Façade Support on Steel Structures-

Finding the Right Solutions

25 June 2015 – Medellin, Colombia

James C. Parker, SE - Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.

www.sgh.com
Integrated Structure + Enclosure (legacy projects)

7-Up International Sandwich Gardens, 1963 | North Shore Music Theater, 196x | Biosphere, 1966 | Monsanto House of the Future, 1956 | Spaceship Earth, 1980
Integrated Structure + Enclosure

Yale Anlyan Medical Research Center | MIT Simmons Hall Dormitory | The Macallen Building Condominiums | Baha’i Temple | The New Museum of Contemporary Art,
Finding the Right Solution

• Background
• Overview of Strategies
• Slab Edges
• Spandrel Beams
• Accommodating movement
• Case studies
Background
Integration
Structure + Enclosure

Curtain Walls

Transitional Masonry

Load Bearing Masonry

2000 1000 B.C. 0 1000 A.D. 2000

Time Line
Load Bearing Walls

Monadnock Block
Transitional Buildings
Transitional Buildings
Transitional Buildings
Modern Curtain Wall Buildings – “Skinned”
Structural Movement – Vertical Deflections
Structural Movement – Lateral Story Drift
Δ INT.
Facade Support Details to Accommodate Movement

+/-30% J

J
Enclosure Details to Accommodate Movement

Compression Expansion

Drift
Overview : Strategies for Façade Support

• Masonry Veneers
• Precast Concrete Panels
• Aluminum and Glass Curtain Walls
Primary Criteria for Façade Support

• Structural Integrity
• Accommodating Movement
• Accounting for Tolerances and Clearances
• Constructability
• Durability
• Economy

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Masonry Veneer – Cavity Wall

http://www.masonrysystems.org
Masonry Veneer – Cavity Wall
Masonry Veneer – Cavity Wall

Waterproof
Steel Support Membrane
Assembly

Metal Flashing

Shelf Angle
Strategies:
Shelf at Top of Window

Floor

Floor

Floor

Elevation

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Strategies:
Shelf at Floor Slab

Floor

Floor

Floor

Elevation

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Strategies:
Strip Windows
Floor

Floor

Floor

Elevation

26
Movement Joints
Allow Relative In-Plane Avoid Interferences of
Movements Structure and Facade
Precast Concrete Panels
Precast Concrete Panels - Support
Column Supported
Spandrel Supported
Movement Joints
Aluminum and Glass Curtain Walls
Attachments

35
Attachments

36
Attachments

37
Attachments

38
Movement Joints
Slab Edges
Gravity Load Eccentricities at Slab Edge

41
Approach 1:
Slab Cantilever Resolves Eccentricity

Slab moment diagram envelope

Approach 1:
Slab Cantilever Resolves Eccentricity

43
Approach 2:
Slab Cantilever Does Not Resolve Eccentricity

Slab opening

BRACKET
Approach 2:
Slab Cantilever Does Not Resolve Eccentricity

45
Spandrel Beams
Spandrel Beams – more than just floor loads
Designing for Torsion

49
Kickers reduce torsion – torsion
in spandrel between kickers.

50
Kickers

51
Roll beam reduces torsion.
Torsion in spandrel between roll
beam and columns.

52
“Roll” Beams

53
Design approaches

• Detailed guidance on
torsional stresses and
rotations of bare steel wide-
flange shapes.
• Rotation about center of
shape.

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Center of Rotation

55
Design approaches

56
Modified Flexural Analogy

57
Center of Rotation and Point of Interest
Long Hangers

59
Additional Rotation In Long Hangers

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 Accommodating
Vertical Movements
Its about the Joints -
Vertical Movements

+/-30% J

Design Vertical Movements

Note: Column shortening is also important for tall building’s bottom story.
CASE STUDY ONE –
Vertical Movement
Insufficient Joint Size
Hanger assembly at
5’-0 O.C. +/-

1-3”

5-0 +/-
2-0”
Accommodating
Horizontal Drift
Lateral Drift: In-Plane and Out-of-Plane
 Out-of-Plane Movement from Drift

Rigid Body Translation Rigid Body Rotation Distortion, Curvature

 Accommodating In-Plane Drift

floor

floor

floor

Rigid Body Translation Rigid Body Rotation Distortion, Racking

 Accommodating In-Plane Drift
Story Drift
floor

floor

floor

Rigid Body Translation Rigid Body Rotation Distortion, Racking

 Accommodating In-Plane Drift
Story Drift Story Drift
floor

floor

floor

Rigid Body Translation Rigid Body Rotation Distortion, Racking

 Accommodating In-Plane Drift
Story Drift Story Drift Story Drift
floor

floor

floor

Rigid Body Translation Rigid Body Rotation Distortion, Racking

Rigid Body Rotation Mixed with Translation
Corners
Translating System Corner – Large Joint
Translating System Corner – Large Joint
Translating System Corner – Large Joint
Translating System Corner – Crumple Zone

10-5/8”

86
Translating System Corner – Crumple Zone

87
CASE STUDY TWO-
Drift at Corners
CASE STUDY – Lateral Movement

 UCSF Mount ZION Medical Office Building

 Architect of Record: KMD Architects
 General Contractor: Plant Construction Company
 SGH role: Engineer of Record & Peer Review of Bldg. Enclosure
Design Story Drifts
Corner Joint Detailing – Composite Panels
 CASE STUDY THREE
Complex Geometry –
Non-Orthogonal Planes
 Baháí Mother Temple for South America

Hariri Pontarini Architects

“A Temple of Light” - Hariri Pontarini Architects

Hariri Pontarini Architects

Project Team

• Architect –
– Hariri Pontarini Architects, Toronto
• Structural Engineer (s) –
– TROW/Carruthers & Wallace
– University of Toronto
– Local Engineering Team and Consultants
• Cladding Engineer –
– Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc., Boston/Los Angeles
• Contractor for Steel Superstructure and Cladding–
– Gartner Steel and Glass GmbH, Wurzberg, Germany
• Peer Review of Design Build Works –
– Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc., Boston/Los Angeles
Cast Glass Exterior Skin; Weight = 289.9 Tons
Glass Fabrication – Jeff Goodman Studios, Toronto
Concept to Allow Drift
Relative Movement in Plane
Value Engineering By Gartner
Construction Slides
Construction Slides
Thank you!