Value Engineering with a Twist: The Orange County Museum of Art Story

Do you have a steel detailer that can readily identify problem areas on construction drawings? We all know that sometimes the synthesis of architectural ingenuity with form and beauty creates an impasse for constructability. Such was the case with our recent work on the Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa, California. 

The aesthetically- pleasing wave-shaped terracotta elevation wall in this structure was designed with square HSS tubes. Upon commencement of detailing this area of the project we found that the tubes would need to be twisted to stay within the wall, an expensive undertaking. After identification of the problem area, we suggested a solution of replacing the square profiles in critical locations with round pipe. In collaboration with the Beck Steel team, who suggested adding segmented channel to the round pipe in order to provide a flat surface for the light gage track attachment, we modeled this solution in Tekla and found it worked well. The Beck Steel team reviewed our prepared drawings and the value engineered solution was verified as workable for Beck’s fabrication processes as well as suitable for field installation. The process was tested in the mockup frame and later in the final construction process and found to be completely workable.  

This is just one more great example of collaborative team work between the steel detailing team and fabricator coupled with Anatomic’s value engineering solutions to decrease fabrication and erection costs! 

Are you in need of a steel detailer who can handle highly complex structural steel detailing? 

Do you need an advocate who is proactive in solving problems and identifying cost savings? 

Look no further than Anatomic Iron Steel Detailing; we are here to help on your upcoming projects! Please reach out directly anytime to Mr. Dave Pye – VP Sales & Estimating at dave@anatomiciron.com with any inquiries.