CONSTRUCTABILITY REVIEW:

CONSTRUCTION ISSUES IN THE

OFFICE TOWER OF HILL
7





Presented to
Professor Don Janssen
CEE425 Reinforced Construction

Prepared by
Carson Baker
Jean-Luc Jackson
Hin Kei Wong

Submitted on
June 3, 2014

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
BOX 352700, SEATTLE, WASHINGON 98195
Page | ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... 1
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................ 1
1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 2
1.1 Constructability Overview ............................................................................................................ 2
1.2 Specific Issues ............................................................................................................................... 2
2 Scheduling ............................................................................................................................................. 2
2.1 Constraints .................................................................................................................................... 2
2.1.1 Allocation of Resources ........................................................................................................ 2
2.1.2 Construction Sequence .......................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Individual tasks ............................................................................................................................. 3
2.2.1 Columns ................................................................................................................................ 3
2.2.2 Slabs and Beams ................................................................................................................... 4
2.2.3 Shear Wall ............................................................................................................................. 5
2.3 Scheduling Solution ...................................................................................................................... 5
2.3.1 Pumping Operations .............................................................................................................. 5
2.3.2 Basic Schedule ...................................................................................................................... 5
2.3.3 Schedule Details .................................................................................................................... 6
3 Shear Wall Congestion.......................................................................................................................... 7
3.1 Issues ............................................................................................................................................. 7
3.1.1 Shear Wall Reinforcement .................................................................................................. 10
3.1.2 Post-Tensioned Beam Reinforcement ................................................................................. 12
3.1.3 Slab Reinforcement ............................................................................................................. 15
3.2 Shear Wall Congestion Solution ................................................................................................. 15
3.2.1 Shear Wall Congestion Solution, N & S ............................................................................. 16
3.2.2 Shear Wall Congestion Solution, E & W ............................................................................ 17
4 Roof Beam Congestion ....................................................................................................................... 18
4.1 Issues ........................................................................................................................................... 18
4.2 Shallow Wide Beam Reinforcement ........................................................................................... 20
4.3 Beam B17 Reinforcement ........................................................................................................... 21
4.4 Opening Reinforcement .............................................................................................................. 23
4.5 Concrete Curbs ............................................................................................................................ 23
Page | iii
4.6 General Placing Sequence on Roof ............................................................................................. 24
5 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................................... 25
5.1 Overall Constructability .............................................................................................................. 25
5.2 Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 25
Appendix A Mild Steel Volume .............................................................................................................. 26
Appendix B Post-Tensioning Tendon Volume ....................................................................................... 27
Appendix C Concrete Volume ................................................................................................................ 28
Appendix D General Schedule of Construction ...................................................................................... 29
Appendix E Conversion of Placement Rate and Construction Durations ............................................... 30
Appendix F Detailed Drawings of Reinforcement Layout near Roof Beam B17 .................................. 31
F.1 Roof Plan View ........................................................................................................................... 31
F.2 Elevation View (Fig 2) ............................................................................................................ 40
F.3 Section Cut (Fig 2) .................................................................................................................. 50


Page | 1

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2-A: Elevated Deck Shoring .............................................................................................................. 5
Figure 2-B: Bottom Formwork Installation .................................................................................................. 5
Figure 2-C: Abbreviated Gantt chart for the Hill
7
construction sequence. ................................................... 6
Figure 3-A: PT Plan at SE Shear Wall .......................................................................................................... 8
Figure 3-B: Reinforcement Plan at SE Shear Wall ....................................................................................... 8
Figure 3-C.: Isometric View of 3D Model .................................................................................................... 9
Figure 3-D.: Plan View of Shear Wall Boundary Element from Structural Plans ...................................... 10
Figure 3-E: Plan View of Shear Wall Boundary from 3D Model ............................................................... 10
Figure 3-F. Detail of Windows in Shear Wall Reinforcement .................................................................... 11
Figure 3-G: Typical Wide Shallow PT Beam at Midspan .......................................................................... 12
Figure 3-H: Sweeping Path for East Beams Tendons................................................................................ 13
Figure 3-I: 3D View of East Face of Shear Wall ........................................................................................ 13
Figure 3-J: 2D View of East Face of Shear Wall ........................................................................................ 13
Figure 3-K: 3D View of Top Reinforcement Region on South Face of Shear Wall .................................. 15
Figure 3-L: 2D View of Top Reinforcement Region on South Face of Shear Wall ................................... 15
Figure 3-M: 3D View of Bottom Reinforcement Region on South Face of Shear Wall ............................ 16
Figure 3-N: 2D View of South Face of Shear Wall .................................................................................... 17
Figure 3-O: Angled Down View of East Face of Shear Wall .................................................................... 18
Figure 3-P: East Face of Shear Wall ........................................................................................................... 18
Figure 4-A: Location of Beam B17 on the Roof (Left is North) ................................................................ 18
Figure 4-B: Drop Band Tendon in Beam B17 ............................................................................................ 20
Figure 4-C: Illustration of PT Tendons in Shallow Wide Beam ................................................................. 20
Figure 4-D: Top Reinforcement of B17 ...................................................................................................... 21
Figure 4-E: Location of Detail Views. (Fig 1 and 2 denote the elevation view and the section cut
respectively.) ............................................................................................................................................... 21
Figure 4-F: Beam B17 Packed with Stirrups (Fig 1) ............................................................................... 22
Figure 4-G: Elevation view of Beam B17 ("Fig 2") ................................................................................... 22
Figure 4-H: Alternative Stirrups for Beam B17 .......................................................................................... 22
Figure 4-I: Diagram Showing Location of Live Ends ................................................................................ 23
Figure 4-J: Typical Reinforcement in the Concrete Curb (Shown on the Right) ....................................... 24
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2-A: General scheduling sequence. ..................................................................................................... 3
Table 2-B: Calculations for labor-related rates for columns. ........................................................................ 4
Table 2-C: Slab and PT Placing Rates for Beams and Slabs ........................................................................ 4
Table 2-D: Calculations of labor-related rates for Beams and Slabs. ........................................................... 5
Table 2-E: Calculations of labor-related rates for the Shear Wall elements. ................................................ 5
Table 2-F: Categorical Construction Schedule ............................................................................................. 5
Table 2-G: Allocation of Primary Resources ................................................................................................ 7
Table 3-A: SE Shear Wall Congestion Audit ............................................................................................... 8
Table 4-A: Roof Beam Congestion Reinforcement Audit .......................................................................... 19
Page | 2

