent (minimum winter) and 50%
(maximum summer). The fan coils
maintain a minimum plenum static
pressure of 37.4 Pa (0.005 lb/in2). In
floor displacement diffusers allow
air to pass into occupied space
at a maximum velocity of 0.2 m/s
(39.4 fpm).
A solar tower on the buildings
north end draws stratified air from
each floor, discharging at the top
during cooling months or into the
parkade during heating months.
During the cooling season, a black
body absorber at the top of the
solar tower is heated by solar radiation to enhance the natural draft
of stratified air from the floors. The
parkade air handling units have
heat recovery coils that extract
excess energy from the solar
tower air and return this energy as
pre-heating to the south atrium air
handling units.

15 Winter operative temperature.

Geothermal system
All building cooling season heat
rejection is stored in a 280 borehole
geo-exchange field beneath the
building. Spaced at 4.5-meter (15-
foot) centers, each bore hole is 122
meters (400 feet) deep, providing
a total installed length of 68,320
linear meters (224,147 feet).
The average ground temperature
at depth in downtown Winnipeg is
approximately 11.1C (52.0F). The
field rejects and absorbs heat to
the ground at loop temperatures
varying from -3.9C (25.0F) at peak
extraction rate to 38.6C (101.5F)
at peak charge rate. The energy
stored and released is equivalent
to 2,400 MWh/year (8,640 GJ/year).
Peak extraction rate is 1,406.8 kW
(4,800 MBH) and peak storage rate
is 3,517 kW (12,000 MBH).
Chilled water plant
Three 1,580 kW (449 tons) screw
chillers using R-134a refrigerant charge and discharge the
geothermal field. During winter
(geothermal field discharge mode),
the chillers operate at -3.9C
(25.0F)/1.7C (35.1F) chilled water
supply/return temperature and
38.6C (101.5F)/32.7C (90.9F)
condenser water supply/return
temperature. The condenser
water is used to provide a low
temperature (32.2C/26.7C supply/

A solar
tower on the
buildings
north end
draws
stratified air
from each
floor.

return) loop serving the main fan

coil units in the tower. During
summer (geothermal field charge
mode), the chillers operate at 4.4C
(39.9F)/11.1C (52.0F) chilled
water supply/return temperature
and 32.2C (90.0F)/26.7C (80.0F)
condenser water supply/return
temperature.
Boiler plant
To make up the total heating
load, seven high efficiency, natural
gas condensing boilers of 985 kW
(3,362 MBH) input capacity each
are installed. These feed a high
temperature, 71C (160F)/50C
(122F) supply/return loop that
serve pre-heat coils in the atria.
The boilers have a nominal 90.4%
efficiency (thermal) at peak operating conditions. The boilers provide
2,470 MWh/year (8,892 GJ/year) of
the building heating load.
Jill Pederson is a mechanical
designer with AECOM based in
Calgary, Canada.
E: jillian.pederson@aecom.com

John Munroe is vice president,
Design+Planning, Canada West
with AECOM based in Calgary,
Canada.
E: john.munroe@aecom.com

The design could hardly be more easily

adaptable to changes in use. This
building is designed to last.
Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

33

Air Chairs: seats of cool

Under the watchful eye of the
international airport industry,
the first airport terminal to
be built in America since 9/11
had to exceed high traveler
expectations. The design team
collaborated on an American
airport first, developing Air
Chairs for sleek new Terminal
B, San Jose Airport. Alastair
MacGregor and Jim Saywell
report.

34

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

Part of a major airport expansion

and renovation program, the
construction of Terminal B at
the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose
International Airport, the first
new terminal to be constructed in
America since 9/11, is a landmark
development, designed to handle
a passenger capacity of 8.5
million travelers a year.
Designed by Fentress
Architects, the new Terminal B
at San Jose is one of the most
advanced airport terminals in
the United States. Located in the
heart of the Silicon Valley, sustainability and energy efficiency
were key drivers for the program.
The design-build project
was awarded to Hensel Phelps
Construction Company in 2006,
with AECOM providing high performance building consulting services including the development

of the conceptual MEP design

solution, energy simulation and
building commissioning.
Even taking into account that
a large percentage of an airports
energy requirements are due
to equipment that is difficult to
make more energy efficient, such
as baggage handling systems
and jet bridges, the new terminal
design was able to reduce the
energy use of the building by over
6,600,000kBTU/year, a reduction
of over 13.5 percent from the
California Energy Code baseline.
The new terminal at San Jose
Airport has won a number of
prestigious awards including the
Best Overall Project and Best
Transportation Project at the
2010 Best of Awards (Northern
California) since it opened during
summer 2010.

The challenge at San Jose

San Jose Airports new Terminal
B includes expansion of the hold
room/concourse of the recently
completed North Concourse, allowing operation of the two projects
as a single combined concourse
with the same ventilation strategy
throughout to avoid occupant comfort issues or energy inefficiencies.
The North Concourse employed
an air displacement system as part
of the low-energy design strategy,
designed to cool and ventilate the
high, open concourse and adjacent
hold room areas. This type of low
energy approach can offer significant annual energy savings over a
more traditional mixed-air system
in the Mediterranean climate of
San Jose, as the elevated supply
air temperature allows for a greater
period of free cooling.
The implementation of successful displacement ventilation at San
Jose was, however, complicated by
the adjacent hold room areas. The
hold rooms are the areas alongside
the concourse where people

congregate as they wait to board

flights. At San Jose International
this space has a fully-glazed west
faade and a lower ceiling height
than the main concourse, and is
generally more densely occupied.
Thus the cooling load in the space
is significantly higher than the
concourse. As a consequence,
the original displacement design
was pushed to the limit in terms of
cooling capacity. In order to keep
the discharge velocity below the
recommended 0.4 m/s and supply
temperature above 64F (~18C) to
avoid occupant comfort issues, the
original North Concourse design
was forced to utilize large drum
diffusers, which were positioned
every 15 feet (~4.5 meters), along
the fully glazed west faade.
However, during the construction
of Terminal B it became apparent that the initial displacement
ventilation strategy within the
North Concourse was raising
concern both operationally and
aesthetically within the hold room.
Though this design performed

The new
terminal
design
reduced
energy use.

adequately from a cooling and

ventilation perspective, there were
several operational issues that dissatisfied the client: the aesthetics
were objectionable, with the large,
white drums taking up a significant
amount of floor area, limiting
furniture layouts and boarding
queuing zones. In addition, the
drum design had already been
adapted to incorporate a domed
top to prevent them being used as a
surface where travelers could leave
unwanted items.

Existing drum
diffusers used in the
airport terminal
passenger areas.

DISPLACEMENT VENTILATION: THE FACTS

A thermal displacement
ventilation system supplies air at a
temperature a few degrees below
ambient at low-level from an interior
perimeter, allowing it to drift across
the space. The cool, fresh air rises
over heat sources, such as the
occupants or a surface being
warmed by the sun, ascending to
high levels where it is exhausted
from the building.
Displacement ventilation is
well-suited to high volume spaces
like an airport concourse, where high
ceilings allow the air to stratify,
keeping the occupied level cool while
warm stale air collects at the top of
the space, where it is exhausted. The
quality of environment is
significantly improved when
compared to a more conventional
mixed-air system.

Air streamlines
and temperature
at San Jose
airport terminal.

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

35

Our solution to providing greater flexibility for the functional use of the concourse space at San Jose Airport while
enhancing the overall interior aesthetic, was to deliver air conditioning through diffusers discretely integrated into
banks of fixed passenger seating, keeping people comfortable in as energy efficient a manner as possible.

