BE Magazine Volume 5, Issue 2 - (Page 27) BUILDING Additionally, a seismic fault on the site of the Murrieta Mesa High School required the designers to pay close attention to how the buildings would perform during an earthquake. The project’s architectural requirements also called for a broad range of materials, including concrete, masonry, and steel. KNA handled these challenges by deploying Bentley’s RAM Structural System solutions, which included RAM Steel, RAM Frame, and RAM Foundation. “Bentley’s RAM structural engineering solutions were able to handle complex lateral systems and a mixture of materials,” said Its climate, quality of life, and proximity to San Diego are some of the reasons why families have chosen it to raise their children within view of the Santa Rosa Mountains. But the community’s rapid growth has put a strain on Murrieta’s school system, especially its high schools. For example, enrollment for the 2007–2008 school year at Murrieta Valley High School was just above 3,000 students while Vista Murrieta High School breached 3,500 students. To address the city’s growing student population, the Board of Education signed v KNA Consulting Engineers designed the new $104 million Murrieta Mesa High School off on a new high school for the city with capacity for up to 2,200 students, approving the schematic design in November 2005. When final design was approved in April 2006, a ceremonial groundbreaking was held in March 2007 for Murrieta Mesa High School, a $104 million facility located on 62 acres. The 249,000square-foot campus will include 82 classrooms, a performing arts center, and adjacent athletic facilities that feature a stadium for football, soccer, and track and field; a pool complex; varsity and junior varsity baseball and softball fields; and tennis, basketball, sand volleyball, and handball courts. Because Murrieta Valley and Vista Murrieta were reaching their maximum capacities, the need to have the new school constructed as quickly as possible was of paramount importance. To meet the Murrieta Valley Unified School District’s goal, the design team placed design and construction of Murrieta Mesa High School on fast-track development. Design development began in December 2005, and in November 2006 construction documents were submitted to the State of California’s Division of the State Architect for approval. Grading of the site—the top of a mesa located between I-15 and I-215—began in February 2007 and building construction started in August 2007. The school is scheduled to open in August 2009. For the structural engineers at KNA Consulting Engineers, the accelerated design schedule was the least of their challenges. More pressing was incorporating diverse structural systems such as masonry shear walls, steel-braced frames, and cantilevered column structures into the design. Josh Randall, a principal at KNA. “Support and training was also a factor in choosing Bentley products. RAM has always provided superior customer support and the available RAM training allowed us to make better use of the products we already had.” Streamlined process RAM products work together to allow users to choose the modules and products that best suit their needs, Randall said. Data generated in one product is easily transferred to others, and the DXF export capabilities enabled creation of design documents that were completely coordinated with structural calculations. PROJECT Murrieta Mesa High School OVERVIEW Organization KNA Consulting Engineers, Inc. BE Awards Category Building Structural Analysis, Design and Documentation Project Objective Accelerate structural design and analysis work on new high school To design the structural system, the design team started with basic gravity framing models, which were created during the design Volume 5, Issue 2 | BE MAGAZINE 27
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