1 INTRODUCTION
At the intersection of Stewart Street and Boren Avenue, Hill7 is a mid-rise office and hotel building that
will surely stand out in the South Lake Union neighborhood. The building footprint is separated into two
halves: to the north, a hotel tower of 14 stories; to the south, an office tower of 11 stories. This report
focuses on the construction issues on floors 3-11 of the office tower.
1.1 CONSTRUCTABILITY OVERVIEW
A proper design of a structure is important, but if the structure cannot be built then the design was done in
vain. The constructability of a structure is essential to any construction project, for without it there is no
practical application for the project.
In the construction of post-tensioned (PT) concrete buildings specifically, detailed analysis must be
conducted throughout the structure to verify that components are not interfering with each other. This is
particularly true in connection detailing. Components such as slabs, beams, and columns must intersect at
joints and attention to detail is necessary when ensuring that respective reinforcement may coexist.
1.2 SPECIFIC ISSUES
Constructability was the focus in analyzing floors 3-11 of the office tower of Hill7. The questions of how
clearly structural plans specified construction details and how easily the plans could be built in reality
were a focus.
Three main issues were found: scheduling, congestion at the southern shear wall, and congestion in a roof
beam at grid 3B. In presenting the issue, details are provided on why constructability is difficult due to the
issue at hand. Then, a solution is proposed that offers to improve the constructability while maintaining
the structural integrity of the original plans. Considering these specific issues, the solution that offers to
solve the scheduling issues will improve construction site efficiency and productivity, while solutions to
congestion involve geometric analysis to ensure all reinforcement can be properly placed.
2 SCHEDULING
It is not enough that a structural design be able to be constructed, rather a design must be able to be
designed both efficiently and cost effectively. To this end, it is essential that construction crews are able
to interact together in order to adhere to a production schedule. It is the job of the general contractor to
organize and manage these crews.
2.1 CONSTRAINTS
There are two primary types of constraints placed on the schedule of the design: allocation of resources,
and the construction sequence of the individual sections. These constraints must first be assessed and
understood before scheduling can begin.
2.1.1 Allocation of Resources
Besides the allocation of manpower, two primary resources that must be managed are the crane and the
concrete pump. The crane is utilized in many key tasks, ranging from lifting rebar cages and formwork to
hoisting resources up from street level. Use of the crane is often in high demand and it is typically in
constant operation throughout the day. This often makes the crane the most demanded resource on the job
Page | 3

site. However, use of the crane is typically flexible, as it is not limited to one type of task at a time, and
may more freely switch between sections of the job site.
The second critical resource is the concrete pump. While the scope of work performed by the pump is
restricted to pumping concrete, the nature of this task requires different challenges from crane
management. Pumping operations require a block of uninterrupted time to pour an entire section in order
to avoid cohesion and bonding problems between concrete pours. Unlike a crane operation, a pumping
operation may not be interrupted once it has begun.
Other resources such as formwork and materials should also be considered as scheduling constraints. It is
most economical to reuse formwork throughout the building wherever possible. Additionally, it is
preferable if designs be implemented to minimize the reliance on more expensive components such as
formsavers.
2.1.2 Construction Sequence
Hill7 has a roughly 26,000 sq. ft. footprint, which does not easily lend itself to pouring in a single day.
Thus, a construction joint has been implemented in the design. In order to best allocate resources and
minimize the crews required, crews ought to generally divide their tasks in order to finish one section of
the building before beginning the other half. To this effect, the construction sequence is displaced by one
day between halves of the building. This reduces the number of laborers required for a crew, as each crew
only works on one half of the building at a time. This effect is displayed in Table 2-A.
Table 2-A: General scheduling sequence.


2.2 INDIVIDUAL TASKS
Before scheduling on a weekly time frame may begin, it is first necessary to determine the length of
component parts. Only once the time and resources to construct individual components is established can
day-to-day tasks be organized.
2.2.1 Columns
Compared to most elements on a construction site, the on-site labor necessary to erect a column is
relatively minimal. Typical Hill7 column dimensions are on average 2 x 2, with a story height of 13,
thus each column is approximately 52 cu. ft. Using a standard placement rate of 10 cu. yd. per hour, this
results in a rate of about 12 minutes to pour each column. The additional tasks of placing and tying a
rebar cage, erecting column formwork, and stripping the column formwork are each estimated at 15
minutes each. These rates assume that reusable formwork is available, and that column cages are pre-
made off site. Columns must be allowed to cure overnight before formwork may be stripped. Rates are
summarized in Table 2-B.