The Fentress Architects-led

design team had successfully
incorporated a displacement
ventilation strategy, with its inherent energy saving and occupant
comfort benefits, within the new
Terminal Bs sleek interior. With
its clerestory glazing and curved
ceilings, the space offered limited
opportunity to distribute air at high
level, and the hold room furniture
offered limited floor mounted
solutions. With the building already
under construction, the challenge
was on to ensure an effective
displacement solution was
implemented.
Conceptual solutions
As part of the Terminal B design
team, AECOMs high performance

36

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

The
challenge
was to
ensure an
effective
ventilation
system.

building specialists investigated

potential alternate displacement
ventilation strategies, looking
to develop a solution that would
provide the performance level
required, while increasing the
flexibility of the hold room and
improving the visual interior design
aesthetic.
Given that this challenge was set
during construction there were a
number of systematic and physical
constraints that were inevitably
carried forward from the original
installation that needed to be
considered, including the number
and position of the penetrations
in the floor slab through which the
supply air was to be delivered.
Solutions considered included
developing smaller, more

frequently placed but aesthetically

appealing diffusers; and incorporating diffusers into pieces of fixed
furniture such as the gate counters.
The core objective of the initial
study was a solution providing
greater flexibility for the functional
use of the space that was less
intrusive within the overall interior
design aesthetic, while maintaining
the technical purpose of the air
conditioning system: namely
keeping people comfortable in
as energy efficient a manner as
possible.
After evaluating, the preferred
concept was to integrate the
diffuser terminals into the
furniture, specifically finding a way
of delivering air via the banks of
passenger seating.

Virtual protoyping
Integration of air displacement
diffusers into airport hold room
seating is not a standard solution, used rarely and then as a
secondary source of conditioning
to provide limited air per bank of
seats. A solution that could operate
as the primary air conditioning
source for the hold room was a
unique challenge. The design
would need to supply significant
air volumes while maintaining user
comfort.
Recognizing that detailed analysis of the potential solution was a
crucial first step in this process, we
applied computational simulation
to assess the feasibility of the
concept. Multiple levels of analysis
were needed to understand the
environmental factors within the
hold room and the microclimate
around the bank of chairs that
would serve as supply air diffusers.
The first level of analysis focused
on year-round performance, which
helped identify specific conditions
that needed more detailed study.
As the occupancy profiles were
virtually impossible to predict,
dynamic thermal modeling (DTM)
was run under several different

levels of occupancy to get a feel for

the range of cooling requirements
that the displacement system
would need to deal with. The DTM
allowed the AECOM team to identify the worst case conditions that
would need to be simulated using
computational fluid dynamics
(CFD), the second, more detailed
tool for analyzing the microclimate
around the seating. The DTM
demonstrated that the system was
capable of delivering the capacity
of space cooling required, while
the CFD allowed the space to
be modeled in terms of detailed
airflow patterns. Accounting for the
radiative effects of direct sunlight.
The first step in the design
development process was to
assess the performance of the
existing installation, a series of
drum diffusers evenly spaced along
the concourse. Using CFD, it was
quickly realized that the proximity
of the diffusers to the window
meant that at peak design volume,
the calm stratification of displacement ventilation was unlikely to
be achieved, and instead there
would be a semi-mixed system.
The implication of this was that
full advantage of the stratification

The design
would need
to supply
significant
air volumes.

The air chair design

with the integrated
diffuser in place was
tested rigorously,
with monitors
carefully placed to
measure air
movement.

effect could not be taken when

designing the air supply temperature and flow rate required
for dealing with peak cooling
demand. This information fed back
into the design calculations. After
determining the necessary air
supply conditions at peak cooling
through this iterative approach,
the proposed design solution was
re-modeled using CFD.
Through this virtual prototyping
effort it was concluded that the
only practical way of incorporating
a displacement terminal within the
seating design that was capable
of providing the necessary cooling
capacity was to centre a module
of seating over the existing hole in
the floor slab, allowing a plenum
to be created between the rows
where they meet back-to-back: the
diffusers could then run underneath the seats. Seating comes
in standard units, which presents
both limitations and opportunities:
the dimensions of the rows of
seating limit the width and height
of the diffuser, while the modular
nature of the seats would allow a
standard plenum and diffuser to be
developed that could be replicated
throughout the terminal.
AECOMs multifaceted analysis
approach demonstrated that for
the vast majority of the time, the
load conditions in the space would
require supply air temperatures
and flow rates well below the
traditional rule of thumb limit of
40 W/m2, and, as such, the system
would operate as a traditional
displacement ventilation system.
The more detailed CFD study
confirmed that under these
conditions the percentage of
people dissatisfied would be
within acceptable limits. However,
the analysis did highlight that
achieving certain comfort criteria
stipulated within ASHRAE 55 (An
American standard for occupant
thermal comfort), such as the
difference in temperature between
ankle-level and head level, were
borderline in peak conditions.
Given the relative infrequency of
this occurring, the team concluded
that the design was worth pursuing

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

37

further with more refined virtual

prototyping, with the goal of
further reducing the risk of thermal
discomfort for occupants. The
CFD analysis was subsequently
expanded into various high-load
scenarios. Through the evaluation
of various diffuser locations
within the seating, the team was
confident that conditions inside
the terminal would be within the
ASHRAE 55 comfort criteria.
To facilitate an efficient design,
it was essential that the seating
was standardized, which would
allow repetition throughout
the terminal. The next crucial
step in the process was finding
a seat manufacturer capable
of integrating a plenum/duct
equipped with diffusers into one
of their seating designs, and
a diffuser supplier who could
provide what was needed in
terms of diffuser dimensions and
performance. As a result of the
virtual prototyping effort, AECOMs
high performance buildings team
developed an initial design concept
that was incorporated into the
furniture bid package.
From the theoretical to the real
To successfully transition
from the computer screen to a
finished product, it was critical
that the seating manufacturer be
involved in the design process in
order to develop a solution that
both performed and coalesced
aesthetically with the space.
Zoeftig, a European seating
manufacturer with significant
experience in the design of airport
seating that incorporate hi tech
features was selected to lead the
development of this interesting
product. Zoeftig partnered with
Krantz Komponenten, also based
in Europe, one of the Worlds
leading experts in air distribution,
with vast amounts of experience in
displacement ventilation systems
to assist in the development of the
final product for the airport, the
Air Chair.
Zoeftig commissioned testing of
sample diffuser units to develop a
diffuser capable of delivering the

38

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

The chairs with

integrated diffusers
were rigorously
tested for both
summer and winter
design conditions
and typical load
scenarios.

The seating
was
standardized
to enable
repetition.

required volumes of air necessary

to meet the desired specification.
The final design relies on air diffusers, each composed of 70 individual
nozzle discs that can be adjusted
to direct flow in a wide range of
directions. This allows the diffusers
to be adjusted to maximize performance depending on their position
and the desired optimal conditions.
Zoeftig then commissioned
physical testing on a prototype of
their plenum design incorporating the developed diffuser units
complete with seating for a totally
representative experiment.
Zoeftigs design was meticulously
tested at the Caverion research
facility in Aachen, Germany,
under winter and summer design
conditions, as well as typical load
scenarios to assess the acoustic,
thermal comfort and air delivery
performance. Representatives
from Fentress Architects, AECOM
and Zoeftig attended to observe
the tests, witness the performance
and determine whether the

diffusers were going to work under

the required conditions and assist
in their optimization. There was
little doubt that the diffusers would
be able to perform under normal
conditions. Each witness sat on
the test chair trousers rolled up
before agreeing that there was
no real issue with thermal comfort
during normal operation.
The main area of concern prior
to the physical prototyping was
that the diffuser would not perform
to the required peak conditions
standard set out in the basis of
design document, so the air flow
was ramped up and the scenario
tested: though subjective, none of
the witnesses found the airflow to
be unpleasantly cold. Introducing
a fog fluid (smoke) to the air
stream allowed a visual of the air
flow path which demonstrated that
at all air flow rates, displacement
is achieved. This peak test supported AECOMs reckoning that
the system ceased to operate in
the local microclimate as a true

displacement system, instead

operating as a more traditional
mixing system. Fortunately this
localized effect did not adversely
impact the overall displacement strategy within the overall
concourse/hold room, and only
occurred at peak conditions.
As earlier analysis carried out by
AECOM predicted that for the vast
majority of the time the required
flow rate would be less than 60
percent of the peak volume, it was
decided that the nozzle positions
should be optimized for 0.30 liters/
second (instead of maximum flow
rate of 0.47 liters/second). The
diffusers would still be capable of
achieving peak flow, but optimal
acoustic and thermal performance
would be achieved when in normal
operation.
Following this conceptual design

guidance from AECOM, further

analysis was carried out by Krantz
to assess the performance of the
chair unit. It was found that the
acoustic performance was within
the recommended limits for all flow
rates up to 67 percent, and slightly
exceeded the criteria at flow rates
at 100 percent. Most thermal comfort criteria set out in ASHRAE 55
were also met for the vast majority
of the time, with the exception of a
slightly high thermal gradient (the
difference in temperature between
ankle and head). AECOMs CFD
analysis had already predicted this
issue, and demonstrated that when
compared to the original drum
diffuser design, a similar condition
was observed: the conclusion
that the performance of the Air
Chairs technically matched the
performance of the drum diffusers,

Each Air Chair provides fresh air directly to passengers from below each seat, along with
individual power outlets for charging passenger laptops and mobile devices.
Picture courtesy of Mark Rothman, Fentress Architects.

