Renderings courtesy of WSA Studio

Schaefer is relocating its Columbus, Ohio team from Grandview to the Warehouse District. The local team will occupy the entire top floor of the existing three-story building, and is currently working on building out the shell space.

Schaefer also has the opportunity to provide the structural engineering design for a new rooftop deck + canopy atop the existing building. The new rooftop structure will consist of a two-level, 2000 sq ft deck. A permanent canopy featuring multiple cantilevers will cover about half of the deck.

This project has a few unique design challenges. During a previous renovation, steel pipe columns were stubbed up from the wood roof beams through the roof deck; these are in approximate alignment with the structural wood columns below. To limit new roof penetrations + the addition of new framing in the existing roof space, our new structure had to be supported by these existing pipes + the exterior masonry walls. Based on the layout of the existing steel pipes and the deck + canopy, we’re using steel beams + columns with wood joists + deck to frame the rooftop deck.

The greatest hurdle of the design came from the connection of the new to the existing structure at the existing steel pipes. Due to the relatively light weight of our new rooftop structure + the multiple levels of framing, we’re adding a significant amount of uplift to the building. To make use of the existing steel pipes, we designed a custom steel plate assembly that would “saddle” the existing steel pipe + be bolted to the existing wood column below. The assembly had to be delivered in multiple pieces to allow for proper installation with minimal field welding due to the existing wood framing. Multiple versions of the assembly were created to allow for field flexibility with the exact location of the steel pipes relative to the wood columns. An additional connection was required at select locations from the third floor to second floor columns to engage adequate gravity load to resist the new uplift loads.

We look forward to plenty of warm afternoons spent in our new collaborative space!