MON TUE WED THU FRI SA/SU
North DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 PT
South DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY 1 PT
Page | 4

Table 2-B: Calculations for labor-related rates for columns.
Quantity Value
Time to Place and Tie a Column Cage 15 minutes
Time to Place Column Formwork 15 minutes
Volume of Concrete 1.93 Cubic Yards
Time to Pump a Column 12 minutes
Time to Strip a Column 15 minutes
TOTAL LABOR TIME/COLUMN: 57 minutes
TOTAL LABOR NORTH COLUMNS (30) 1710 minutes 28.5 hrs
TOTAL LABOR SOUTH COLUMNS (35) 1995 minutes 33.25 hrs
2.2.2 Slabs and Beams
In order to determine the labor required to construct the slabs and beams, the quantities of materials was
first computed. This was necessary to estimate the amount of labor required for constructing the slabs and
beams. Mild reinforcing steel and PT strand was totaled across all slabs and beams, resulting in roughly
3.0 tons of deck reinforcement and 5.0 tons of beam reinforcement. Base placing rates were determined
for each type of steel. For simple deck steel, a value of 0.5 ton/hour was used. A factor of 2/3 was applied
to the placing rate for beam steel because more care is required for installation. Additionally, a factor of
1/2 was given for PT steel because of the more significant effort required to ensure the profile is correctly
followed. Given these rates, the total time required for placing of all PT and rebar in both the beams and
slabs was 23.9 hours, with 12.4 hours for the north half and 11.5 hours for the south half. These
calculations are given in more detail in Appendices A and B, and are summarized in Table 2-C.
Table 2-C: Slab and PT Placing Rates for Beams and Slabs
Deck Bars/hr 0.5 tons/hr
Deck Bars 3.01 tons
PT Bars 0.7 tons
Deck Bars 5.0 tons
PT Factor 2.0



Beam Factor 1.5



Deck Bars 6.01 hours
PT Bars 2.87 hours
Beam Bars 15.01 hours
TOTAL 23.9 hours
NORTH TOTAL 12.4 hours
SOUTH TOTAL 11.5 hours

By computing the volume of the beams and slabs, the amount of concrete to be placed was determined.
Accounting for blockouts and variable section depth, the total volume for the decks on floors 3-11 of the
office tower was found to be 388.2 yd.
3
for the North half, and 385.4 yd.
3
for the South half. These
Page | 5

computations are given in Appendix C. Using a placing rate of 50 yd
3
/hour, the time to pour each deck
half is roughly 7.75 hours. Finishing time is approximately equal to pouring time, with an offset of
approximately 90 minutes.
In addition to the steel, labor related to slabs and beams include shoring and formwork construction. It
was assumed that it takes 8 hours to strip formwork, and 8 hours to reshore and place 12,000 to 15,000
sq.ft. of deck formwork. Rebar placement may begin halfway through reshoring. Pictures of Hill7 shoring
in progress are displayed in Figure 2-A and Figure 2-B. Finally, before stripping may occur, the concrete
must be allowed to cure overnight. A summary of all labor rates is provided in Table 2-D.
.

Figure 2-A: Elevated Deck Shoring

Figure 2-B: Bottom Formwork Installation
Table 2-D: Calculations of labor-related rates for Beams and Slabs.
Quantity per Half-Deck Value
Shoring and Placing Deck Formwork 8 hours
Placing Slab-Beam Steel 12.4 (N) // 11.5 (S) hours
Placing of Concrete 7.75 hours
Finishing of Concrete 8 hours
Stripping Deck Formwork 8 hours
TOTAL LABOR TIME: 44.15 (N) // 43.25 (S) hours

2.2.3 Shear Wall
While estimation of the shear wall is beyond the scope of this report, a reasonable estimate was necessary
in order to properly account for the allocation of resources. A value of 20 yd.
3
was used for the concrete
pump. The estimations used are provided in Table 2-E.
Table 2-E: Calculations of labor-related rates for the Shear Wall elements.
Quantity per Half-Deck Shear Core Shear Wall
Boundary Elements,
Intermediate Reinforcing, and
Formwork
14 hours 9.5 hours
Page | 5

Coupling Beam 6 hours -------
Placing Concrete (20 yd
3
/hour) 5 hours 3 hours
Stripping Deck Formwork 4 hours 3.5 hours
TOTAL LABOR TIME: 29 hours 16 hours

2.3 SCHEDULING SOLUTION
Having established the labor required per structural component, it is then necessary to determine
sequencing to allow communication between teams. This is necessary to avoid conflicts over resources
and maximize efficiency. It is desirable to operate on a weekly schedule, such that each day of the week
has the same construction operation on a different floor level.
2.3.1 Pumping Operations
There are three primary pumping operations per half-deck, resulting in six operations across an entire
office floor. To avoid requiring pumping crews on the weekend, these six operations must be performed
within five days time. To allow for this, multiple operations must occur on the same day. As pouring and
finishing either slab takes the duration of an entire working day, these may not be combined with other
operations. It is necessary then to combine the pouring of a set of columns and a set of shear walls in a
single working day.
It is preferable to post-tension slabs on the weekend when fewer crew members are on site in order to
mitigate safety concerns. As a minimum of three days of curing time are recommended before post-
tensioning may occur, it is thus not preferable to pour slabs on Thursday or Friday as proper curing time
will not have occurred before the weekend.
2.3.2 Basic Schedule
With these considerations in mind, a preliminary schedule was proposed to include categorical tasks per
day. This schedule is given in Table 2-F.
Table 2-F: Categorical Construction Schedule

MON TUE WED THU FRI SA/SU
SOUTH Shear Wall Cage -------------------------------------------------------------> Deck Stripping
and Reshoring
PT Deck
---> Place
Rebar + PT
Pour deck Column Cage
and Form
Pour Columns Rebar & PT ---
Finish deck Strip Deck Pour Shear Wall Shear Wall
Stripping

Column
Stripping

NORTH Deck Stripping
and Reshoring
Shear Core Cage ------------------------------------------------------------------> PT Deck
Place Rebar & PT -----------> Pour deck Column Cage
and Form
Pour Columns
Shear Core
Stripping
Finish deck Strip Deck Pour Shear
Core

Page | 6

Column
Stripping


This schedule allows proper curing time for the decks before weekend Post-Tensioning, and limits
pouring operations to four weekdays. To assess the feasibility of this schedule, the sequence was
converted to a Gantt chart in order to establish a critical path. An abbreviated Gantt has been reproduced
below in Figure 2-C, and an extended version including predecessor and start and end times is available in
Appendix D.