Each Air
Chair
provides
fresh air
directly to
passengers.

while outperforming it on all

practical and aesthetic criteria. All
parties agreed that performance
was acceptable, and though at
high air flows the performance was
not ideal, it was deemed that the
infrequency and short duration of
peak conditions (which only occur
when the hold rooms are standing
room only in the late afternoon, at
the right time of year, when the sun
shines through the west-facing
glass) meant occupant dissatisfaction at the internal conditions
created by the ventilation system
would be rare.
The seating range was then
developed by Zoeftig, with input
from Krantz, to the specifications
issued by Fentress Architects and
AECOM. Each Air Chair provides
fresh air directly to passengers
from below each seat, along with
individual power outlets for charging passenger laptops and mobile
devices. It was initially trialled at
two gates within Terminal B at San
Jose Airport. Feedback from both
travelers and airport staff was
extremely positive. The seating
was soon rolled out, with 1,200
Air Chairs installed throughout
Terminal B, and more retrofitted throughout the whole North
Concourse.
Zoeftig is certainly pleased with
the result of the collaboration with
Fentress, AECOM and Krantz. The
seating manufacturer has since
incorporated the design developed
for San Jose into its Zenky range,
creating the Zenky Air.
The new Terminal B at Norman
Y. Mineta San Jose International
Airport officially opened at the end
of June 2010. It achieved Silver
in the internationally recognized
green building rating system, LEED.
The AECOM High Performance
Building team who developed the
Air Chair concept were
Alastair MacGregor and
Andrew Bickerdyke, Orange
Country, California, U.S.A. and
Jim Saywell, Manchester, U.K.
E: alastair.macgregor@aecom.com
E: james.saywell@aecom.com
E: andrew.bickerdyke@aecom.com

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

39

Dynamic
Design
FC Spartak Moscows
new stadium
The response of structures to vibration is
an increasingly important area of work for
structural engineers. And nowhere more so
than in a major football stadium, where crowds
have ever increasing comfort expectations
when they come to watch the game.
Stadia must provide unobstructed
views for spectators and clear
access and circulation within the
concourses, a brief that lends
itself to long cantilevers and
slender members with columnfree spaces.
Consequently, these structures
can be sensitive to dynamic
loading. A further complication
comes with the behavior of
crowds reacting to the spectacle
on show. Whether an exciting
game of football or a high tempo
rock concert, the crowd itself

40

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

applies a dynamic load to the

stadium structure that can excite
natural modes of vibration.
Modern methods of computer
analysis, the constant drive for
improved economy and better
use of materials, particularly
in this time of global recession,
mean that stadium structures
are becoming lighter and spans
longer. The result is reduced
natural frequencies, reduced
modal mass and increased levels
of vibration response.

Stadium design
The new Spartak Moscow
stadium features concrete grandstands. A series of long span steel
trusses support the canopy roof
over the seats. The stadium is laid
out in a bowl shape, with regular
spacing of 7.6 meters between
grids. At each grid, a cast in-situ
concrete frame provides support
to pre-cast concrete seating units.
The grandstands have two tiers,
with a main concourse at ground
floor and an upper concourse to
serve the upper tier. Vomitories
(entrances) and staircases formed
from pre-cast concrete will deliver
spectator areas finished to a very
high standard.
The grandstands are split into
two separate areas, with one long
side of the pitch reserved for VIP
spectators, the football club and
press facilities. The remainder
of the 44,000-seat stadium is
designated for the public.

7500

8000

10000

9000

Allowing for high thermal movements due to the wide temperature

range experienced in Moscow (from
-40C to +40C), movement joints
are incorporated into the grandstands at approximately 53-meter
centers. Vibration analysis was
carried out on the public area of
the grandstand.
Stability is provided through
shear walls at the base of the
lower tier raker, lift shafts and
stair cores. In the VIP section, the
lifts and stairs rise up through the
full height, meaning the building
can be treated as a braced frame.
However, in the public areas the
stair cores only rise to the upper
concourse, meaning the structure
for the upper tier behaves more
like a sway frame. Significantly,
from the point of view of dynamic
analysis, this suggests that there
will be low frequency sway modes
that may be further excited by the
behavior of the crowds.

10400

FC SPARTAK STADIUM

F(t)
v
Ms

16275

9150

01 Section through public

grandstand

03 SDOF vibrating system

u
Mc
P(t)
VIP

F(t)
v
Ms

02 Plan of the new Spartak Moscow

football stadium

04 MDOF vibrating system

AECOM is delivering engineering design

and design project management for the
new 44,000-seat stadium for FC Spartak
Moscow Russias best-known football
team.
The new generation stadium has been
designed in support of Russias successful
2018 FIFA World Cup bid, with AECOM
engineers working in collaboration with
architect Sport Concepts.
The first custom-designed venue for
Spartak since the club was formed in 1935,
the world-class stadium is designed to meet
current FIFA and UEFA best practice, while
still maintaining the unique intimacy of a
club stadium.
As a former Spartak player, its like a
dream come true, Sergei Shavlo, the clubs
director general, has commented. Many
generations of football players and fans
have been waiting for this. We want to build
a stadium that will become our home and
attract new fans.
The stadium will be formed from pre-cast
concrete terracing and a steel trussed roof.
The roof is designed to cope with temperatures ranging between -40C and 40C. Twin
steel-arched trusses deal with the specific
needs efficiently while taking the roof loads
to eight points of support, giving it the
structural integrity necessary to deal with
heavy snowloads.
The stadium is the first major new
stadium in Russia to comply with recent
government legislation to counter potential
terrorist attacks. The legislation incorporates counter terrorism measures into
the design of buildings and public spaces,
particularly in high-risk areas, through
increased structural redundancy.
Teams of professionals from AECOMs
London and Moscow offices worked together
to design and deliver the new stadium,
showcasing the companys international
capability in stadium design coupled with
local project management to deliver a worldclass facility. AECOM is also completing a
masterplan for the site, an old aerodrome,
to include a 12,000 seat conference arena,
shopping area and other leisure facilities.

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

41

Vibration analysis theory

There is a difference between
the dynamic analysis of footfall
vibration (the effect of a single
person walking on a structure)
and crowd or rhythmic activities.
This article is expressly concerned
with the effects of crowds on
grandstands, so footfall vibration
that is caused by walking is not
explored (although the principles
are still valid).
Source
In the past, stadia were
analyzed based on the effects of
harmonic loading and did not take
into account human structure
interaction. This is a conservative
method that attempts to model
crowd behavior as a harmonic input
force to a single or multi-degree
of freedom system. A theoretical
force is applied to the model of
the structure and the behavior
of the structure then estimated.
The variation within crowds is
taken into account by the range of
possible input forces, with much
research work to try to quantify
these forces2. This method can be
described by the single degree of
freedom (SDOF) system shown in
Figure 03.
However, the SDOF method
does not model how crowd
behavior affects loads applied to
the structure, known as human
structure interaction (HSI). The
realization that the input to the
vibrating system is affected by
the vibration itself leads to the
next level of analytical complexity.
Figure 04 is a representation of the
revised model, now a multi-degree
of freedom system (MDOF) where
there is a basic feedback loop
the vibration of the structure
affects the force applied which is
driving the vibration. This model,
currently the most appropriate
analysis method for grandstands,
has been applied to the Spartak
Moscow design.
The additional mass, spring and
damper group is referred to as a
body unit. The mass represents
the mass of the crowd (Mc) in a
particular area (so can be equal to

42

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

The
properties
of the
structure
can be
estimated
in several
ways.

any number of people), the spring

and damper represent the stiffness
and damping of the legs of the
people in the crowd.
The internal force pair driving
the system, P(t) is the input relating
to the type of event taking place in
the stadium. Therefore this input
as defined in Equation 1 differs
depending on whether the event
under consideration is a standard
sports event or a high tempo music
event such as a pop concert. Gi is
the ith Generated Load Factor
(GLF) defining the load caused
by the activity of the crowd. is
the crowd effectiveness factor a
measure of whether the crowd is
likely to react with discomfort or
even panic in extreme cases.

