Dedication to unearthing accurate soil profile yields big savings

Project

Meadows & Ohly/Piedmont Hospital

Location

Atlanta, GA

Challenge

When Piedmont Atlanta Hospital administrators planned to build a new 16-story medical building called Marcus Tower, they knew meeting the necessary building codes would make the project complex. One challenge involved seismic requirements. Hospitals are included in a specific design category, requiring the highest level of protection during seismic events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and even man-made explosions. 

So, based on a strong relationship forged through previous successful projects, the client called upon Terracon to complete geotechnical exploration and investigation, as well as materials testing services and special inspections.

Solution

The team developed an innovative solution to the challenging seismic evaluation, using surface shear wave velocity measurement during geotechnical exploration to initially establish the seismic site class, a building code designation based on soil and rock types at the site. 

The higher the site class, the greater the building design adaptations required to secure the building against damage from seismic activity.

As the structural design progressed on Marcus Tower, the experienced team recognized that completing further site characterization could reveal more in-depth subsurface information, potentially leading to a difference seismic classification, requiring fewer design modifications.

Our team performed downhole seismic testing, which is a more accurate way of estimating the strength of a soil profile. The results revealed that the site did indeed qualify for a more favorable site classification. 

Terracon also provided materials testing services on the project, including earthwork observation and testing, shoring observation, caisson/rock footing observation, reinforcing/post tension/pre-pour inspecting, structural steel observation, fireproofing observation and testing, and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) compliance monitoring services.

Results

With Terracon Atlanta’s skilled consulting and specialized field services, the hospital’s seismic design was adjusted based on the new seismic site class, resulting in an estimated savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars for the client. 

Additionally, the client was relieved to have one resource to rely on for such a variety of tasks. They knew they could count on our responsiveness and were happy with our work. Piedmont Hospital has reached out multiple times since the Marcus Tower project to work with our experts on different projects, even in Atlanta’s competitive market.

“I was born at Piedmont Hospital,” said senior engineer Kelly Watson. “It’s a beautiful, historic building and this was a great project to be a part of.”