Type: Higher Education
Project Name: Renaissance Place Garage
City: Boston
State: Massachusetts
Client: Northeastern University

Features: Ten-level, 980-car, pre-cast concrete, open parking structure.

Description: Design of this facility was governed by easements for the greater Boston public transportation entity, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and the proximity to one of its subway stations. Two easements were provided: one under the foundation for possible future subway expansion, and one through the building at the ground floor level for possible future trolley buses.

Structurally, the design includes a rather complex foundation system and all elements of pre-cast construction. Specifically, the foundation consists of pressure-injected piles and pile caps used to support isolated columns and conventional strap footings used to support the lateral force resisting system. The floor framing consists of typical pre-cast, pre-stressed concrete members: double-tee joists supported by inverted-tee beams, ledger beams, spandrel wall panels, and shear walls while all beams are supported by pre-cast columns. The lateral forces are resisted transversely by four lines of K-frames and longitudinally by two eighty-eight foot long shear walls. These forces are resolved at the foundation by a system of grade beams connecting all pile caps and strap footings.

Additional structural difficulties were created by the nature of the site and the resulting architecture, both with respect to floor plan and façade treatment. The major architectural criterion was the client’s requirement that the front façade disguise the nature of the building. This was achieved by the design of several different types of spandrel panels in combination with metal screens at various locations. The entire construction period was exactly twelve months.