Proposed West Winds

Project Details

This project the structural design and engineering of a two-story residential building comprised of three distinct units located in the West Winds Estate of Nassau, The Bahamas. The building footprint measures approximately 72′-2″ x 44′-0″. The comprehensive scope utilized modern engineering solutions centered on a cold-formed steel (CFS) framing system for the primary structural assembly, including load-bearing walls, floor joists, and a complex roof truss system. The wall assemblies utilize high-strength steel C-studs (e.g., 600S162-43 and 362S162-33) integrated with track components and specialized bridging to ensure a lightweight yet durable residential structure. The design process included a rigorous structural analysis adhering to the Bahamas Building Code, ASCE 7-22 for minimum design loads, ACI 318-19 for structural concrete, and AISI 360 for cold-formed steel members. The foundation system features independent reinforced concrete wall footings (WF1) and pedestal columns (P1) designed to perform reliably under an allowable soil bearing pressure of 2,400 psf. A Value Engineering (VE) report was integrated into the project to optimize material efficiency and constructability. Key recommendations included substituting cast-in-place concrete stem walls with fully-grouted 8″ CMU masonry stem walls and increasing the roof truss spacing from 16″ to 32″ O.C.. By upsizing individual members (e.g., 350S162-54 chords), the project achieved a 36.9% reduction in total roof framing weight, significantly lowering fabrication, transport, and erection costs while maintaining structural integrity against environmental loads.

Role

Structural Engineer/Designer

Services Provided

The scope of services included the preparation of structural analysis, structural calculations, and structural drawings for the proposed structure. Structural analysis considered gravity and lateral load evaluations, including dead, live, wind, and seismic loads, in accordance with the applicable governing codes and project criteria. The work involved the structural analysis and design of all structural components, including foundations, columns, beams, cold-formed steel (CFS) bearing and non-bearing walls, staircases, CFS floor joists, CFS roof rafters and trusses, steel connections, and other related structural elements. Structural calculations verified that all members and systems were capable of safely resisting the applicable design loads while maintaining a continuous and code-compliant load path.
The services also included the preparation of structural drawings consisting of foundation plans, floor framing plans, roof framing plans, structural framing elevations per gridline, and structural details, notes, and specifications necessary to communicate the design intent and construction requirements. In addition, a structural material takeoff was generated directly from the analytical model for estimating purposes. The scope further included the preparation of foundation fabrication drawings and a structural framing 3D model, similar in level of development to the previously completed Fifteen Park project, to support coordination, visualization, and implementation during construction.