Depth:

The new design will incorporate a gravity system that will consist of a one-way concrete slab with beams and a lateral system comprised of shear walls resisting lateral forces in the N-S direction and concrete moment frames in the E-W direction.  Floor openings vary on location and purpose, therefore extra steel reinforcing will be necessary in these areas.  Compared to most other systems, a one-way slab works well for spans that vary within the floor plan.  In Notebook Submission B, alternative floor systems were investigated, however, a one-way slab was not explored at the time.  This will require extra work in the spring semester, but is necessary because of the possible advantages the system provides.

Breadth#1: Construction Management

The construction management breadth entails a comparison of a detailed cost estimate between the original structure (girder slab system) and the proposed design (one-way slab).  The cost analysis encompasses all necessary materials to form/erect the structure.  Material, labor and equipment values were extracted from RS Means: Facilities Construction Cost Data (2014 edition).  The total estimate does not include overhead and profit due to the fact that values can vary depending on the contractor.  Time and location factors were also considered.  Philadelphia is a densely populated area, which is why the location factor (1.139) is higher than the national average (1.0).  Although the project has not gotten underway, the time factor was determined based off the midpoint (08/2016) of the initial project timeline (10/2015-06/2017) and assumed 3% annual inflation lending to a factor of 1.08.

Breadth #2: Lighting Investigation (Lobby & Reception spaces)

AC Philadelphia utilizes an LED lighting scheme throughout the entire building.  Since LEDs are already implemented, there was a study performed to see if there were more appropriate solutions for the reception/lobby space. This involved replacing LED fixtures with a combination of linear and compact fluorescent (CFL) luminaires.  It is known that on average, LEDs consume less power than fluorescents, however fluorescents tend to be cheaper to purchase up front.  All of the LED luminaires will be directly switched out with fluorescent fixtures that have similar distributions and lumen outputs; the lighting layout however may be slightly altered to better suit illuminance requirements for the spaces. With these thoughts in mind, this lighting breadth will investigate the two systems, and determine which is more cost efficient initially, as well as over a 20-year period.