Figure 2-C: Abbreviated Gantt chart for the Hill
7
construction sequence.
2.3.3 Schedule Details
The construction site was scheduled to operate from 7AM to 5PM. However individual crews were
allotted 8 hours of working time per day, and given unique start and end times to maximize their
productivity. The exception to this is the crane operator. As the crane is in high demand throughout the
day, there must be someone operating the crane at all times. This may be achieved either by assigning two
crane operators on a rotating schedule, or requiring overtime pay for a single crane operator.
Tasks were divided into categories requiring either the crane, the pump, or neither. It is assumed that the
articulated placing boom can independently reach all portions of the building without the use of the crane.
Page | 7

Inputting the time required for each task and assigning prerequisites, a proper sequence was achieved.
The crane was the limiting factor for resource allocation, and was scheduled constantly throughout the
day. While the crane is prioritized to a particular task at all times throughout the week, this does not mean
that the crane is in constant operation on the site, as it is not assumed that the crane is a necessary
component of each task. Rather, by allocation of the crane to a particular task, it is noted that the crane is
to made available when necessary. When not necessary, it is expected that the crane may perform
miscellaneous tasks throughout the job site and be allowed some down time to account for inevitable
inefficiencies. Specific utilization of the primary resources are given in Table 2-G.
Resource Name Work/Week
Crane 50 hrs
N Column Stripping 3 hrs
N Shear Core Stripping 4 hrs
N Begin Shear Core Cage 8 hrs
N Column Cages & Forms 6 hrs
N Finish Shear Core Cage/Form 6 hrs
S Begin Shear Wall Cage 5 hrs
S Column Cages & Forms 7 hrs
S Shear Wall Cage & Form 4.5 hrs
S Column Stripping 3.5 hrs
S Strip Shear Wall 3 hrs
Pump 28.23 hrs
N Pour Deck 7.75 hrs
N Pour Columns 2.4 hrs
N Pour Shear Core 4.6 hrs
S Pour Deck 7.75 hrs
S Pour Columns 2.83 hrs
S Pour Shear Wall 2.9 hrs
Table 2-G: Allocation of Primary Resources
3 SHEAR WALL CONGESTION
Congestion is a frequent issue in the construction of reinforced concrete structures. This is especially true
in regions of high seismicity due to a necessary increase in lateral-load resistance for the structure. Hill7
utilizes a special structural shear wall and shear core as its lateral-load-resisting system. These members
have a high reinforcement ratio with boundary elements that are pre-manufactured and dropped into
place. Intermediate reinforcement is then placed between boundary elements. When finished, the shear
core alone is already congested and placing concrete here requires much effort for proper consolidation.
3.1 ISSUES
Page | 8


Figure 3-A: PT Plan at SE Shear Wall

Figure 3-B: Reinforcement Plan at SE Shear Wall
On the 4
th
floor in the SE corner of Hill7, the southern shear wall meets various horizontal members and
their reinforcement, including 2 wide shallow PT beams and a two-way PT structural slab.
Table 3-A: SE Shear Wall Congestion Audit
Member Reinforcement Size Quantity
Spacing
(inch)
Remarks
Shear
Wall
Vertical Bars (V1) #11 - 6

Vertical Bars (V3) #9 - 6

Ties & Cross-Ties #5 - 4

Horizontal Bars #6 - 6

Post-
Tensioned
Beams
Stirrups #4 - 24 U- shaped, open
East Beam
Strand
0.5"
diam.
25 Banded

South Beam
Strand
0.5"
diam.
30 Banded

Bottom Bars #5 4 18
Continuous; hook
at end
Top Bars #5 2 72
Continuous; 1 on
each side of beam;
hook at end
Slab
Bottom Bars
(PB4)
#5 - 12
Hook at end when
needed
Page | 9

Top Bars (PT9) #5 - 6
Hook at end when
needed
Top Bars (PT24) #5 10 4 Stagger 2'-0"

Table 3-A lists the reinforcement in the shear wall, PT beams, and PT slab by reinforcement type. The
reinforcement listed in Table 3-A is placed in this order:
1. Place shear wall boundary element cage.
2. Place shear wall horizontal bars.
3. Set beam stirrups into beam formwork.
4. Chair up bottom beam flexural bars.
5. Tie stirrups to bottom beam flexural bars.
6. Set PT strand in beam.
7. Place top flexural steel and tie to beam stirrups.
8. Hang beam PT strand according to profile.
9. Place slab PT strand according to profile.
10. Place slab bottom and top bars.
A 3D model was created in SolidWorks to best interpret the congestion issue. This model facilitated the
investigation of possible solutions, examining the situation member-by-member. The completed model
can be seen in Figure 3-C.

Figure 3-C.: Isometric View of 3D Model

Page | 10

3.1.1 Shear Wall Reinforcement

Figure 3-D.: Plan View of Shear Wall Boundary Element from Structural Plans

Figure 3-E: Plan View of Shear Wall Boundary from 3D Model
The shear wall is 24 inches wide (N-S direction) and the boundary element on the east side is 3 ft., 9
inches long (E-W direction). Referring to Figure 3-D and Figure 3-E, the #11 and #9 vertical bars are
spaced at 6 inches along the perimeter of the boundary element with 1.5 inch cover, and the #5 hoop-ties
and cross-ties are spaced at 4 inches and run up and down in elevation with a 1 inch cover. The cross-ties
are placed atop the hoop-ties since it is not possible for them to coexist in the same plane. The spaces
between vertical bars and adjacent cross-ties and the spaces between adjacent hoop-ties create windows
through which horizontally-oriented reinforcement that intersect the shear wall must run through, such as
beam and slab PT strand. These windows were found to be about 3.25 inches tall (4 inch vertical spacing
of #5 hoop-ties minus diameter of a #5 cross-tie) and 4.59 inches wide (6 inch horizontal spacing for
vertical bars minus diameter of #11 vertical bars), as seen in Figure 3-F.
Page | 11


