Tea Anyone?A Story of Disaster and Resiliency at YounkersAIA SPRING MEETING WORKSHOP

APRIL 15, 2015

PANELISTSCody Christensen, Deputy Building Official for the City of Des Moines.

Tim Monson, P.E., President of Shuck Britson Inc. Consulting Engineers

Rob Whitehead, AIA, Asst. Prof. of Architecture at ISU, with specialty in structures and building failures, & co-author Design-Tech: Building Science for Architects

Dave Vos, AIA, Project Manager for Alexander Company, developer of the Wilkins Building

ADVISOR

Tom Leslie, AIA, Pickard Chilton Professor in Architecture at ISU; 2013 Rome Prize fellow in historic preservation & co-author of Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934, & co-author Design-Tech: Building Science for Architects

Workshop OUTLINEBuilding History

Historical Context

Younkers Building Fire

Recovery Issues

Wilkins Building-Moving Forward

Questions

Building History

Located in Heart of Downtown

Younkers

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1908:Wilkins

1909: Top FloorYounkers

Building History

Building History

Wilkins Building(1908/1924):poured concrete,masonry exterior

Younkers Building(1899/1909):Steel beams and columns, wood floors, masonry exterior

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Historical Context

Common Fire Resistant Construction Typesat the time of the Younkers Building:

◦ Heavy Timber or “Slow Burning” Construction: Large wood beams and columns with chamfered edges and thick plank floors.

◦ Hollow Tile Fireproofing: Wrapped iron or steel frame elements with ‘jackets’ of terra cotta. Air pockets provided insulating heat barrier.

◦ Reinforced Site-Cast Concrete: After 1905, this became a cost-effective construction method. Early 20th century fires proved it to be more resilient in fires than other systems.

“Slow Burning” Construction, 1820-1920 from Sara E.

Wermiel,

“Heavy Timber Framing in Late 19th Century Commercial and

Industrial Building.” APT Bulletin, 35:1. 2004, 55-60.

Terra Cotta Fireproofing: Frederick Petersen’s Pots at Cooper Union, 1855. (from Jeremy C. Wells, “History

of Structural Hollow Clay Tile in the United States.” Construction History, Vol. 22 (2007), pp. 27-46.

More fire resistant that all wood construction, but HEAVY and labor intensive to construct.

Building History:1899, Younker’s Building construction type:

Steel Columns & Girders, Wood Floor Framing

HISTORICAL CONTEXT:

Great Baltimore Fire of 1904

HISTORICAL CONTEXT:The Ingalls Building, Cincinnati, Elzner & Anderson with Ernest Ransome, 1902-3. (from Condit)

The Ingalls Building, Cincinnati, Elzner & Anderson with Ernest Ransome, 1902-3. (from Condit)

Excerpt from National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Wilkins Building

Historical Context: Wilkins Building, 1909

Reinforced Concrete was a new construction method, very unique to Des Moines (“unusual”), but it was based on an established model for fire-resistance and resiliency.

Building History: Wilkins Building, 1909Wilkins Building construction type:

Reinforced Site Cast Concrete:

Columns, Beams, and Floors

“The first building block in Des Moines to be built of reinforced concrete.” –Excerpt, Nat’l. Historic Register

Excerpt from National Register of Historic Places nomination

WILKINS BUILDING FRAMING PLAN AND CONSTRUCTION IMAGE: STEEL PARAPET CAST IN CONCRETE, 1909

1899:Younkers1

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1908:Wilkins

1909: Top FloorsYounkers

TOP FLOORS, YOUNKERS: STEEL COLUMNS CAST IN CONCRETE, 1909

Younkers Fire

Building Layout

WoodConcrete

Scaffolding

Photo Source: www.kcci.com

Photo Source: www.desmoinesregister.com

Post Fire Challenges

Demolition & Cleanup

Wilkins BuildingMOVING FORWARD

Thank You