Dormitories
The past decade has seen a transformation in the marketplace for dormitories with the advent of innovative structural steel solutions. Through the 3rd quarter of 2008 structural steel framing systems accounted for 61% of all dormitory construction. In 2007 this market accounted for just 1% of all non-residential and multi-story residential construction totaling 7 million square feet of new construction. 2008 will see dormitory construction decline to a level 9% below 2007 square footage levels, but projections indicate that growth will return to this market segment in 2009.
Structural steel is the framing system of choice for dormitories. Particularly popular for dormitory construction in recent years has been the innovative Girder-Slab® system. Girder-Slab® is a steel and precast plank design that is a practical alternative to the plank and bearing wall system. This steel framing system involves placing the interior structural steel girder within the plane of the precast plank. One of its primary benefitsis that it accommodates low floor-to-floor height requirements while avoiding MEP interference problems. It is also a competitive alternative to cast-in-place flat plate concrete.
Utilizing structural steel framing on dormitory projects brings significant advantages to the university, including: the following advantages:
- Aesthetic appeal to draw customers into the facility
- Economical construction costs
- Rapid construction schedules allowing predictable occupancy driven by semester enrollment
- All weather construction
- Low floor-to-floor heights minimizing overall building height
- Lower long term maintenance costs
- Ease of future modifications and expansion
- Utilization of highly sustainable materials
The following dormitory projects highlight the use of structural steel framing systems:
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Like to explore structural steel options for your project?
The AISC Steel Solutions Center can prepare a conceptual solution for your project that will include a framing plan, member sizes, steel quantities, schedule considerations and life cycle costs. If you are interested in a Conceptual Solution or you would like to discuss your project with one of our staff for specific project ideas, please all 866.ASK.AISC or e-mail us at solutions@aisc.org.