Figure 3-F. Detail of Windows in Shear Wall Reinforcement

There is a column splice that occurs just above the 4
th
floor slab elevation between the #11 bars from
below and #9 bars above. The #11 bars from below must bend in order to provide room for the #9 bars to
be spliced in. While the presence of both the #11 and #9 bars side-by-side is not a significant issue
because they only exist together above the slabs elevation, the bending of the #11s decreases the sizes of
the windows between adjacent shear wall vertical bars on the east face of the wall. Horizontally-oriented
reinforcement approaching from the east must pass through these windows, so a decrease in window size
is unfavorable in the mitigation of congestion.
Page | 12

3.1.2 Post-Tensioned Beam Reinforcement

Figure 3-G: Typical Wide Shallow PT Beam at Midspan
As seen in Figure 3-A, there are two beams intersecting the shear wall, one approaching from the east and
another from the south. The beams, sections of which can be seen in Figure 3-G, are of the same mark
and therefore have the same dimensions and mild reinforcement, though they have different amounts of
sheathed monostrand tendons. The beam approaching from the south has banded tendons that pass
through the shear wall, while the banded tendons in east beam sweep around the shear wall.
The strands passing through the shear wall must pass through the windows between vertical bars and
hoop-ties, so the amount of strands in a band is a function of the width of each window. The windows
were found to be about 4.59 inches wide, so a band of about 7, 0.5-inch sheathed monostrands (actual
diameter of 0.62 inches) could pass through such a window. However, since the strands are not the only
reinforcement that must pass through these windows, fewer than 7 strands will fit. Also, if the maximum
amount of strands per window were used, there would not be enough clearance between tendons for
concrete to be properly placed, per ACI-318-11 7.6.7.2. As a result, it was found that 3 strands should be
placed per window. The south beam has 30 tendons and the south face of the shear wall has 7 windows,
so 20 banded tendons in groups of 3 will pass through the shear wall from the south while 10 tendons in
groups of 5 will pass along the outside of the shear wall.
As seen in Figure 3-H, the east beams 25 tendons sweep around the shear wall. In order to sweep in the
necessary curve, the banded tendons are separated so that there are 2 inches between tendons and 4 inches
between bands of tendons. Accordingly, sweeping 5 bands of 5 tendons would have a total width of 82
inches. Since this sweeping width is wider than the beams width, the tendons rise into the slab before
they begin to sweep. Hairpins are necessary to keep the proper curving profile once the tendons are
tensioned; 50 #4 hairpins are required at the beginning and end of the sweeping curve, as seen in Figure
3-H. While the east beams tendons do not directly contribute to congestion in the shear wall intersection,
they indirectly contribute to the issue by hindering placement of neighboring reinforcement. These 25
sweeping tendons were not included in the 3D SolidWorks model because they did not play a significant
Page | 13

role in congestion within the shear wall. However, the reader should keep these sweeping tendons in mind
when considering the difficulty of placing neighboring reinforcement.

Figure 3-H: Sweeping Path for East Beams Tendons
There are also minimum mild steel requirements in these beams. These minimum requirements specify 4
continuous #5 bars as bottom bars and 2 continuous #5 bars as top bars. These 2 top bars are located on
each edge of the beam, as seen in Figure 3-G. These top edge beams are tied to the outside corners of the
beams U-shaped stirrups to facilitate stirrup placement during construction. Similar to the tendons in the
east beam, these top bars contribute indirectly to congestion at the shear wall because they do not pass
through the wall, but rather cause more crowding just outside of the shear wall. However, some of the
bottom bars do pass through the shear wall and contribute directly to the congestion issue.

Figure 3-I: 3D View of East Face of Shear Wall

Figure 3-J: 2D View of East Face of Shear Wall
Page | 15

With 4 #5 bottom bars sharing the beams width with the banded tendons, these bottom bars are spaced at
about 14 inches so that two bars passes through a window in the shear wall reinforcement. These bottom
bars do not simply run continuously through the beam, they are specified to be hooked at the ends. Per
ACI 318-11 Table 7.2 and 12.5, #5 bars may have a minimum bend diameter of 3.75 inches (6d
b
) and a
development length of 7.5 inches (12d
b
). As seen in Figure 3-I, these bottom bars are hooked vertically.
Finally, the east and south beams have U-shaped stirrups spaced at 24 inches along the beams lengths.
These do not contribute directly to congestion within the shear wall intersection, however they impede
placement of reinforcement surrounding the shear wall. These stirrups were not included in the 3D
SolidWorks model because they did not play a significant role in congestion within the shear wall.
However, the reader should keep them in mind when considering the difficulty of placing neighboring
reinforcement.
In general, the wide shallow beams approaching from the south and east have indirect contributions to the
congestion issue, though they still play a significant role in the issue.
3.1.3 Slab Reinforcement
The reinforcement involved in congestion at the shear wall in the two-way slab includes mild
reinforcement specific to support at the shear wall. There are three reinforcement marks to be considered;
PB4, PT9, and PT24. As seen in Table 3-A, these three slab marks call for #5 bars at different spacings.
PB4 and PT9 run in the N-S direction through the shear wall at 12-inch and 6-inch spacing, respectively.
Since the shear wall reinforcement provides windows of 4.59 inches in width and PT strands are also
present, PB4 passes through the shear wall in every other window (9.20-inch spacing) and PT9 passes
through each window (4.60-inch spacing). These spacings are tighter than the structural plans specify.
This is acceptable because tighter spacing provides higher strength than is required.
PT24 calls for 10 #5 bars throughout the 72-inch width of the incoming beams, which results in a bar
spacing of about 7 inches. Since shear reinforcement windows are 4.59 inches wide, there is about 1 bar
per reinforcement window on the south face of the wall, overriding the spacing to be about 4.59 inches
between bars. The east face only has 3 windows, so 7 bars remain to run E-W outside of the shear wall
along the north and south faces of the wall.
3.2 SHEAR WALL CONGESTION SOLUTION

