High Importance Parking?
High Importance Parking?
(OP)
If an open air parkade serves a high importance hospital, should the parking structure be considered high importance as well? I've assumed not but I can see how one might make an argument to the contrary.
The greatest trick that bond stress ever pulled was convincing the world it didn't exist.






RE: High Importance Parking?
RE: High Importance Parking?
- They share the same structural system.
- Where building systems such as required egress, HVAC, or electrical for the higher classification pass through or depend on other portions of the lower classification.
- The building official determines that it needs the higher classification.
RE: High Importance Parking?
A parking structure (that is seismically separated) and does not have egress through it in order to enter a hospital is not under OSHPD's jurisdiction. It is under the local building authority. I don't believe a local building authority can force an I=1.5.
On the other hand, I saw a project where the owner wanted I=1.5. for his parking structure because the CEO figured what good is my ultra expensive base isolated hospital if the parking structure is red tagged.. no parking, no patients..So, we were instructed by the owner to design for 1.5 and the building was under the local building department. When the concrete compressive strength tests came out low, we tried to justify wall shear by assuming a the typical 1=1.0. But since we had already permitted and obtained our design with an owner selected 1=1.5, they would not let us back pedal. We ended up having to remove a few shear walls and replace the concrete where the shear stress was high and we need the f'c=5ksi.
Lessons learned... 5 ksi was not very workable.. it was easy to form rock pockets etc... make sure you have a great mix and concrete supplier if going with high strength concrete!
RE: High Importance Parking?
RE: High Importance Parking?
RE: High Importance Parking?
RE: High Importance Parking?
@Steellion,
Interesting rationale. I don't agree 100% however. There are some facilities, like schools, where we are trying to protect the occupants. With something like a hospital, however, I feel that the goal is not just to protect the occupants, but to ensure on going facility access to the community in the event of a calamity. To some degree, I feel that lack of parking impairs accessibility. As a hypothetical, consider a new hospital constructed on a floating barge 500m off shore from the coastal city that it serves. What should be the importance factor for the bridge connecting the hospital to the mainland? High I would think.
Of course, the main concern code-wise is probably main entry ambulance access, not John Doe driving his kids in for tetanus shots. In that light, I can see how a parking garage wouldn't warrant the extra attention.
The greatest trick that bond stress ever pulled was convincing the world it didn't exist.
RE: High Importance Parking?
RE: High Importance Parking?