Northampton, Massachusetts
60,000 sf – $10M – Built 2003
Owner: Smith College
Architect: Weiss/ Manfredi Architect
Structural Engineer: Weidlinger Associates Inc
Personal Role: Project Manager/ Engineer
Project Summary: The new campus center is a two-story steel structure with a basement. It converges the pathways planned by the landscape architect Frederic Law Olmsted for the original campus master plan into a long, curving, skylit promenade that form the heart of the design. It serves as a social hub for students between the campus and local community. The complex building consists of three components like island surrounding the void: bar-shaped component to the west, oval-shaped main lounge to the southwest and irregularly-shaped main component to the east-interconnected through the skylight and bridge links. Since seismic shear forces cannot be transferred through the narrow bridge links, these three components have independent lateral resistant framing systems for seismic design. There is a roller joint between bridge link beam and floor beam in the component to tolerant the seismic movement between each component after scarified concrete pieces broken without endanger safety of the egress. The crown jewel of the center is the stylish skylight supported by king-post roof trusses. It connects the entire roof in five pieces with different slopes. The project received 2006 ACEC NY Gold Award for Engineering Excellence.
CG Consulting Engineering 