Corralitos Creek Station is a commercial use building that is approximately 19,000 square feet. The buildings uses include mini-storage units, a plumber maintenance shop, coffee shop, and a managers unit.
Our office engineered the foundation and performed the lateral engineering of this structure. The project is located in an area of California near the San Adreas Fault, an area considered high risk for earthquakes. The shell of this building is constructed out of a steel frame. The steel frame was designed and manufactured by a 3rd party. Our office did perform a review of the steel frame calculations and design.
In designing the foundation for this commercial building, we utilized a concrete pier and grade beam design. The main floor is a concrete slab on grade. We were given recommendations on soil design values from a geotechnical engineer. Our engineers maintained close communications with the building shell engineer, geotechnical engineer, and architect to ensure congruency in the design process and avoid any hiccups that might of put the development behind schedule.
The lateral force resisting system for this building utilizes conventional stick framed walls with plywood sheathing in conjunction with the steel building frame. Using different materials to resist lateral forces, in this case earthquake forces, will result in a different amount of potential lateral force that must be accounted for. In many instances, our office must decipher these varying forces, and design a structure so that earthquake and wind forces make their way from the buildings framing to the foundation.