Figure 3-K: 3D View of Top Reinforcement
Region on South Face of Shear Wall

Figure 3-L: 2D View of Top Reinforcement
Region on South Face of Shear Wall
Page | 16


The south and east faces of the shear wall are visible in Figure 3-K and , respectively. As can be seen, this
intersection is quite crowded. The solution will be described by shear wall face, both north and south
faces (N & S) and east and west faces (E & W), and reinforcement region, both top and bottom.
3.2.1 Shear Wall Congestion Solution, N & S
As seen in Figure 3-K and Figure 3-L, reinforcement passing through the shear wall in the N-S direction
includes beam PT strands, mild beam reinforcement, and slab reinforcement. The reinforcement in the top
reinforcement region, the region closest to the top of the slab with reinforcement that exists to resist
negative moments, includes 30 PT strands from the southern beam, #5 bars at 6-inch spacing (PT9), 10 #5
bars (PT24), and two #5 bars acting as continuous beam top steel. Shear wall reinforcement windows are
4.59 inches wide, as stated earlier. As seen in Figure 3-F, there are three PT strands and two #5 bars (one
PT9 and one PT24) per window, resulting in a total reinforcement width of 3.11 inches. There are also the
two #5 bars acting as continuous beam top steel, though these bars are placed at the outside edges of the
72-inch wide beam. Therefore, only one of these bars is hooked into the shear wall while the other passes
along the outside of the wall.
The reinforcement in the bottom reinforcement region is much less congested, as seen in Figure 3-M and
Figure 3-N. This region includes #5 bars at 12-inch spacing (PB4) and 4 #5 bars acting as continuous
beam bottom steel. These bars exist in different planes because PB4 bars are placed at the elevation of the
slabs bottom while the beam steel is placed at the elevation of the beams bottom. There is one #5 bar
(PB4) per window and the beam bottom steel enters the shear wall reinforcement cage where necessary.

Figure 3-M: 3D View of Bottom Reinforcement Region on South Face of Shear Wall
Page | 17


Figure 3-N: 2D View of South Face of Shear Wall

3.2.2 Shear Wall Congestion Solution, E & W
As seen in Figure 3-O and Figure 3-P, reinforcement passing through the shear wall in the E-W direction
includes slab and mild beam reinforcement. The reinforcement in the top reinforcement region includes
#5 bars at 6-inch spacing (PT9), 10 #5 bars (PT24), and two #5 bars acting as continuous beam top steel.
Only 3 of these 10 PT24 bars pass through the shear wall, the rest running along the north and south faces
of the wall. As seen in Figure 3-P, shear wall reinforcement edge windows are narrower due to the
beginning of the lap splice zone, being about 3.20 inches wide. The two edge windows each have two #5
bars (one PT9 and one PT24) while the center window has one #5 bar (PT9). This results in tighter
spacing for PT9 than specified in the structural plans, however this is acceptable because it provides
higher strength capacity.
The reinforcement in the bottom reinforcement region is much less congested, including #5 bars at 12-
inch spacing (PB4) and 4 #5 bars acting as continuous beam bottom steel. Only 2 of the 4 bottom steel
bars run into the shear wall, the other two running along the north and south faces of the wall. Once again,
the PB4 and beam bottom bars exist in different planes because PB4 bars are placed at the elevation of the
slabs bottom while the beam steel is placed at the elevation of the beams bottom. There is one PB4 per
edge window and one beam bottom steel bar per edge window at a lower elevation.
Page | 18


Figure 3-O: Angled Down View of
East Face of Shear Wall

Figure 3-P: East Face of Shear Wall

4 ROOF BEAM CONGESTION
On the north end of the roof at grid intersection 3B, two heavily reinforced beams intersect with a shear
wall. Adjacent to the beams, there is an opening with post-tensioning live end anchorages and a concrete
curb, which may create constructability issues. The beam with mark B17 is a point of high congestion and
will be analyzed here.

Figure 4-A: Location of Beam B17 on the Roof (Left is North)
4.1 ISSUES
Beam B17 at grid 3B has a significant quantity of reinforcing steel and strand intersecting together
creating an area of high congestion. The beam primarily carries mechanical equipment on the roof.
Although part of the beam has prestressing tendons in it, the beam is designed as a mild steel reinforced
concrete. Table 4-A: Roof Beam Congestion Reinforcement AuditTable 4-A lists the reinforcement in the
PT beams, slab, and opening in the area by reinforcement type.
Page | 19

Table 4-A: Roof Beam Congestion Reinforcement Audit
Member
Reinforcement Size Quantity
Spacing
(inch)
Remarks
Beams
Shallow
Wide

Strand
0.5"
diam.
24 Banded

Stirrups #4 - 24 Open
Bottom Bars #5 4 -
Continuous; hook
at end
Top Bars #5 2 -
Continuous; 1 on
each side of beam,
hook at end
Top Bars (PT29) #5 13 -
Stagger 2'-0", hook
if ends in the shear
wall
B17
Strand
0.5"
diam.
26 -
From slab
reinforcements
Stirrups #5 - 4
Type 3C or
Type 3C Alt.
Bottom Bars #8 14 - Deck 7 Bars
Top Bars #7 14 - Deck 7 Bars
Slab
Temperature
Steel
#4 - 12
Placed in traverse
direction only
Bottom Dowels
(PB4)
#5 - 12
Hook at end when
needed
Top Bars (PT29) #5 13 -
Stagger 2'-0", hook
if ends in the shear
wall
Top Dowels (PT9) #5 - 6
Hook at end when
needed
Hair pins #4 Varies -
Used in reinforcing
skewed tendons
Opening Framing Bars #6 - -
Reinforcing the
corner of opening

Multiple diagrams were created in AutoCAD to best interpret the congestion issue. The diagrams
facilitated the investigation of possible solutions, examining the situation member-by-member. The
completed model can be seen in Appendix F. The following sections will discuss more about specific
issues related to the listed members.
Page | 20

