An innovative seismic renovation of the Robert A. Young Federal Building—one of downtown St. Louis’ largest office buildings—has earned national recognition from the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA).
Honored as an Award of Merit winner in the Rehabilitation, Renovation and/or Restoration category of the 2021 DBIA Project Awards, the project is now eligible for the DBIA National Award of Excellence, to be presented Nov. 2 at the 2021 DBIA Conference & Expo in Denver.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), which owns and manages the 20-story, 1-million-square-foot building, undertook the $75 million design-build project to provide additional shelter-in-place opportunities and safer exiting for the office’s 3,000 occupants in the event of an earthquake. Originally built in the early 1930s, the Art Deco brick and terracotta building faces potential seismic hazards because of its location within the New Madrid fault zone.
The project involved seismic bracing of non-structural components such as ceilings; partitions; and mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection systems. The design-build team’s innovative solution combined viscous dampers, steel braces and steel sheer walls, enabling all work to be completed while the building was 100 percent occupied by employees from 38 separate government agencies. It represented the first use of seismic dampers in a St. Louis building retrofit and the GSA’s first time using this alternative approach to more traditional seismic renovation methods. This novel approach eliminated the need for 90 percent of the concrete shear walls traditionally required, streamlining the project schedule.
McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. led the design-build team that also included Gensler (lead designer and architect of record), Etegra (associate architect), Thornton Tomasetti (structural engineer) and Mazzetti (MEP engineer). Other project team members included Geotechnology Inc., Castle Contracting, Integrated Facility Services, Aschinger Electric, Wilson’s Structural Steel, Taylor Devices Inc., Acme Constructors, TJ Wies Contracting, Joseph Ward Painting Co., SFS Architecture and Walter P Moore.
