a large white building with trees in front of it
University of California, Davis, Chemistry Annex

WHAT WE DID

This five-story plus one-story basement, cast-in-place building is a heavy waffle slab and shear wall concrete structure supported on deep foundations. 

Designed the seismic retrofit of this 100,000 square foot Chemistry Annex Building. This five-story plus one-story basement, cast-in-place building is a heavy waffle slab and shear wall concrete structure supported on deep foundations. The building which had previously been determined to be “very poor” under the UC Seismic Policy was retrofit while occupied to largely preserve chemistry teaching and lab space, faculty offices and ongoing research. A nonlinear pushover analysis was used to minimize the retrofit and impact to the interior space. The retrofit includes vertical exterior concrete elements, interior column fiber wrapping, the addition of some shear walls at the basement level, and a new pier cap around the base of the building connecting the existing caissons together, and enhanced connection between the existing caissons and the foundation walls for seismic tension.

Features:

  • Nonlinear analysis
  • Heavy waffle slab and shear wall concrete structure
  • Laboratory structure seismic strengthening

Benefits:

  • Retrofit preserves chemistry teaching and lab space, faculty offices, and ongoing research
  • Analysis minimized retrofit needs and reports

Project Team

Erik Moore
Associate

I once did a solo bike trip down the coast of Tasmania.

a man wearing glasses
Insung Kim
Director of Engineering Technology, Principal

I was one of the documentary photographers recording the life of migrant workers in South Korea.

Robert Graff
Principal

I enjoy running and doing my own construction projects at home.

Holly Razzano
Practice Area Leader, Senior Principal

One of my bucket list items is to do a triathlon.

Yiling Lin
CAD/BIM Manager

BIM Manager in the Oakland office.

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