EQUATION 2

Mv + Cv + Kv = F(t)
Consideration of the relative
displacement of the body to that
of the structure, w (where w = u-v)
shows that:
EQUATION 3

mw + cw + kw = P(t) mv

Comparison of Equation 2 and

Equation 3 demonstrates how
the motion of the SDOF body
unit is characterized by the input
harmonic force, P(t) and a term
proportional to the acceleration
of the structure itself. This is the
effect of human structure interaction on the basic equations of
EQUATION 1
motion of this linear system.
i=3
A full derivation of the solution to
P(t) = mg Gi cos(2ift+i)
Equation 3, for harmonic excitation
and with continuous functions for
i=1
P(t) and F(t), can be found in Dougill
et al4.
The GLFs are based on a series
The properties of the structure
of 1000 tests of people bobbing
can be estimated in several ways.
on a stiff plate, undertaken by
An approximate method, suitable
Parkhouse and Ewins3. The data
for hand calculation6 is a useful
4
has been used by Dougill et al to
check that should be used in
enable the properties of body units parallel with a numerical method
to be determined.
such as finite element analysis. As
Equation 1 characterizes the
the dynamic behavior of structures
input to the system of body unit
is highly dependent on these basic
masses. However, the contact
values, it is important to estimate
force on the actual structure is
these values as closely as possible.
different from P(t). If we call the
Common finite element analysis
contact force F(t), this is equivalent software can measure natural freto the effect of P(t) on the body
quencies and modal masses, and
unit masses. This force drives the
provide mode shapes. Care must
structure, modified by the interacbe taken when building the model
tion of the body unit masses.
as common idealizations can have
unwanted effects on the values of
Path
calculated natural frequency.
Conventional methods of linear
A simplified method of HSI
dynamic analysis can determine
analysis has been suggested
the separate responses of the
by Parkhouse and Ward7. This
system due to each harmonic of the approach allows the designer to
source input. Whilst the source and estimate the behavior of the structure, including the effects of HSI by
receiver are subject to the difficulties of measuring and modeling the using simple design charts showing
that the response to dynamic
real world, the path is the applicacrowd action depends primarily on
tion of well developed theory.
For the structure, the governing two parameters: the ratio of modal
mass, , Equation 5 and the empty
equation of motion can be written
structure natural frequency.
as Equation 2:

 The modal mass of the crowd

can be calculated as Equation 4:

EQUATION 6

=0
EQUATION 4

MODELING CONDITIONS

miiv
Mc

Mc = mi2iv
Receiver
The output of vibration analysis
is often a measure of acceleration
i.e. the acceleration at a given
time and in a given location on the
structure.
EQUATION 5
In the case of stadium design, it
M
can be that the designer is worried
= c
Ms
about serviceability as well as
possible ultimate limit states for a
range of scenarios. Table 01 shows
The behavior of the Spartak
the values considered acceptable
Moscow grandstands was analyzed for the various design scenarios for
using the design charts, Figure 08
grandstands quoted as a percentand Figure 09. To take into account age of the acceleration due to
the shape of the grandstand and
gravity, g.
the positioning of the crowd, a
further factor was applied, the
crowd location factor, .

iv is the value of the vertical mode

shape for the crowd unit. The
modal mass ratio, is:

DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

The Institute of Structural Engineers
(IStructE) set up a joint working
group titled, Dynamic performance
requirements for permanent
grandstands subject to crowd
action. In December 2008, the
group published1 recommendations
for the management, design and
assessment of grandstands which
presents the major issues and
discusses sensible measures to limit
dynamic effects.

The IStructE joint working group

guidance offers two separate routes
to check the suitability of structures.
Route 1 relates to the first significant
natural frequency of the structure
whereas Route 2 requires an
estimate of acceleration. It can be
shown that grandstands that fail
the Route 1 test may pass the Route
2 test, in which case, Route 2 takes
precedence.

Route 2
(%g)

Comfort

3.5

N/A

Classical concert or well

attended sporting event

Comfort

3.5

High profile sporting events

and concerts with medium
tempo music

Tolerable comfort for

most, some complaints

7.5

Excitement and motion,

More extreme events including
expectation of personal
high energy concerts
safety

20

Crowd expectation

Sporting events with less than

maximum attendance

Modeling condition
1

Damping factor conditions

estimated as 2% critical

All mass due to superimposed dead

loads, including expected partition
loads, included in the analysis

Stiffness due to number and

location of partitions not included

Connections at in-situ concrete

joints treated as rigid

Sections of stadium between

movement joints treated as
independent

7
Route 1
(Hz)

Exemplar event

Important modeling assumptions for

Spartak Moscow stadium analysis

6 Foundation flexibility ignored

Table 01 Scenario information for design of grandstands2

Scenario

Dynamic analysis to obtain modal

properties is a more difficult task
than standard design for strength and
deflection. Modeling simplifications
should be limited and care taken when
building a model with FE.
It is sensible to follow theoretical
analysis with physical testing to verify
the suitability of the structure. Testing
at the Spartak Moscow stadium will
be undertaken as construction of the
grandstands nears completion. The
Russian authorities have stipulated this
as a requirement prior to allowing the
stadium to open to paying spectators.

Testing at the Spartak Moscow stadium

will be undertaken as construction of
the grandstands nears completion.

Uncracked concrete sections

assumed*

8 Pre-cast seating units treated as

both fixed rigidly to the supporting
structure and as pinned supports**
*A sensitivity analysis was carried out to
determine the effect of using a cracked
section for the concrete raking beams.
This resulted in a variation of natural
frequency of the order of 5 percent. To
reduce computation time, uncracked
sections have been assumed.
**Both types of support were used
independently in the analysis. In reality,
the connection between the pre-cast
unit and the in-situ raking beam will be
somewhere between a pin and fully fixed.
Therefore, this analysis shows an upper
and lower bound on the effect of this
connection.

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

43

A crowd
is most
sensitive
to vertical
motion.

Analysis
A full analysis and prediction
process was undertaken using
these modeling conditions. As the
simplified approach uses a graphical technique, it was important to
reduce the number of mode shapes
included in the analysis. This was
done through an assessment of
the mass participation factors
of the mode shapes in the three
orthogonal directions, where mass
participation is a measure of the
significance of the mode shape in
the ultimate dynamic behavior of
the system.

Figures 05, 06 and 07 show the

results of this technique for the
three orthogonal directions of
motion. X axis corresponds to sway
movement of the grandstand from
side to side. Y-axis motion relates
to a forwards and backwards
nodding style motion, and Z-axis
is the standard vertical motion of
the crowd. The crowd itself is most
sensitive to the vertical motion (and
it is the vertical acceleration and
ROUTE 2
ROUTE 1
displacement that is eventually
assessed). In this case, the X-axis
motion is not considered to affect
HSI and is discounted.

Figure 07 shows that the most

significant mode shapes for Z-axis
motion are well above the Route
1 limit of 6 Hz i.e. despite the
relatively high mass participation factors for a number of the
Z-axis mode shapes, their natural
frequencies are sufficiently high (of
the order of 1215 Hz) that they can
also be discounted.
It is only those modes falling
into the Route 2 analysis within
the Y-axis graph that have been
included in the values for predicting the eventual behavior of the
grandstand.

Figure 5: X-Axis Mass Participation

ROUTE 2

ROUTE 2

ROUTE 2

ROUTE 1

ROUTE 1

Figure 5: X-Axis Mass Participation

05 X-axis mass participation

ROUTE 2

ROUTE 1

ROUTE 1

Figure 6: Y-Axis Mass Participation

06 Y-axis mass participation

Figure 7: Z-Axis Mass Participation

07 Z-axis mass participation

Figure 5, Figure 6 and Figure 7 show the results of this technique for the three orthogonal
directions of motion. X axis corresponds to sway movement of the grandstand from side to
side. Y-axis motion relates to a forwards and backwards nodding style motion, and Z-axis
is the standard vertical motion of the crowd. The crowd itself is most sensitive to the
vertical motion (and it is the vertical acceleration and displacement that is eventually
assessed). In this case, the X-axis motion is not considered to affect HSI and is
discounted. Figure 7 shows that the most significant mode shapes for Z-axis motion are
well above the Route 1 limit of 6Hz i.e. despite the relatively high mass participation
factors for a number of the Z-axis mode shapes, their natural frequencies are sufficiently
high (of the order of 12 15Hz) that they can also be discounted.
It is only those modes falling into the Route 2 analysis within the Y-axis graph that have
been included in the values for predicting the eventual behaviour of the grandstand.

