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One for the Books
New library combines underground storage, automated retrieval, and glass-dome top
To keep its growing collection of rare research materials readily accessible and yet safe, the University of Chicago chose a unique design for its new Mansueto Library.
By Mike Larson
When the University of Chicago’s new Joe and Rika Mansueto Library opens its doors to faculty, students, and visiting researchers in the spring of 2011, it will combine distinctive above-ground architecture with a sophisticated and effective underground storage and retrieval system.
Designed by world-renowned Chicago architect Helmut Jahn of Murphy/Jahn Inc. and built by Barton Malow Co., this one-of-a-kind library will feature reading and work areas enclosed by a four-story glass-and-steel dome above ground and a five-story-deep climate-controlled underground storage vault that will protect and automatically deliver up to 3.5 million periodicals, books, and rare archival research materials.
The Mansueto Library is being built at the corner of East 57th and South Ellis streets, right in the heart of the University of Chicago campus, next to the university’s Joseph Regenstein Library. To help keep irreplaceable research materials secure, the Mansueto Library’s only public entrance will be a 65-ft-long glassed-in walkway coming from the Regenstein Library.
The Mansueto Library, named after University of Chicago alumni Joe and Rika Mansueto, who donated $25 million toward the $81-million total cost, is being constructed so the university can keep all of its research materials on campus and accessible to scholars, yet well protected and preserved.
Design Combines Form and Function To meet its needs, the university selected architect Helmut Jahn’s oval glass-domed vault design because it was both more aesthetically pleasing and more cost-effective than a traditional above-ground rectangular building.
“The lot is only about 163 ft by 360 ft,” says Mike Natarus, senior project manager at the university. Having this 120-ft by 240-ft oval glass dome with some green space around it gives the site an open, airy feeling. And storing the materials underground actually uses less energy because the ground stays about 55 degrees all year long, so you need to heat only from 55 degrees to the 74-degree temperature ideal for book preservation.”
Building Is First To Combine Three Key Elements According to Barton Malow Director of Business Development Concettina Jancarik, the innovative Mansueto Library is the first building in North America to combine a slurry-wall foundation, an automated book-storage-and-retrieval system (ASRS), and a glass dome.
The 38-ft-high dome covers the 22,000-sq-ft ground-level floor, which includes a 150-seat reading room and a circulation center, as well as preservation and conservation work areas.
The 50-ft-deep climate-controlled concrete vault supports the dome and houses the 3,000-bin automated system that stores, delivers, and retrieves the library’s books and other research materials.
“You can think of the entire building as a humidor for books,” says Natarus. It’s designed to keep the temperature and humidity ideal for preserving printed material.”
Design-Build Team Approach Boosts Efficiency Using qualification-based selection, the university chose Barton Malow as the construction manager to build the Jahn-designed library. Together, the university’s project manager, its owner’s representative Cotter Consulting Inc., Murphy/Jahn Architects, and Barton Malow form the project’s leadership team.
“Putting the team together right at the project’s start enabled us to involve the key contractors and subs early in pre-construction planning,” says Natarus. Their early input improved the project’s efficiency by helping the architect develop accurately detailed drawings right from the start. Just as importantly, it also helped establish a more accurate budget and schedule right away. The team approach has been one key to the project’s success thus far.”
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| A cross section rendering of the library shows the overhead dome, the reading and work areas at ground level, and the extensive automated storage and retrieval system housed in the five-story-deep climate-controlled underground vault. (Rendering courtesy of Murphy/Jahn Architects) |
Construction Well Under Way Planning turned into construction when Barton Malow broke ground to start building the 120-ft by 240-ft oval slurry-wall foundation in September, 2008. “The project team chose to use a slurry wall because of the site conditions and depth of excavation,” says Mike Poole, Barton Malow’s senior superintendent on the project, a veteran of more than 40 years in heavy construction.
“The wall needed to reach down nearly 60 feet, and the small site would have made it difficult to excavate the entire basement before pouring the wall,” Poole says. So Halvorson & Partners designed the slurry wall to fit within the tight site parameters and Case Foundation excavated and poured the 30-in.-thick, approximately 610-ft-long concrete wall in 26 sections, each about 25-ft long.
After the slurry wall was completed in July, Hayward Baker/John Keno and Sons began excavating 53,000 cu yd of earth inside of it to dig the rest of the basement. One hydraulic backhoe is doing the excavating, while a second sitting at ground level lifts the excavated soil from the spoil pile and loads it into dump trucks that haul it away for use as fill.
As the hole reaches specified depths, the concrete perimeter wall is tied into the surrounding earth with cable tiebacks that are tensioned and pressure grouted. It will take about six months to complete excavation and then pour the 2-ft-thick reinforced concrete slab for the basement floor.
