Clemson University Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business

overview

Clemson’s Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business consolidates students and faculty from five separate buildings into a central location and serves as a new gateway for the university. The result is a collaborative think tank environment where graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, visiting scholars and faculty can discuss social and business issues.

We provided structural design services to LS3P Associates, the architect-of-record that collaborated with design architect LMN Architects for the 176,000-square-foot, dual-tower, five-story building. The program features classrooms, laboratories, a 200-seat auditorium, café, gathering spaces, offices, faculty lounges and a roof garden. Sustainable features include recycled and locally sourced materials and daylighting.

highlights

• The building’s first and second stories are built into a hillside. Retaining walls contain the first story on four sides, opening to the plaza at the south-west corner. For the second story, retaining walls surround the east side while the south and north sides are partially enclosed.
• Foundation design was challenging but critical given the earth retention spanning more than 35 feet and an unbalanced foundation design. EPS geofoam is used as a backfill fill to reduce the lateral pressure on the retaining walls as well as the entire foundation.
• The top three stories comprise steel structures featuring steel moment frame lateral systems on the perimeter. The continuous perimeter moment frames are used to support the exterior brick walls which require small deflections resulting from live load.