Sub heading Results

Figure 6: Y-Axis Mass Participation

44

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

Figure 8 and Figure 9 and Table 3 show the results of the analysis based on the
Parkhouse and Ward simplified method. These estimate the acceleration and
displacement based on frequency of mode shape and ratio of modal masses. However,
the design charts have been written based on a crowd location factor of 1.5. Therefore the
values read from the charts must be factored to take into account the actual position on
the model where the test is taking place. For this analysis a grid of six locations (A-F) on
the model was tested. These are positioned at likely worst case locations, for example, at

PARKHOUSE AND WARD SIMPLIFIED METHOD

Table 02 Results following the Parkhouse and Ward simplified method.
Free connections
Position

f (Hz)

a4 /1.5

2.12

5.5

2.92

1.0

5.76

0.3

2.12

4.4

2.92

1.5

5.76

0.3

Fixed connections

aRMS (%g) d4 /1.5

f (Hz)

a4 /1.5

2.17

4.9

3.00

1.1

0.0

5.95

0.2

0.0

2.7

2.17

3.8

2.1

3.00

2.5

5.95

0.2

dRMS (mm)

3.3
5.6

4.7

0.3

0.4

3.4

2.7

0.0

2.12

3.5

2.1

2.92

3.6

5.76

0.3

0.0

2.12

5.5

3.3

5.0

5.6

1.0

5.1

4.5

0.3

0.7

2.17

2.8

3.00

5.5

5.95

0.2

0.0

2.17

4.9

2.8

6.2

3.00

0.9

5.95

0.2

0.0

2.12

4.4

2.6

2.17

3.8

2.1

2.92

1.4

3.00

2.4

5.76

0.3

0.0

5.95

0.2

0.0

2.12

3.2

2.0

2.17

2.7

1.5

2.92

3.6

3.00

5.5

5.76

0.2

5.95

0.2

0.0

Results
Figures 08 and 09 and Table 02
show the results of the analysis
based on the Parkhouse and Ward
simplified method. These estimate
the acceleration and displacement based on frequency of mode
shape and ratio of modal masses.
However, the design charts have
been written based on a crowd
location factor of 1.5. Therefore the
values read from the charts must
be factored to take into account the
actual position on the model where
the test is taking place. For this
analysis a grid of six locations (AF)
on the model was tested. These
are positioned at likely worst case
locations, for example, at the end
of a cantilever or in the middle of a
bay. Table 02 gives results values.
None of the locations show
RMS acceleration values greater
than 20%g or displacement values
of greater than 7 millimeters.
Therefore, this analysis predicts
that the behavior of the grandstand
will be within acceptable limits
for Scenario 4 type crowd events.
It is worth noting that the system

2.2

5.0

1.5

0.0

1.0

2.2
x
x
+

1.6

0.9

4.9

X Pinned Supports
+ Fixed Supports

2.8

0.0

0.3

2.7

dRMS (mm)

2.8

5.76

0.4

3.4

d4 /1.5

2.92

4.6

0.3

2.4

aRMS (%g)

4.5

6.2

0.3

0.7

1.5
0.0

2.2

2.8

x
+

08 Design chart extract from Parkhouse and Ward10

X Pinned Supports
+ Fixed Supports

2.2

x
x
+

2.1

x
+

09 Design chart extract from Parkhouse and Ward10

The potential for high variation depending

on boundary conditions emphasizes how
important physical testing is.
is sensitive to the end fixity of the
pre-cast units. Natural frequencies
vary by 23 percent, but resultant
RMS acceleration values can vary
by up to 24 percent. Therefore, it is
important to consider both states
to try to understand a predicted
upper and lower bound on the
behavior. In this case, the upper
bound is well within the 20 percent
g limit for Scenario 4. The potential
for high variation depending on
boundary conditions emphasizes
how important physical testing
is to validate the model, with the
expected tested values to lie somewhere between the two predicted
values.
Conclusions
Recently published guidance
and technical literature allows the
investigation and prediction of the

effects of human structure interaction on grandstand structures.

The design of the new Spartak
Moscow stadium has been used to
demonstrate this process and the
behavior is predicted to lie within
the limits of allowable acceleration
and displacement suggested by the
IStructE.
For the new Spartak Moscow
stadium, physical testing to validate the predictions will take place
after the structure has been built.
Construction has commenced and
is due for completion in 2012.
Andy Coward is a senior structural
engineer with AECOM, working in
London, U.K.
E: andy.coward@aecom.com

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

45

High and mighty

Grand Lisboa hotel and casino, Macau: a fast-track high-rise
The striking 258-meter-tall Grand Lisboa hotel and casino project in
Macau was completed in 2008 on schedule and within budget using
fast-track construction techniques. This article describes the project
requirements and the innovative contractual and technical solutions
adopted, including top-down construction, diaphragm walling, piling,
rock excavation, composite construction and fiber-reinforced sprayed
concrete. Wherever possible, temporary works were combined into the
permanent structure to achieve rapid construction at economic cost.
Macaus economy has grown
rapidly during the last few years
thanks to government measures to
stimulate the entertainment and
tourism sectors. Several local and
international leisure operators have
invested in the region, resulting in
the construction of new casinos
and hotels. The 258-meter-tall
Grand Lisboa hotel and casino
development, completed in 2008, is
one of the most recent examples.
The client, Sociedate de Jogos
de Macau, wanted to develop the
11,626m2 site next to its existing
Lisboa hotel and casino and

46

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

appointed a professional team consisting of architect Dennis Lau and

Ng Chun Man; services consultant
Parsons Brinckerhoff; quantity
surveyor Davis Langdon, an AECOM
company, and Seah; and engineer
AECOM. The brief was to create a
luxurious hotel which would be an
original landmark, unlike anything
else in the area. The project needed
to be completed within the shortest
time possible.
The architectural solution was a
lotus-leaf-shaped, 48-story hotel
tower with multi-level, long-span,
overhanging floors on two sides.

Innovative
contractual
and
technical
solutions.

The tower sits on an elliptical

podium, which houses the casino,
entertainment facilities and
restaurants, beneath which is a
four-storey basement containing
a further part of the casino, the
parking garage and back-of-house
facilities for the hotel and casino.
There is also a tunnel and footbridge giving access to the adjacent
hotel and casino.
Site constraints and planning
The site investigation identified
a high rock-head level, indicating
that the four-level basement would
require a large amount of rock
excavation. The investigation also
indicated groundwater at around
2.5meters below the existing
ground level about 3meters
above project datum (PD).
The site constraints and other
issues which influenced construction planning included:

 The southern half of the site

rests on the high rock-head level

area, requiring bulk rock excavation. The basement construction,
excavation and lateral support
sequence had to be well planned
to minimize construction time.

Construction of the tunnel to the

existing Lisboa hotel and casino

would require traffic diversions
and well planned construction
methods to minimize traffic
disturbance.

High-strength concrete (60MPa)

The stability of adjacent roads

and buildings had to be closely

monitored during basement
excavation and construction.
The ground is underlain by fill,

marine deposits, alluvium and

decomposed granitic rock of
various degrees of weathering.
The level of grade III/IV or better

rock varies from between 6mPD

up to 41mPD.
The site is located in a high

was uncommon at that time in

Macau but its use would help to
maximize the usable floor area,
so early liaison with the batching
plant to confirm the mix design
would be important.

The complex building shape for

both the tower and podium and

the requirement for rapid
construction meant the contract
arrangements and contractors
experience and capability were
absolutely critical.

Macaus
economy
has grown
rapidly
during the
last few
years.