Please note that while our team acknowledges congestions in the shear wall exist, we do not investigate
the shear wall near beam B17 due to time constrains. In our analysis, we assume that the boundary
element of the shear wall has sufficient room to fit all rebars on the roof level, and consolidation of
concrete in the shear wall is not a major concern.
4.2 SHALLOW WIDE BEAM REINFORCEMENT
A shallow wide beam, also known as a drop band, intersects the roof beam B17 from the eastside. The
beam spans from the east exterior wall and intersects B17 at a shear wall. The reinforcement in the drop
band includes both post-tensioning tendons and rebars.
The post-tensioning tendons create a congestion issues, because they are skewed near the shear wall. The
skewed section requires about 50 hairpins and a wider spacing between each tendon. The hairpins and
extra concrete around the tendons prevent the beam and the slab from cracking under prestress; however,
both measures strengthen the concrete in expense of space. Figure 4-C shows how the tendons curve from
the drop band to the opening. There are 24 tendons crossing beam B17s top flexural reinforcements.
To place all tendons while not interfering the flexural
reinforcements or providing inadequate concrete cover, the
tendons will be place at the same height as the stirrups of beam
B17. Figure 4-B shows a skeleton of how the drop band tendons
can be placed in beam B17.
The mild steel reinforcement of the drop band at the intersection of
beam B17 includes 32 rebars, of which 13 of them runs
longitudinally with beam B17. The 13 top bars, together with
flexural reinforcements already in beam B17, make the connection
highly congested (Figure 4-D).
Figure 4-C: Illustration of PT
Tendons in Shallow Wide Beam
Live Ends
Live Ends
Drop
Band
Beam B17
Drop Band
Tendon
B17
Stirrup
Lower Top
Reinf.
B17
Tendon
Upper Top
Reinf.
Figure 4-B: Drop Band Tendon in Beam B17
Page | 21


Figure 4-D: Top Reinforcement of B17
Indeed, it is a chaos just with top reinforcements, not to mention that there are bottom reinforcements,
dowels and stirrups.
4.3 BEAM B17 REINFORCEMENT
To accommodate all the reinforcement, our team made an elevation view and a section cut of the beam
B17 to find a suitable placement of steel. Figure 4-E shows where the detail views are located.

Figure 4-E: Location of Detail Views.
(Fig 1 and 2 denote the elevation view and the section cut respectively.)
Fitting all tendons into beam B17 can be challenging, as the beams stirrups are spaced every 4 inches.
Moving the stirrups slightly helps placing the tendons profile as desired. Figure 4-F shows that after
adjusting individual stirrup location, the overall stirrup spacing is still maintained. Thus, the shear
capacity of beam B17 should not be adversely affected.
Page | 22


Figure 4-F: Beam B17 Packed with Stirrups (Fig 1)
To relieve top congestions, reinforcements in the beam are placed as in Figure 4-G.

Figure 4-G: Elevation view of Beam B17 ("Fig 2")
In the bottom, two pairs of rebars are bundled, so that all bottom bars could be placed in one layer. Top
reinforcement is placed in two layers. Depending on the height of the B17 sheathed tendons, some top
bars from the upper layer may be moved to the lower layer to make room for the tendons. If the closed
stirrups are obstructing the placement of bars, alternative stirrups (Figure 4-H) are approved to be used by
the structural engineer.

Figure 4-H: Alternative Stirrups for Beam B17

Bottom Beam
Flexural Reinf
Slab Shrinkage
Control Steel
Dowels to Shear
Wall Typically
Opening
Reinforcement
13 Bars in
Lower Layer
B17 Sheathed
Tendons
Page | 23

4.4 OPENING REINFORCEMENT
An opening next to beam B17 may create congestion issues due to additional reinforcements to frame the
opening and live anchors. Below is a simple diagram showing framing rebars live anchors in the opening.

Figure 4-I: Diagram Showing Location of Live Ends
When a group of tendons approaches the opening, the tendons flare out as a trumpet shape to allow
sufficient area to bare the prestressing force exerted by anchors. Depending on the selection of proprietary
anchoring system, the shear and splitting reinforcement can be big enough and get into beam B17. PT
contractors shall pay attention to the placement of reinforcement and avoid overcrowding the area.
4.5 CONCRETE CURBS
The concrete curbs originally posed a concern that they might worsen the congestion in beam B17. Our
analysis shows that the curbs are far enough away from the beam that they will not cause trouble in
reinforcement. However, the curbs have a construction joint on the roof slab, and vertical bars will stick
out from the roof slab.
Shear
Wall
Live Ends
Dead Ends
Live Ends
Dead Ends
Page | 24


Figure 4-J: Typical Reinforcement in the Concrete Curb (Shown on the Right)
The construction joint can be made by oriented strand boards with drilled holes for vertical bars. Oriented
strand boards are chosen, because they are cost-effective and can be easily pried open easily after
concrete cures. Alternatively, the construction joint may be replaced by a simple overpour that leaves
coarse aggregates exposed to provide shear strength.
4.6 GENERAL PLACING SEQUENCE ON ROOF
The reinforcement of the roof slab is placed in this order:
1. Chair up bottom beam flexural bars.
2. Hang beam PT strand on standees according to profile.
3. Tie stirrups to bottom beam flexural bars.
4. Place bottom opening reinforcement, slab steel and bottom dowels of the slab.
5. Place top opening reinforcement and top flexural steel of beam.
6. Place top dowels of the slab.
7. After the roof slab is casted, place steel reinforcement of the concrete curb.
Page | 25


5 CONCLUSIONS
5.1 OVERALL CONSTRUCTABILITY
Constructability is often an issue on every building construction site. On floors 3-11 of the office tower of
Hill7, the three issues of scheduling, congestion by the southern shear wall, and congestion in a northern
roof level beam were the main concerns. Solutions were found that ensure site efficiency and productivity
to combat scheduling conflicts as well as detailed arrangements and placing orders of reinforcement to
combat congestion.
5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS
Structural engineers should balance constructability and efficiency when they design a building. While
minimizing member sizes can lead to a leaner building and reduce deadweight, it may result in
unworkable congestions in a formwork. There are many tools to ease congestions, such as self-
consolidated concrete and formsavers; however, one should rely on a better design instead of patching
issues with those tools.




