Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Project Team
Owner Steel Fabricator and Erector
AEG (Anschultz Entertainment Group), Los Angeles Herrick Corp., Stockton, Calif.
Architect Bender/Roller
Gensler, Santa Monica, Calif. Albina Pipe Bending Co., Inc., Tualatin, Ore.
Structural Engineer General Contractor
Nabih Youssef Associates, Los Angeles Webcor Builders, Los Angeles
Steel Detailer
Herrick Corp., Stockton, Calif. Content provided by Nabih Youssef Associates, Los Angeles
Case Studies in Structural Steel №1
restrained braces. The low self-weight of Given that the tower was the first tractor and steel subcontractors, result-
the steel plate shear walls, compared to of its type in California, and did not fit ing in the tower’s substantial completion
an equivalent reinforced concrete shear within the realm of typical codified de- only one year after the start of erection.
wall, reduced both gravity loads and the sign, it was designed using the code- The use of steel members allowed for
seismic demands that the structure is accepted alternative of performance- a more reliable, consistent product
required to resist. In addition, replacing based design, with extensive nonlinear than concrete, while also permitting
concrete walls approximately 36 in. thick analysis for confirmation of design. multiple tiers of construction to coexist
with 3⁄8-in. steel wall plates allows for Throughout the project designers over different levels of the tower, greatly
more programmable space. worked closely with the general con- increasing the efficiency of assembly.
Building Facts
Height: 655 ft
Levels: 26 and 55 stories
Sq. ft.: 1.2 million
Development Cost: $1 billion
Structural system: Unstiffened steel plate shear walls within fully welded
WUF-W moment frames that act as boundary
members; composite concrete-filled box column
boundary element frames; outriggers at mid-height
control building drift; buckling restrained braces fuse
elements to control the maximum forces that the
outrigger trusses can impose upon surrounding elements.
Innovative design: Because the building was the first of its type, design
employed code accepted alternative of performance-
based design, with extensive nonlinear analysis for
confirmation of design.
The unstiffened steel plate walls' infill Structural steel: 18,000 tons of fabricated steel; 12,000 structural
plates that buckle in shear and form a members, including 612 box columns; 670 wide-flange
diagonal tension field to resist lateral loads. columns, 8,200 beams, 795 shear wall assemblies
(3⁄8-in. to ¼-in. thicknesses), 12 trusses, and 11 buckling
restrained braces.
There's always a solution in steel.