Adams Avenue Apartments

Project Details

This project involves the structural design and engineering of the Adams Avenue Apartments, a multi-story residential building located at 3585 Adams Avenue in San Diego. The structure comprises five levels, integrating ground-floor retail spaces, a lobby, and a parking garage with an automated car parking system, while the upper floors are dedicated to residential units. The building is topped with a solar-ready roof assembly featuring a Class ‘A’ TPO membrane over plywood sheathing and engineered wood joists. The primary structural system utilizes a combination of reinforced concrete and timber framing. The foundation is a 20-inch thick reinforced concrete mat foundation designed for a soil bearing capacity of 2,000 psf. Vertical support and lateral stability are provided by 8-inch thick reinforced concrete shear walls and wood-stud walls utilizing high-strength Douglas Fir Larch. The horizontal framing consists of engineered wood products, including TJI joists and Douglas Fir glulam beams, integrated with structural steel connectors and holdown systems to ensure a durable assembly. The design process adhered to a rigorous structural analysis in accordance with the 2022 California Building Code (CBC), 2022 California Residential Code (CRC), ASCE 7-16, and ACI 318-19 standards. The building is specifically engineered to withstand environmental loads, including a design wind speed of 96 MPH and requirements for Seismic Design Category D. Specialized details were implemented for shear transfer at both interior and exterior walls, utilizing structural plywood sheathing and staggered nailing patterns to meet seismic and wind capacity requirements.

Role

Structural Engineer/Designer

Services Provided

The scope of services included the preparation of structural analysis, design calculations, and structural drawings for each building. Structural calculations considered loading analyses for wind, seismic, snow, dead, and live loads in accordance with applicable building codes and site conditions. The work involved the structural analysis and design of all primary and secondary structural elements, including foundations, shear walls, load-bearing walls, columns, beams, floor joists, headers, stair stringers, guardrail posts, trusses/rafters, and connectors to ensure adequate strength, stability, and continuous load transfer throughout the structure. The services also included the preparation of structural drawings consisting of foundation plans, 2nd through 4th floor framing plans, roof framing plans, and 1st through 4th floor shear wall layout plans. Structural building section views, including longitudinal and cross-sections, together with typical structural details, notes, and specifications, were also prepared to clearly communicate the design intent and construction requirements.