Weighing the Financial and Sustainable Benefits of High Performance Structures in Seismically Active Regions

<p>This thesis investigated the potential advantages and disadvantages of high performance structures by comparing the financial and environmental impacts of a <em>performance based </em>four-story office building to one designed to meet minimum code-level requirements.</p> <p>To generate a comparison, the lateral system of a four-story structure utilizing buckling restrained braced frames was designed to meet code-level requirements per the American Society of Civil Engineers’ <em>Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures </em>(ASCE 7-05) and again to meet the immediate occupancy criteria defined by ASCE 41-06 <em>Seismic Rehabilitation of Existing Buildings. </em>The following was then performed:</p> <ul> <li>Test the structural performance of both buildings using simulated code-level and maximum considered earthquakes</li> <li>Develop construction costs of both structures using RSMeans <em>Square Foot Cost </em>and <em>Construction Cost Data</em></li> <li>Determine the financial benefit associated with the upgraded structure by subjecting both structures to a suite of earthquakes</li> <li>Calculate the carbon footprint generated during each building’s construction.</li> </ul> <p>The final project costs for the code level and immediate occupancy structures were $27.43 million and $27.93 million respectively, resulting in an upgrade cost of $500,000 or roughly 1.8% of the overall project cost. The upgrade cost was then input in FEMA’s Benefit-Cost Analysis, where it found the upgrade cost resulted in an annual savings ranging from $43,000 to $98,000 over the building’s 50-year life cycle.</p> <p>The carbon footprints were generated using BuildingScope, which relies on volumetric quantities of construction materials. The final models resulted in a carbon footprint of 7890 CO₂eq and 7940 CO₂eq for the code level and immediate occupancy structures respectively, showing favor for the structure utilizing fewer materials.</p> <p>Although the additional materials used in the immediate occupancy structure resulted in a slightly larger carbon footprint, the added capacity will decrease damages, resulting in an overall reduction of energy generated during the building’s life cycle.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

MS in Architecture - Architectural Engineering

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Architecture

Year dc:date.available

2013

Author dc:creator

• Barajas, Alia Talina

Contributors dc:contributor

• Jill Nelson

• seismic
• structural engineering
• linear dynamic
• performance based design

Identifier

10.15368/theses.2013.152

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.calpoly.edu:theses-2027