One year to go, Kern Center project hits milestone
| Published: 11/13/2003 |
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The Kern Center, MSOE's athletics, health and wellness center, is at a major construction milestone and one year from project completion. On Nov. 6, the first of five, 70-ton basketball arena floor trusses was placed. Each truss is about 10 feet high by 127 feet long and will span the floor of the third level and support the basketball arena, above the ice rink.
The 210,000 square-foot center is the first such facility built by MSOE, which competes in NCAA Division III athletics. It exemplifies MSOE's philosophy of a well-rounded university experience and will be an important asset in attracting prospective students and providing current students with ample access to fitness, whether they are participating in NCAA athletics, intramural sports or individual fitness programs. The Kern Center name honors Drs. Robert and Patricia Kern, longtime MSOE supporters.
Excavation took place during May and early June, revealing a few unexpected issues. The earth beneath what was most recently a parking lot and previously a Blatz Brewery building was contaminated with varying amounts of coal ash and oil. It took 6,000 dump trucks full of earth and rubble to completely excavate the site - an estimated 65,000 cubic yards removed before the construction could begin. Along with these materials, the site hid a pleasant surprise: cream city brick.
This summer the footings and foundation walls were completed and the sheer walls were near completion. The nearly 100-foot-tall and 2-foot-thick sheer wall stands in the center of the building and serves both as the building's main support and acts as a fire protection wall between the ice hockey arena on the east side of the building and the parking ramp on the west. Although quite a task, the footings, foundation walls and concrete deck/topping -- all 9,702 cubic yards of concrete -- will be completed by early February.
An elliptical foundation was needed to support the glass elliptical wall and was created using the German Peri Rundflex, a circular wall-forming system. The system works through a series of sections that can be adjusted to form specified radiuses. When the radius of a curve needs to be set or adjusted, it is done using a ratchet wrench. This system enables construction workers to build project-specific walls without needing a specific form for each new design. Achieving the most precise elliptical form was necessary so that the steel and windows fabricated for the building would fit properly. About 1.2 million pounds of reinforcing steel was used in supporting the building.
While many universities look to alumni to support campus building projects, MSOE alumni are playing a unique role: HALF of the 10-person Hunzinger project team comprises MSOE GRADUATES, including Larry Palank (1977 graduate), vice president of preconstruction services, and John Anderson (1978 graduate), senior project manager. Another three are student interns.
MSOE students have taken a strong interest in the project, both from an academic and student life perspective. While most of the student interest lies in the resulting athletic, health and wellness facility, the students studying Architectural Engineering or Construction Management are able to see such a project unfolding before them.