Background
Won design-build competition for a new Army Reserve Center required to consolidate and replace two existing facilities damaged during the 1993 8.3 magnitude earthquake. The project consists of five 1-story (administration, training, maintenance, storage and unheated storage) reinforced concrete buildings with a total floor area of 5,480 square meters. Construction in Guam poses particularly unique design challenges, including high seismic (Zone 4) and typhoon loads (155 mph), along with a potentially corrosive tropical environment, all in a remote location.

Specialized Knowledge
The structural system was optimized in order to meet and exceed the requirements of the RFP. The design-build team added value to the project by focusing on the initial construction costs and on the life-cycle costs of the structures.

Construction and design challenges included forming and detailing the suspended cast-in-place roof slab integrated with the roof’s ridge, hips and beams. The roof structure was further complicated by long spans, up to 50 feet in length, required by the functional requirements of the space. The continuity inherent in cast-in-place concrete was utilized, combining frame action of the roof rafter beams with plate action of the roof slab system, to create an efficient structural system. Other types of construction materials used on the project include concrete masonry for separation walls and structural steel framing to support the overhead bridge cranes.

Client Benefits
Reinforced concrete provided the best system for meeting the requirements of the RFP. The extensive use of cast-in-place structural concrete helps resist the harsh environmental forces (high seismicity, typhoons, corrosive elements) prevalent in Guam.