The purpose of this report is to detail the goals and results of a semester-long thesis project concerning an alternate structural system for the Geisinger Community Medical Center C&E Wing Expansion in Scranton, PA. It will describe what was intended to be achieved through the project and an evaluation of whether the goals outlined in the proposal were successfully met along with support from model results and calculations.

 

This report will include the results of a redesign of the gravity system as a two-way concrete flat slab system and the redesign of the steel braced frames to a concrete shear wall lateral force resisting system. It will detail the final design of columns, shear walls, and slabs, along with verification of modeling results. An analysis of the structural vibrations and their acceptability in relation to human perception and established limits will be included. Apart from the aforementioned structural depth topics, two breadth topics focusing on multidisciplinary areas of Architectural Engineering will also be investigated. The first breadth topic investigates the façade of the building and evaluates it for performance issues, making recommendations for changes if needed. The second breadth topic proposes changing the fixtures in the operating rooms from fluorescent fixtures to LEDs. The Lighting breadth will evaluate the fixture changes to ensure that IES guidelines are still being met and that increased energy efficiency is achieved.