Rock excavation for the basement

was a potentially time-consuming
and noisy process. Top-down
methods were therefore chosen for
the basement, enabling simultaneous construction of the superstructure and basement and so reducing
total construction time. As rock
excavation is carried out beneath
the ground floor slab, the noise of
the work is effectively screened
from above.
Steelconcrete composite construction was adopted. Structural
steelwork has the advantage that it
reduces the amount of temporary
work such as shoring and propping
and allows the temporary structure
to be combined into the permanent
structure, again reducing time.
Early concrete trial mixes confirmed the validity of using highstrength concrete on the project.

water-level area, implying that

dewatering and waterproofing
works during and after the
basement construction would
be critical.

The striking
leaf-shaped tower
and elliptical podium
of the Grand Lisboa
hotel and casino in
Macau were
completed in 2008.

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

47

Top-down construction
The basement mainly consists
of parking, loading and unloading
zones, working areas for hotel and
casino staff, storage areas, plant
rooms and part of the casino.
The ground floor is a conventional reinforced concrete one-way
slab on a downstand beam system.
The four basement levels B1
to B4 have a flat slab design,
leading to more economical
form-work for top-down working as
well as reducing excavation depth
and accelerating construction.
Slab thickness for levels B1 to B3
is 350 millimeters whereas the
B4 slab is 1200 millimeters thick
and constructed in waterproof
concrete, resisting gravity loads
as well as significant groundwater
pressure (Figure 02).
A diaphragm wall forms the
basement outer wall. Constructed
in 89 panels, this also acted as the
lateral load resisting system during

01 Comparison of the
project programs for a
management contract,
lump-sum contract
and package tender
contract.

Contract type

Figure 01 shows a comparison of

the project programs for a management contract, lump-sum contract
and package tender contract. The
estimated construction time from
demolition work to completion for
the three different contractual
arrangements was 36, 40 and 41
weeks respectively. The elimination
of some of the tendering process
meant the management contract
approach gave rise to the shortest
construction time. It also gave the
designers a longer time to optimize
the design and avoid rushing the
tender preparation, ensuring the
design solution would be more
cost-effective.
A management contract also
enabled the contractor to work
as a team with the designers to
eliminate unnecessary contractual
disputes during the work, thus
avoiding project delays.

Management contract
Lump-sum contract
Package tender contract
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Weeks

A diaphragm
wall forms
the
basement
outer wall.

02 Below: Cross
section of
basement this
was constructed
top-down apart
from the lower
core, which was
built-bottom-up at
the same time.

and after basement excavation

works. In areas with a high rockhead, the diaphragm wall panels
sit on sound rock higher than the
bottom level of the basement.
These panels were underpinned,
and rock bolts were also inserted
during excavation to ensure the
integrity of the diaphragm wall.
The basement floors are supported between the diaphragm
wall and central core by 83
composite columns, consisting
of a steel stanchion encased
with reinforced concrete. They
are supported in turn by large
diameter bored piles, which socket
0.5 meters into the bed rock to
achieve an allowable bearing
pressure of 8000 kPa. The steel
stanchions were plunged into the
top part of the bored piles prior
to basement excavation, providing temporary support for the
concrete floors during top-down
construction.

89 diaphragm wall panels

For the central core wall,

conventional bottom-up construction was adopted. It was originally
planned as top-down construction
but the high rock-head levels
meant bored piling would be too
slow. The core area was excavated
within strutted sheet piling, after
which 150 pre-bored steel H-piles
were installed at the base. The
piles were inserted into a 560 millimeter drill hole, socketed at least
8.3 meters into sound rock and
have a design capacity of 8.3 MN.
Due to space constraints, the
Osterberg cell-load method was
adopted for static pile-load testing.
With the revised design, core
wall excavation and steel H-piling
was completed within the desired
foundation construction period.
Furthermore, the central core
wall excavation was carried out
concurrently with the diaphragm
walling and bored piling, reducing
the overall program.

Sheet piles for bottom-up

central core construction

83 top-down columns
+2.7m

Rock
contour

-15.7m

The building podium

houses the main part of
the casino, a clubhouse,
restaurants and offices.
48

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

Rock bolts

150 pre-bored H-piles

83 bored piles

03 Twin steel truss

beams with 40
meter spans are
used to create
large column-free
areas for the
casino floor in the
podium the
trusses work
compositely with
the floor slab and
concrete infill in
lower chords.

Detail of twin truss

Composite slab

Concrete infill

40 m
A
Plan

Section A-A

Position S

40m

Twin trusses

Position P

Section A-A
Position S
R

Posion P

Position Q

Position Q
Position T

50.5m
Position T

Position R

13.2m

Position R

04 Position of
likely fire
sources on the
upper podium
floor.

Section B-B
Position S

10.0m

Position T

A
88.8m

In the excavation design,

AECOMs computer program
DIANA, was adopted to model the
basement construction stages. The
bending moments, shear forces,
wall deflection and corresponding
propping forces in the floor slabs
were all estimated by the program.

42.8m

a composite one-way beam-slab

system spanning off the tower core
(Figure 03). The large open areas of
the three main podium floors for
the casino are created by 40-meter
span steel Pratt trusses which
are then supported onto composite
circular columns.
The twin trusses are fixed either
Podium frame and shell
side of the steel column stanchions
The building podium houses the prior to casting the grade 60
main part of the casino, a clubcolumn concrete. The trusses are
house, restaurants and offices.
designed to act compositely with
Steel rather than traditional reinthe concrete floor slabs above and
forced concrete was adopted as
with the concrete infill between the
the primary material for the podium bottom chords, which enhances
frame due to the advantages of
buckling strength and improves
shorter construction time, lower
dynamic performance. Twin trusses
weight and simpler integration with are also lighter and shallower than
the elliptical outer composite shell. an equivalent single truss.
The frame consists primarily of
Structural design of the trusses
steel columns and beams, with
satisfies code requirements for

The sprayed
concrete
shell is
watertight.

ultimate and serviceability limit

states. For the ultimate limit
state, the load combination was
in accordance with the Macau
loading code, RSA1.
On completion of the podium
steelwork, work started on the
reinforced concrete shell structure
which provides the walls and roof.
A three-dimensional computer
analysis model was developed to
simulate the shell and generate an
optimized profile with the result
that the load transfer is mainly
through arching action.
Conventional concreting was not
suitable for the shell so fibrereinforced polymer concrete was
designed to be sprayed onto metal
decking. The sprayed concrete
shell is watertight, has high adhesion to the substrate and provides
sufficient strength for fixing the
complex external lighting system
that covers the podium surface.
Fire protection
A performance-based approach
was adopted for fire design of the
podium shell. Advanced computational fluid dynamic analyzes
were undertaken to assess the
maximum temperatures of the
steel roof structure under critical
fire scenarios using representative
fire loads. Two fire scenarios were
considered: a single occurrence
of a very large fire and multiple
occurrences of large fires on the
upper floor. Seven likely fire positions were selected on the upper
podium floor (see Figure 04) and six
fire cases were investigated.
The result of the computational
fluid dynamic analysis in both fire
scenarios I and II indicates that the
maximum temperature in the steel
roof structure is envisaged to be
552C at position R, where the roof
is 6.8 meters above the floor. In all
the other fires cases, the temperature of the roof structure was well
below the limiting temperature
of 550C, at which the steel loses
strength significantly.
Fire protection was thus applied
to all structural steel members
within 7 meters of the podium floor.

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

49

Wind X

Wind Y

EQX

EQY

250
Building height (meters)

05 Estimated
internal deflection of
the tower due to
wind and
earthquakes.

200
150
100
50
0

constructed monolithically to resist

lateral and gravity loads. Steel
system formwork was used to cast
the central core wall and aluminum
tables and timber formwork was
adopted for the beams and slabs.
Table 01 Wind force from wind tunnel and
The floor layouts were prepared
Macau Code.
with early input from the formwork
Variable
10 years return period
supplier to accommodate the
acceleration: g x 10 -3
aluminum table formwork.
X acceleration
3.7
The tower was then consecuY acceleration
10.5 tively enlarged on two opposite
Torsional
7.1 sides, floor by floor, from the 15th
acceleration
floor to the top floor, forming a 15
meter wide, multilevel overhang
The wind forces obtained from
structure. In each overhanging porwind tunnel tests are less than
tion, the floor is supported by two
that obtained from the Macau wind reinforced concrete wall beams
code1 due to the sheltering effects cantilevered from the central core
of adjacent buildings. The test
wall, together with steel floor
indicated that occupant comfort
beams and inclined steel columns
will be within acceptable limits
forming a hybrid structure.
for a 10-year return period wind. A Traditional timber formwork was
hybrid structural system was
adopted for the cantilever wall
adopted for the tower to incorpobeams and the floor slabs were
rate the unique overhanging
cast on metal decks supported
sections at opposite sides of the
by the walls and beams to reduce
building (Figure 08).
false-work requirements.
In the non-overhang portion, the A typical three-day construction
tower core wall together with exte- cycle was achieved in the central
rior composite columns, reinforced non-overhang portion. The typical
concrete beams and slabs were
cycle for the overhang part was
code1 is shown in Table 01 and the
wind-induced acceleration
response of the building is shown
in Figure 07.

