The “Topping Out” of the New U.S. Federal Courthouse in LA
On March 13th, the Local 433 Steel and 416 Rebar Ironworkers celebrated the “topping out” of the U.S. Federal Courthouse that is currently under construction in Downtown Los Angeles. The steel erection of the final two levels started in February, and according to Clark Construction, who is providing the design-build services on the project, presented “some of the more complicated assembly requirements.” The Conco Companies are providing various concrete services for the project.
Known as the “Cube” for its unique shape, the $400 million project will be one of the safest buildings in terms of bomb threats or earthquakes with an innovative design that permits the cubic volume to “float” over a stone base. The project broke ground on August 2013 and is scheduled for completion in 2016. Located on a 3.6-acre site, the 10-story courthouse will include 24 courtrooms and 32 chambers for judges as well as housing district judges, jury assembly facilities, and offices for the U.S. Marshals.
The project has already earned a Green Good Design award for Green Architecture in 2014. The nomination was submitted by the building’s architect, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP (SOM). Designed to earn LEED Platinum certification, SOM included numerous sustainable features such as “a serrated façade that reduces solar heat gain by nearly fifty percent and a sky-lit central courtyard at the structure’s core, which will provide natural light and circulation to the building’s interior spaces.” Furthermore, the courthouse is designed with water and electricity conservation strategies as well as a roof-mounted 400 kilowatt photovoltaic array.
The 630,000 GSF building will also have one level of below-grade parking. In addition seismic design was a part of the structural engineering process because of the building’s location. SOM designed and engineered a state-of-the-art roof truss system to control lateral drifts.
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