Located in Biloxi, Miss., overlooking the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the eye-catching Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum visually stuns visitors. The design, which features a 42-foot-tall curtainwall, immediately draws the eye to the building and gives a glimpse to the exhibits inside. The building also is a great example of the dangers that lurk for coastal buildings. From hurricanes to high flooding, both of which the museum is designed to withstand, coastal buildings require additional considerations that architects must be prepared for.
Hurricanes often ravage coastal cities, causing a constant concern for building owners as well as the architectural and construction teams. In 2005, a 30-foot tidal surge caused by Hurricane Katrina destroyed the original museum structure along with most artifacts inside. During the rebuilding process the architects considered hurricane effects, like high winds and potential flooding.
It is important to start by reviewing building codes and FEMA guidelines for the project’s location. For example, in Mississippi the building codes vary from county to county for everything other than government buildings. When Hurricane Katrina hit Mississippi and Louisiana, the aftermath caused state regulators to consider adopting new building codes. Coastal areas of both Louisiana and Mississippi are now enforcing 2012 IBC.
Hurricanes can produce winds over 150 mph and blow large debris that can damage buildings and shatter windows. It is important for architects to include hurricane-resistant products in commercial building designs. When considering products to include in specs, architects should select products that have been engineered and tested to be hurricane impact resistant. Key indicators of a hurricane impact resistant product are Miami-Dade County (NOA) and Florida product approvals. A good product has been tested in accordance to ASTM E 1886 and ASTM E 1996, as well as the South Florida “High Velocity Hurricane Zone” test requirements.
All Atlantic and gulf coast states have some version of the IBC as their base code; most have now migrated to 2012 IBC. State and local amendments are allowed as long as they are not less stringent, so it is always advisable to check the local code. Depending on the building location, basic wind speed and several other factors, hurricane impact design pressures vary between 40 psf and 130 psf or higher. A trusted manufacturing partner can help architects find the proper and most cost-effective product for the building.
Wind is not the only threat during a hurricane. Coastal buildings are also prone to flooding. In an effort to make it easier for communities to determine the threat level, FEMA conducts Flood Insurance Studies (FISs) to develop data and uses it to establish its Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). FEMA uses this to identify and label areas of varying flood hazards as flood zones. Each zone has a different Base Flood Elevation (BFE), which is the minimum elevation to which lowest floors, as defined by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), are required to be elevated. The zone designation and the BFE shape the requirements that must be applied to the building, and ultimately, how it is designed and built.
The Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum falls within a coastal AE zone flood plain, requiring the museum’s first level to be elevated 2 feet above the base flood elevation and 10 feet above grade. The building is founded on 15-inch diameter, augured and cast in place concrete piles that descend to a depth of greater than 50 feet. In addition, the massive curtainwall had to be hurricane resistant. In order to qualify as hurricane-impact products, the entire curtainwall, including framing, glass and anchoring, was tested and qualified. To meet requirements, the system was impacted by a 9-pound 2-by-4 piece of lumber traveling at 50 feet per second, followed by 9,000 positive and negative pressure cycles, with the pressure varying up to the full 90 psf design pressure.
In addition to hurricane impact requirements, energy efficiency is getting a lot more attention in coastal areas. Monolithic glazing and non-thermal aluminum, so prevalent in the south 10 years ago, are giving way to low-E insulating glass and thermally improved aluminum systems. As the energy codes push ever more stringent thermal requirements in coastal areas, architects should look for manufacturers who continue to update their systems.
The Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum wanted to achieve a desired energy consumption while not taking away from the views. YKK AP America Inc., Austell, Ga., worked with the glazing contractor, A1 Glass, Covington, La., and the architect, H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, New York City, to design and install custom vertical sunshades. Because of the design of the building, the mounting brackets were engineered to attach to the curtainwall horizontals to accommodate uniform mullion spacing while the sunshade spacing became progressively smaller. The engineering paid off and the 3-inch by 8-inch back member of the curtainwall system was easily able to accommodate the additional dead load of the vertical sunshades.
Coastal buildings have striking views that make curtainwall façades an obvious choice for architects. However, these buildings are often left vulnerable to weather if proper measures are not taken during the design process. It is important for architects to understand the requirements and choose partners that engineer and test products to withstand hurricane winds. The Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum, which opened this past August, is equipped to withstand storms while not losing any of the cultural heritage that it was built to house.
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Greg Galloway is the ProTek brand manager for YKK AP America Inc., Austell, Ga. To learn more, visit
www.ykkap.com.