Wind force (kN) X

Wind force (kN) Y

Storey height (meters)

250
200
150
100
50
0
4000

2000

4000

2000

Wind tunnel

Spring/Summer 2011

400

The tower is
designed for
wind loads
with a 200year return
period.

07 Right:
Comparison of
wind loading from
model tests and
wind code shows
the shielding
effect of adjacent
buildings.

Agenda

200

Deflection (mm)

06 Left: Wind tunnel

test model.

50

400

200

400

200

400

200

Tower design and construction

The 40-storey tower above the
podium contains hotel rooms,
restaurants, a swimming pool,
clubhouse and an observatory deck
at the top. Typical storey height
is 3.4 meters and, as the column
grid for the tower is smaller than
that for the podium, the tower
is supported on a transfer slab
located at podium roof level.
The computer program ETABS2
was used for analysis of the tower
structure. The tower is designed
for wind loads with a 200-year
return period in accordance with
the Macau safety and loading
regulations for building structures1.
Seismic loading was determined
with reference to the Chinese code
for seismic design of buildings3,
with seven degrees of seismic
intensity and 0.1 g as the design
acceleration of the ground motion.
The storey drifts of the tower under
wind and seismic loads are shown
in Figure 05, from which it can be
seen that wind is the critical case
for lateral loading.
The building is designed with
a limiting deflection of H/800 for
frequent seismic action and H/830
for short-term serviceability limit
state under wind loading, that is,
for wind load occurring within 5
percent of the building lifetime.
Wind tunnel testing was carried
out to verify the design wind forces
on the building and also to confirm
that the comfort of the occupants
would be within acceptable criteria
(Figure 06). A comparison of the
wind loads obtained from wind
tunnel tests and the Macau wind

Macau wind
code

Overhanging portion

Overhanging
portion

Steel tie and strut

08 Tower design and

typical floor layout
showing location of
the 15-meter wide
overhanging sections
above the 15th floor
and how they are
supported by
cantilever wall beams
and raking steel
columns.

The design of the

Grand Lisboa Hotel
and Casino
incorporated many
innovative design
and construction
solutions.

Wall
beam

The successful completion of the structural works

within the program and budget is attributed to
sophisticated forward planning, the adaptation of
appropriate design and construction methods and the
collaboration of the whole project team.

around five days due to the requirement for the pour of concrete in
the cantilever wall beam below to
be left to cure to gain a three-day
strength of 20 MPa.
Connecting footbridge and tunnel
A footbridge and pedestrian
tunnel were built to provide links
to the existing Lisboa hotel both
above-ground and at basement
level.
Steelconcrete composite
construction was used for the twospan footbridge, which consists
of a number of built-up steel
plate girders integrated with a top
concrete slab to form a composite
multi-web flange beam.

The Grand
Lisboa
hotel and
casino was
a fast-track
project.

The tunnel is a reinforced

concrete box structure and was
constructed in sections using cutand-cover construction. To minimize the disturbance to road traffic
and existing hotel operations, the
tunnel work was programmed and
progressed together with utility and
highway improvements carried out
by a government contractor.
Summary
The Grand Lisboa hotel and
casino was a fast-track project,
involving a number innovative
design and construction solutions.
Initial project planning started
in 2003, foundation works
started in September 2004, and

superstructure and basement

works started in mid 2005 and were
completed in just 18 months.
The successful completion of
the structural works within the
program and budget is attributed to
sophisticated forward planning, the
adaptation of appropriate design
and construction methods and the
commitment and collaboration of
the whole project team.
This paper first appeared in the
Civil Engineering special issue of
the proceedings of the Institution
of Civil Engineers, November 2010,
and is reproduced with permission.

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

51

Emerging city
challenges
As the world emerges from the challenges of economic recession, other
issues come to the fore, especially for
the cities seen as emerging stronger and
in a better position to take advantage of
the global commercial stage.
Understanding the challenges that
face emerging and world-class cities
as they grow, and providing solutions
drawn from experience working with
thriving city communities around the
world is one of the key strengths that
AECOM can bring.
The city of Moscow is in just such a
position, emerging into the international
commercial spotlight, whilst still facing
the challenge of managing the inevitable
growth that success brings, as well as
the higher expectations of inhabitants.
AECOM has made a point of focusing
on the big issues. The companys worldclass practitioners work worldwide with
city governing regimes to help identify
and understand the issues that these

cities face, and then present possible

solution options. The firms commitment to this high level approach to city
development is underlined by AECOMs
sponsorship of the Global Cities
Institute.
The city of Moscow is growing, a
development that brings with it the
need to understand the significance
of the emerging markets and impacts
that growth can have on a changing
city. One of the key impacts Moscow is
currently experiencing mirrors currently
a global phenomenon: the urbanization
of populations. 2004 saw a tipping point
when the population of cities passed
50 percent of the global population. By
2050 this level is predicted to pass 70
percent. Many western E.U. countries
already see cities absorbing around 90
percent of the population.
The second catalyst is the drive for
manufacturing and new technology
industries to help feed the developing

AECOMs experts work worldwide with city

governing regimes to help identify the
challenges that face emerging and worldclass cities as they grow.
52

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

market. Consumer growth and demand,

as increasing wealth, creates the focus
of GDP growth in the economy. Such
demand only serves to increase the rate
at which jobs are created in urban areas,
with resultant population increases
bringing greater demand on public
transport, increased car use and freight
traffic, all combining to result in pressure on infrastructure.
One aspect of infrastructure development that is often overlooked is
the demand for more energy. The link
to climate change that comes from
building more power stations and
increased greenhouse gas emissions
is being experienced now, most visibly
through more extreme weather events.
A balance needs to be struck, one that
can ensure continued economic growth,
yet achieving increased energy capacity. This crucial point is where energy
efficiency starts to become an increasingly important aspect in policy making.
We are seeing the first signs of this issue
now coming to prominence in Russia.
Comparing Russia with the position of
other E.U. countries, however, there are
two key drivers of policy not present. In
Western Europe, energy costs have risen
dramatically over the last ten years.
Alongside this, legislation to curb energy

Emerging markets and growth can have significant

impact upon our cities, with the phenomenon of
Moscow a case in hand. Andy Parkman considers
the challenges facing city leaders.

use has been introduced. Neither of

these key drivers high energy costs
nor energy efficient legislation are as
yet present in Russia.
Federal Law 261 is catching up
with the English Building Regulations
Approved Document Part L 1995. It
was not until 2002 that the first carbon
benchmark was introduced driven
by the Kyoto Agreement. In 2006 this
benchmark was reduced by 20-28 percent as a result of the European Energy
Performance of Buildings Directive, and
there was a further 25 percent reduction in 2010. Currently we are looking at
a further 25 percent reduction by 2013.
Importantly, as energy efficiency is
becoming culturally embedded as a
principle within governments and the
built environment industry, the focus
is switching to carbon, embracing the
emergence of zero carbon buildings
and a low carbon economy. The reason
is a key indicator: carbon emissions,
as a measurement, can cover a much
wider range of issues. Thus when a
building is efficient in terms of energy
use, focus can shift on travel to and
from the building, looking for example
at vehicle emissions. This has a wider
impact, as infrastructure provision and
investment becomes important. Against

this emerging background, the question

facing Russia is whether or not to realize this pattern and thus move to a low
carbon focus earlier in the legislative
process, accelerating presence on the
global stage in this area as a result.
Moscow is a city facing challenges
and from this brief overview it is clear
how interrelated the policy impacts are.
It is only by bringing together current
city leadership with planners who have
been involved with, and observed similar situations from other global cities,
coupled with looking across to see the
subsequent effects of changes made
in other cities that a coherent strategy
can be achieved. Outcomes for Moscow
moving forwards must satisfy demand,
encourage continued economic growth
and allow citizens a healthier lifestyle
and improved living standards, all the
while empowering a lower impact on the
environment for future generations.
Andy Parkman is head of Building
Engineering for AECOM in Russia and
the CIS.
E: andrew.parkman@aecom.com

