Structural and blast engineering for three new office buildings with underground parking garage. First building completed in 2005; others scheduled for construction. 1,000,000 sf.

Weidlinger Associates provided structural and blast engineering services for Patriots Plaza, a three-building office complex with underground parking located in southwest Washington, DC. The first structure, completed in 2005 during Phase I, is a 12-story mild-steel-reinforced concrete building above five levels of below-grade parking. The other two buildings have been designed and construction will begin in 2007. The structures have flat slab systems and drop panels at the columns. The facade of the completed building consists mostly of architectural precast panels with either punched openings or strip windows; there is a glass curtain wall above the one-story main entrance. The exception is the north facade, which is solid precast without openings to accommodate future construction.

The three buildings were designed to meet the ISC Security Design Criteria to reduce the hazard to occupants of a terrorist attack from explosives. The completed building has a setback of a minimum of 30 feet from the adjacent street curbs, and the structural frame was designed to resist progressive collapse failure. The facade was designed with debris-mitigating materials such as laminated glass, to protect occupants from injury due to flying glass fragments. Other security criteria were isolation of occupants from direct blast pressures, maintenance of critical life support facilities, and facilitation of the rescue of victims. The project won a Special 2006 Design and Construction Excellence Award for Structural Security from the CRSI.

Completion Date: 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Owner or Client: Trammel Crow Company
Prime Consultant(s): Gensler Architects