Page | 26

APPENDIX A MILD STEEL VOLUME
Rebar Volume Steel Density 460 lbs/CF = 0.23 tons/CF
Mark Bars Bar Size # Bar Area in2 Bar Length ft Count of Mark Volume CF Ton

B1 30 4 0.2 15 1 0.625 0.144

B10 22 4 0.2 15 1 0.458 0.105

B3 32 4 0.2 15 1 0.667 0.153

B4 30 5 0.31 6.167 3 1.195 0.274

DBB5 5 7 0.6 30 11 6.875 1.581

DBB6 6 7 0.6 30 4 3.000 0.690

DBB7 3 7 0.6 30 12 4.500 1.035

DBT10 7 5 0.31 8.167 16 1.969 0.452

DBT11 8 5 0.31 8.167 8 1.125 0.258

DBT24 10 5 0.31 15 12 3.875 0.891

DBT7 8 5 0.31 12 2 0.413 0.095

T12 9 5 0.31 12 8 1.860 0.428

T13 10 5 0.31 12 4 1.033 0.238

T14 15 5 0.31 15 10 4.843 1.114

T9 60 5 0.31 6.167 3 2.390 0.550


Deck Bars SUM 3.01 tons

Beam Bars SUM 5.00 tons
Page | 27

APPENDIX B POST-TENSIONING TENDON VOLUME
PT Strands TOTAL
Strands Length ft Diam in Area in
2
Volume ft
3
Tons
20 70 0.5 0.153 0.074 0.017

6 120 0.5 0.153 0.127 0.029

23 42 0.5 0.153 0.045 0.010

7 40 0.5 0.153 0.042 0.010

8 160 0.5 0.153 0.170 0.039

13 230 0.5 0.153 0.244 0.056

28 40 0.5 0.153 0.042 0.010

3 120 0.5 0.153 0.127 0.029

30 55 0.5 0.153 0.058 0.013

17 90 0.5 0.153 0.095 0.022

12 42 0.5 0.153 0.045 0.010

12 42 0.5 0.153 0.045 0.010

17 42 0.5 0.153 0.045 0.010

28 42 0.5 0.153 0.045 0.010

4 150 0.5 0.153 0.159 0.037

26 42 0.5 0.153 0.045 0.010

21 230 0.5 0.153 0.244 0.056

20 42 0.5 0.153 0.045 0.010

6 150 0.5 0.153 0.159 0.037

23 42 0.5 0.153 0.045 0.010

15 115 0.5 0.153 0.122 0.028

18 115 0.5 0.153 0.122 0.028

23 115 0.5 0.153 0.122 0.028

24 115 0.5 0.153 0.122 0.028

28 115 0.5 0.153 0.122 0.028

26 115 0.5 0.153 0.122 0.028

26 115 0.5 0.153 0.122 0.028

25 115 0.5 0.153 0.122 0.028

18 115 0.5 0.153 0.122 0.028

15 115 0.5 0.153 0.122 0.028


SUM 0.717 ton
Page | 28

APPENDIX C CONCRETE VOLUME
Volume of Slab + Drop Bands 7.5 Slab TYP

Section
Section
Width (ft)
Section
Length (ft)
Slab Depth
(ft)
Total Drop
Bands Length (ft)
Block Out
Volume (ft.
3
)
Total Concrete
Volume (ft.
3
)
Total Concrete
Volume (yd.
3
)
N
O
R
T
H
1 39.5 114.92 0.63 341 0 4627 171.38
2 30 114.92 0.63 0 568.75 1586 58.74
3 30 114.92 0.63 85 178.125 2423 89.74
4 20 114.92 0.63 85 37.5 1845 68.34


Sub-Total (yd.
3
) 388.20
S
O
U
T
H
5 40 114.92 0.63 85 0 3319 122.94
6 30 114.92 0.63 85 250 2351 87.07
7 41 114.92 0.63 341 0 4735 175.37


Sub-Total (yd.
3
) 385.38


Page | 29

APPENDIX D GENERAL SCHEDULE OF CONSTRUCTION



Page | 30

APPENDIX E CONVERSION OF PLACEMENT RATE AND CONSTRUCTION DURATIONS
Deck Bars/hr 0.5 tons/hour
Deck Bars 3.01 tons
PT Bars 0.7 tons
Deck Bars 5.0 tons
PT Factor 2.0



Beam Factor 1.5



Deck Bars 6.01 hours
PT Bars 2.87 hours
Beam Bars 15.01 hours
TOTAL 23.9 hours
NORTH TOTAL 12.4 hours
SOUTH TOTAL 11.5 hours

Page | 31

APPENDIX F DETAILED DRAWINGS OF REINFORCEMENT LAYOUT NEAR ROOF BEAM B17
This section is dedicated to provide layered view of the roof reinforcement near the highly congested beam B17.
F.1 ROOF PLAN VIEW


Page | 32

Page | 33

Page | 34

Page | 35

Page | 36

Page | 37

Bottom reinforcement is
omitted for better clarity.
Page | 38

Page | 39


Page | 40

F.2 ELEVATION VIEW (FIG 2)

Page | 41

Page | 42

Page | 43

Page | 44

Page | 45

Page | 46

Page | 47

Page | 48

Page | 49


Page | 50

F.3 SECTION CUT (FIG 2)

Page | 51

Page | 52

Page | 53

Page | 54

Page | 55

Page | 56

Page | 57

Page | 58