Lofts at Alameda

San Jose, CA | Owner/Contractor: Barry Swenson Builders | Completion Date: 2006

Quantum Consulting Engineers completed the structural engineering for this four-story project with 40 cutting-edge loft condominiums. The building features a two-story stacked loft design in addition to resident and guest parking. Eight of the condominiums are designated as affordable housing and available to moderate-income buyers. The two buildings total about 47,000 SF.

The structure was designed using non-combustible materials consisting of light-gauge steel stud stacked bearing walls, light gauge floor joists with metal deck and concrete floor topping, and light gauge roof joists with metal roof deck. Due to expansive soils at the site, we used a post-tensioned concrete raft slab-on-grade with thickened footings under the bearing walls and around the perimeter. To resist earthquake forces, we used "Sure Board" shear walls, which are 22 Gauge steel sheets adhered to a wall finish product like gypsum board, exterior gypsum sheathing or Dens-Glass sheathing. The wall panels are screwed onto the steel studs and provide for high lateral force resistance to wind and seismic forces. Rather than use back-to-back wall studs and floor joists, which require added labor to fabricate and erect, we used light structural steel beams and columns that are fabricated to dimensionally match the depths of the studs and joists.

This project was originally designed by another firm as two wood-framed buildings, and then the decision was made to convert them to light-gauge steel with metal deck and concrete topping floors. Our light-gauge design experience was called upon by MCM, a design build company that is known for its green building strategies. We provided a redesign that conformed to a panelized steel stud wall and floor bay fabrication process, but the contractor in the end elected to conventionally stick-frame the wall studs and floor joists.

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