Design-Build-Led Seismic Renovation of Robert A. Young Federal Building Complete

An seismic renovation of the Robert A. Young Federal Building—one of downtown St. Louis, Missouri’s largest office buildings—has been completed to improve the historic structure’s seismic performance. The McCarthy Building Companies’-led Design-Build project team included Gensler (lead designer and architect of record), Etegra (associate architect) and Thornton Tomasetti (structural engineer). Other project team members included William Tao & Associates, Integrated Facility Services, Aschinger Electric and Wilson’s Structural Steel.

The U.S. General Services Administration, which owns and manages the 20-story, 1-million-square-foot building, undertook the $75-million Design-Build project to provide additional shelter-in-place opportunities and safe exiting for the building’s 3,000 occupants in the event of an earthquake. Originally constructed in the early 1930s, the Art Deco brick and terracotta building faces potential seismic hazards because of its location within the New Madrid fault zone.

The project represented the first use of seismic dampers in a St. Louis building retrofit and the GSA’s first time using this alternative approach compared to more traditional seismic renovation methods. This novel strategy eliminated the need for 90% of the concrete shear walls traditionally required, streamlining the project schedule.

The Design-Build team’s innovative solution combined viscous dampers, steel braces and steel sheer walls, enabling all work to be completed while the building was 100% occupied by employees from 48 separate government agencies. Additional project elements included seismic bracing of non-structural components such as ceilings; partitions and mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection systems.

To complete the project on time and with minimal disruption to government organizations and their employees, construction progressed 21 hours a day—from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m.—with much of the work completed from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. Customized moves were scheduled and managed for each tenant.  These included either relocating entire offices or temporarily consolidating office work spaces into more compressed areas. After 4-6 weeks, employees returned to offices that looked exactly like the space they left—from the original location of electric outlets to the exact positioning of each desk.

During the project, water and electric service for tenants was never disrupted, and all work was completed with close attention to environmental considerations, including controlling negative airflow, avoiding potential contamination, noise reduction, odor management and other best practices.

In recognition of the team’s overall commitment to safety, the AGC of Missouri recognized McCarthy with a Construction Project Safety Award for completing the project without a recordable incident.

Photos courtesy of John Langholz Photography.