When the basement floor slab is complete, the structural steel will be installed and the ground-floor deck poured. After that, basement’s inner masonry and shaft walls will be installed about 5 ft inside the perimeter foundation wall, followed by installation of the mechanical and HVAC equipment.
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| Construction began with excavation and building of the 30-in.-wide, 60-ft-deep, 610-ft-long slurry-wall foundation. (Photo courtesy of Barton Malow Co.) |
The area under the mechanical equipment room is the only part of the building that needed to be supported by caissons. Fifteen caissons with diameters from 2.5 ft to 3.5 ft were drilled to bedrock at depths ranging from about 31 ft to 48 ft.
Starting this winter and continuing into the summer of 2010, crews will install the mechanical equipment and the fire-suppression, plumbing, and electrical systems.
That stretch of the construction schedule will also see installation of the 50-ft-tall, 3,000-bin automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS). Designed and installed by HK Systems, the ASRS will hold up to 3.5 million volumes and deliver any of them to the library’s service desk within five minutes. The system’s structural supports, bins, and robotic retrieval crane will occupy the entire basement vault from floor to ceiling and wall to wall.
Once the ground-level floor is completed, crews will be able to put up the temporary supports and scaffolding needed to assemble the signature dome.
Building’s Design Makes Construction Schedule Unique Barton Malow’s Poole says the design of the building required a different approach to construction planning. “When you build a typical above-ground building, if you cannot work inone area, you can generally keep the project moving by having the crew work on a different area,” says Poole. “This project is different. Its construction sequence is very linear. For example, the mechanical equipment absolutely must be installed before the ASRS system, otherwise there would be no room to get the mechanical equipment where it needs to go,” he says.
“Also, you have basically one floor, 50 ft down, to work on. How do you efficiently get people and equipment up and down?,” he says. “Once the building’s enclosed, the only way to move material and equipment in and out is a hole in the dome and a 29-ft by 23-ft hole in the main floor. Also, the dome needs to be assembled in a particular sequence on supports. This is an interesting project that offers some different challenges than a typical box-with-a-roof building,” says Poole.
Signature Glass-and-Steel Dome has Intricate Design The part of the project that will undoubtedly attract the most public attention is 38-ft-high, 120-ft-wide, 240-ft-long steel and glass dome that will be the roof and walls of the ground-level part of the library.
The dome will sit on a 5-ft-high, 5½-ft-wide compression ring running the full circumference of the concrete foundation wall.
The highly engineered dome, designed by Murphy/Jahn and structural engineer Werner Sobek, will be made up of approximately 160 tons of steel framework and 694 window panels, each 2 meters (3.28 ft) by 2 meters (3.28 ft), or about 27,000 sq ft of glass. Supplied by Seele, Inc., it will take about a year to manufacture and 10 months to install.
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| An aerial-view rendering shows the new Mansueto Library’s location at the corner of East 57 and South Ellis streets in the heart of the University of Chicago campus. Its 120-ft by 240-ft oval glass-and-steel dome was selected in part to help give the site an open feel. (Rendering courtesy of Murphy/Jahn Architects) |
According to Seele, the shape of the dome structure is unique, with curves in two directions and every piece being essential to the entire dome’s structural integrity. The entire dome was designed using 3D modeling and steel components will be milled using 3D technology, says a Seele representative.
Its steel components are being manufactured in the Czech Republic, and the glass and aluminum pieces are being made in Germany. The entire dome will be pre-assembled in Seele’s manufacturing plant, then disassembled and shipped to the U.S. in the largest possible sections for final erection at the project site.
Glass panels that sit less than 14 ft high will be clear, to provide an open view to the outside. Panels that sit higher than 14 ft up the dome will have sunshade fritting over 57% of their surfaces.
Building’s Other Systems Designed To Preserve Books To help make sure the book storage area stays dry, a drainage system was installed around the foundation’s perimeter with pits and pumps at each end. In addition, all critical pumps and mechanical equipment all have auxiliary power sources and back-ups.
The fire-suppression system will be a water-sprinkler system. Says Natarus, “The book preservation industry has developed several effective techniques for drying out wet books, so using a wet fire-suppression system is reasonable. In addition, there will be little chance of fire in the storage area because only a few select workers will ever go there and we will minimize any potential fire sources.”
The HVAC system will be equipped with a system to keep the relative humidity in the storage area at 45%, the ideal level for maximizing book life.
Says Natarus, “This is the coolest project I’ve been part of. It has so many unique elements that you may never come across again, like the dome, the state-of-the-art storage system, and a slurry wall of this shape and depth.”
“Also, the teamwork is great,” he says. “Everyone seems to be on the same page and excited about being part of this unique project.”
The Mansueto Library is currently on schedule to open in the spring of 2011.
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