Courthouse. Glazing contractor Koch Corporation of Louisville, Ky., installed six types of Wausau’s windows to meet the various security and environmental requirements including energy efficiency, ballistic and blast mitigation, and moisture and hurricane resistance.
The project was one of several funded in Puerto Rico by the Federal Government. The window replacement was funded as part of the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA’s) Security Enhancement, Glass Fragmentation Program.
Located on a 26-acre campus in the Hato Rey section of San Juan, the buildings represent the largest GSA-owned asset in the Caribbean. Federico Degetau Federal Building houses more than a dozen federal agencies. The imposing, seven-story, 460,000-square-foot structure features a steel-reinforced, poured-in-place, exposed concrete facade. Connected to the federal building with a 1,600-square-foot addition, Clement Ruiz Nazario U.S. Courthouse spans 100,000 square feet.
Both buildings were designed in the 1970s by local architects O’Kelly, Mendez & Brunner and Miami-based engineers Smith, Korach and Associates. The architectural style is described by some as “Brutalist Modernism.” To administer historically appropriate, exterior upgrades for both buildings, the GSA retained Wank Adams Slavin Associates LLP (WASA/Studio A) as the project architect. Weidlinger Associates was the structural engineer for the project.
Koch Corporation served as the general contractor, as well as the glazing contractor using Koch’s team and local tradespeople. The window replacement portion of the project began in May 2010 and was completed it May 2012. The buildings remained fully occupied and operational throughout the renovation.
Wausau brought together a team with extensive experience in engineering glazing systems that address multiple performance criteria. Comprehensive project-specific testing validated the performance.
For the federal building, Wausau engineered, fabricated and shipped more than 1,500 glazed units, including six types of windows, to meet different performance requirements for blast, ballistic and hurricane protection. Wausau’s 3250i-V Visuline™ and 3250i-HP INvent™ Series hurricane-resistant windows comprise the majority.
Attaining the buildings’ thermal comfort and energy efficiency objectives, the windows employed polyamide frame thermal barriers to meet the required maximum U-Factors and Solar Heat Gain Coefficients. Viracon provided the low-e coated, high-performance, insulated, laminated, blast- and ballistic-resistant glass for both the federal building and its attached courthouse.
After the last of the federal building’s basement rear-facing windows were replaced, the glazing team began on the courthouse. With respect to these building occupants, the field crew removed and replaced an entire façade rather than a full floor. The on-site team sequenced the new windows from the northwest to the southwest, southeast to the northeast, wrapping around the structure.
In addition to meeting the performance criteria, the window systems were designed to closely resemble the original, architectural character with narrow sightlines. Wausau’s aluminum frames were finished by Linetec in bronze anodize.
“The goal was to satisfy the project requirements without increasing the existing sightlines,” states WASA/Studio A’s senior associate for preservation, Angel Ayón, LEED® AP. “The project gained accolades …due to the sensitive approach that it followed to minimize the impact of the window replacement on the significance of this modernist building.”
Her colleague, David J. Anthone, LEED AP and regional historic preservation architect for the GSA Northeast and Caribbean Region, also stated, “The replacement windows respect the original intent of the design and provide a much-needed improvement to energy performance.”
Wausau and Koch’s team happily accepted the compliments. “It’s always nice to be recognized for a job well-done,” says Mifflin. “The project was extremely challenging from an engineering standpoint due to the slender historic sightlines and very high blast and windborne debris requirements.”
Other storms during the period made for a challenging exterior installation. In August 2010, Hurricane Earl generated sustained wind speeds in San Juan of 29 knots with gusts up to 39 knots. The next year in August 2011, Tropical Storm Emily hit Puerto Rico, followed 20 days later by Hurricane Irene. Nineteen days after Irene, Tropical Storm Maria caused devastating flooding.
“We wrapped up on site in May 2012 and haven’t had a single call back. This was put to the test in August when Hurricane Isaac passed through. We did not hear of a leak or any issues associated with the windows’ performance,” Feinn says with pride.
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Federico Degetau Federal Building and Clement Ruiz Nazario U.S. Courthouse; 150 Carlos Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico 00918
* Owner: U.S. General Services Administration; http://www.gsa.gov
* Project managed by: Design and Construction Division, Public Building Service Northeast and Caribbean Region; New York, N.Y.
* Construction manager: Jacobs Engineer Group Inc.; New York, N.Y., and San Juan, Puerto Rico; http://www.jacobs.com/
* Project architect: Wank Adams Slavin Associates LLP (WASA/Studio A); New York, N.Y.; http://www.wasallp.com
* Blast consultant: Weidlinger Associates, Inc.; New York, N.Y.; http://wai.com
* General contractor and glazing contractor: Koch Corporation of Louisville, Ky.; http://www.kochcorporation.com
* Glazing systems – manufacturer: Wausau Window and Wall Systems; Wausau, Wis.; http://www.wausauwindow.com
* Glazing systems – glass fabricator: Viracon, Inc., Owatonna, Minn.; http://www.viracon.com/
* Glazing systems – finisher: Linetec, Wausau, Wis.; http://www.linetec.com/
Nationally recognized for its innovative expertise, Wausau Window and Wall Systems is an industry leader in engineering window and curtainwall systems for commercial and institutional construction applications. For more than 55 years, Wausau has worked closely with architects, building owners and contractors to realize their vision for aesthetic beauty, sustainability and lasting value, while striving to maintain the highest level of customer service, communication and overall satisfaction. Wausau is a part of Apogee Enterprises, Inc., a publicly held, U.S. corporation.