Spring/Summer 2011

Agenda

53

References
Are green buildings healthy? (page 8)
1
CIBSE Guide A, 2007a
2
2003, quoted in Bluyssen, 2009
3
Bluyssen
4
Kreuger & Killham, 2006; Newsham et al, 2009
5
Bell, 2004
6
Newsham et al, 2009
7
Haynes, 2007[quoted in Miller & Pogue, 2009].
8
EPA,2010
9
Birt & Newsham, 2009
10
Brand, 2008
11
Leaman & Bordass, 2007
12
Heschong, 2003
13
Kreuger & Killham, 2006
14
Figuero et al, 2002
15
Lomonaco & Miller,1997
16
Elzeyadi, 2010
17
Heschong, 2003
18
Lee & Guerin, 2010
19
Wargocki and Wyon, 2000
20
EPA, 1989
21
Abdou and Lorsh,1994
22
Apte, Fisk & Daisey, 2000; Erdmann, Steiner &
Apte, 2002
23
Fisk & Seppnen, 2007
24
Bako-Biro et al, 2004
25
James and Yang,2005
26
Tarran, Torpy &Burchett, 2007
27
Liu, 2002
28
CIBSE 2006b
29
Hancock, 2007
30
Fanger, 1970
31
de Dear & Brager, 1998
32
Nicol & Humphreys, 2002
33
Seppnen, Fisk & Lei, 2006
34
Lam Date
35
Hayashi et al, 2003
36
Korhonenen et al, 2003
37
Fang et al, 2004
38
CIBSE, 2006b

Dynamic design (page 30)

1.
Joint Working Group. Dynamic performance
requirements for permanent grandstands
subject to crowd action: Recommendations for
management, design and assessment. s.l.:
IStructE, 2008.
2
Kerr S C. Human induced loading on staircases.
s.l.: PhD Thesis, University of London, 1998.
3
Parkhouse J G, Ewins D J. Crowd induced
rhythmic loading. s.l.: Proc. ICE, Structures and
Buildings, Oct. 2006.
4
Dougill J W, Wright J R, Parkhouse J G, Harrison R
E. Human structure interaction during rhythmic
bobbing. s.l.: The Structural Engineer (84), Nov
2006.
5
Beards C F. Structural Vibration: Analysis and
damping. s.l.: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1996.
6
Blevins R D. Formulas for natural frequency and
mode shape. s.l. : Robert E Kreiger Publshing
Company, 1995.
7
Parkhouse G, Ward I. Design charts for the
assessment of grandstands subject to dynamic
crowd action. s.l.: The Structural Engineer 88 (7),
7 April 2010.
Staying green, keeping warm (page 24)
1
National Resources Canada. 2005. EE4 Version
1.7.
2
Perrot, Cindy. 2008. Curtainwall Option Analysis
April 22, 3008. Integrated Designs,
Saskatoon, Canada.
3
CFD Simulation completed by Angela Bennett,
AECOM, Calgary, Canada.
4
Perrot, Cindy. 2009. Model Submittal Summary
December 8, 2009. Integrated Designs,
Saskatoon, Canada.
5
Daylighting and thermal simulations were
carried out by Transsolar, Germany.

The contents of Agenda are for general information. The opinions expressed in Agenda do not necessarily reflect those
of the editorial board, do not constitute advice and should not be relied upon in making (or refraining from making) any
decision. The information in Agenda is provided on an AS IS basis, and all warranties, expressed or implied of any kind,
regarding any matter pertaining to any information, advice or replies are disclaimed and excluded. Agenda Magazine,
AECOM and its associates shall not be liable, at any time, for damages (including, without limitation, damages for loss of
any kind) arising in contract, tort or otherwise from the use of or inability to use the magazine, or any of its contents, or
from any action taken (or refrained from being taken) as a result of using the magazine or any such contents.

54

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

High and mighty (page 44)

1.
Macau Regulation 56/96/M: Regulamento de
Segurana e Aces em Estruturas de Edifcios e
Pontes (RSA).
2.
ETABS Plus Version 8.3.7.: Integrated Building
Design Software.
3.
Chinese National Standard GB 50011-2001: Code
for Seismic Design of Buildings.

Foreword

ON SITE: ZAYED UNIVERSITY, CAPITAL

DISTRICT - ABU DHABI, U.A.E.

With the low carbon agenda driving thinking at

government levels globally, now more than
ever AECOM continues to evolve new ways to
drive a sustainable agenda.

As building engineers, our role is to

design solutions that work better,
perform more efficiently and deliver
more productively.
Some of our many ideas for new
ways of delivering sustainable
thinking around the world have found
their way into this issue of Agenda.
Weve selected projects that reflect
the breadth and range of creative
engineering innovation that AECOM is
known for, delivering sustainable
thought leadership in particular.
Even the smallest project can cast a
wide sphere of influence. A great
example is the zero carbon homes
development in the U.K., a potential
blueprint for future housing developments that is generating considerable
interest. At the other end of the
sustainable scale, our work delivering
two key commercial buildings in
Edmonton, Canada, demonstrates
that it is possible to build sustainably
while facing the extreme challenges of
a cold climate. Integrating form and
function gave rise to a visually
exciting, highly sustainable office
development in Perth, Australia.
Seismic activity sets its own set of
design challenges. Our team rose to
the challenge when asked to design a
critical essential services facility able

to withstand powerful earthquakes in

California, U.S. Vibration in building
movement, but from a different
perspective, influenced our thinking
for a new home for the highest
resolution microscope in Australia.
Similarly, FC Spartak Moscow Stadium
has sophisticated advanced analysis
to thank for its elegant yet robust
structures. In Macau, a new tall
building has made headlines, built
using our innovative fast-track
construction solution.
AECOM is committed to igniting
creative excellence. Our experts
continue to think ahead, leading the
way on key issues worldwide. In this
issue, David Cheshire puts forward
some thinking about occupant
comfort green buildings, while Andy
Parkman considers the opportunities
facing city leaders.
Agenda is a rich showcase for the
dynamic variety and breadth of
challenge that we face in our day-today work, driving our determination to
evolve the best possible solutions for
our clients worldwide.

Agenda

Spring/summer 2011

The 75 hectare green-field site

will provide state of the art
classroom and laboratory
facilities for teaching and
research across 27 buildings,
serving a mixed, segregated,
daytime population of 6,000
students ,with capacity for future
expansion to accommodate
10,000 students.
AECOMs team in the Middle
East developed the master plan
for the entire full build-out of the
$879m campus, and delivered
full multidisciplinary design
services for 19 buildings.
With structural work well
advanced, the landmark
university project is due for
completion in mid 2011.

26

Ken Dalton
Chief Executive
Global Building Engineering
E: ken.dalton@aecom.com

34
2

Construction is well underway

at Zayed University, a prestige
education campus that will
enhance the social and economic
development of Abu Dhabi
through higher education.

Agenda

Spring/Summer 2011

Building Engineering

Spring/Summer 2011

About AECOM
AECOM is a global provider of professional technical and
management support services to a broad range of markets,
including transportation, facilities, environmental, energy,
water and government. With approximately 45,000 employees
around the world, AECOM is a leader in all of the key markets
that it serves. AECOM provides a blend of global reach, local
knowledge, innovation and technical excellence in delivering
solutions that create, enhance and sustain the worlds built,
natural and social environments. A Fortune 500 company,
AECOM serves clients in approximately 125 countries and has
annual revenue in excess of $7.0 billion.

The technical journal for AECOMs global

Building Engineering services

Are green
buildings
healthy?

More information on AECOM and its services can be found at

www.aecom.com.

Shaken, but
not stirred
Buildings designed
for Californian
earthquakes

Staying green,
keeping warm
Sustainable
buildings
for cold climates

High and
mighty
A new tall building
for Macau
AECOM

Printed using vegetable based inks on material made from 50

percent recycled, 50 per cent virgin fiber from sustainable sources.