Ocean Park Villas
The building is a 14 unit light frame structure (timber) on a concrete podium the ocean facing façade has multiple step backs along with large openings for sliding doors in order to provide open air balconies and unobstructed views.
The soil conditions encountered were very poor with the foundation in sand and the water table at 3ft below grade making over excavation impossible without a major dewatering effort.
After several iterations (piles (APG and driven), stone columns, ground improvements through concrete injection) were priced, the building is now bearing on an 18” mat foundation. Because of the space requirements the concrete walls supporting the second floor are only 6” thick and gravity columns supporting the podium were built of steel HSS.
The elevator pit (7ft under the water table) had to be designed for vertical hydrostatic pressures compensated by the counterweight of the Mat and bottom of pit.
Zellerbach Apartments
PSE has been retained to provide full structural engineering services for the design of a 294 unit apartment complex (4) stories wrapped around a (4) story concrete parking structure.
In addition to seismic and gravity loading, the structural design had to account for snow loading and a high water table.