BFW was proud to provide structural and site civil design services for a major renovation and addition to the Farmhouse Fraternity on the University of Illinoi at Urbana-Champaign campus. Partnered with Reifsteck Wakefield Fanning Architecture, this newly renovated fraternity house serves as the local Farmhouse chapter house which provides updated and improved meeting rooms, study spaces, and dining hall to service 200 students as well as dormitories for 50 students.
Project Highlights
- Overall Structure
- Four-story fraternity house renovation totaling 15,000 square feet.
- Existing structure contained a mixture of clay tile and multi-wythe masonry exterior bearing walls and interior wood framed bearing walls. The floors were wood joists, and the roof featured large wood trusses.
- BFW provided framing for new rooftop HVAC units, new framing for doorways and bathrooms, and new framing for dormitories.
- A new winding 1,100 square foot egress stair tower.
- Construction Details
- The egress stair tower starts with concrete walls and footings in the basement and extends up to the 3rd floor dormitories.
- The walls are constructed of wood framing featuring a steel flitch beam ring at each level to support a unique winding staircase.
- The stairs are constructed of wood and laminated veneer lumber framing for added stability.
- The lateral system is composed of plywood-sheathed shear walls around the perimeter of the tower.
- The exterior of the tower has a brick façade and decorative stone to match the existing historic façade of the original building.
This project provides an updated home base for the Farmhouse Fraternity and will serve them for many years to come. The newly added egress stair tower will provide additional safety to the added dormitories on the third floor.
