DGS Resources Building Renovation

Sacramento, CA

Located just two blocks from the State Capitol in downtown Sacramento lies the 17-story State of California Resources Building. Buehler is the Structural Engineer of Record for this $460 million, 657,000 square-foot tower being renovated for improved office functionality and increased seismic performance. The renovation of this building includes much more than seismic upgrades alone. Potentially hazardous materials were removed from the building and the facade was completely removed to further improve the seismic performance and modernize the building’s appearance. All HVAC systems are being replaced and modern egress requirements are being met with new stair systems. Once complete, this renovation will bring the building to the forefront of desirable workspaces owned by the State of California, leading the State to adopt the project slogan “from worst to first.” The renovated building will likely achieve LEED Platinum certification.

A nonlinear time history analysis incorporated seven ground motions in each direction and Buehler collaborated closely with the Geotechnical Engineer to select the appropriate ground motions. The first iterations of the time history analysis were completed on the as-built existing structure to determine the level of seismic performance. Fluid viscous dampers were added to improve the seismic performance by limiting the force and drift demands to the existing steel truss moment frame system. Several iterations of the nonlinear time history analysis were completed to determine the most efficient use of the dampers and minimize the necessary strengthening to the existing seismic force resisting system and deep pile foundations. The nonlinear analysis was completed per the requirements of ASCE 7-16 with ASCE 41 used as an additional resource for the modeling parameters and acceptance criteria.