I  General

A. Project Description
 This specification describes the Civil and Environmental Engineering design associated with the determination of the feasibility of installing a sod roof on one wing of the McGowan Center, East Carson Street, Pittsburgh's South Side. The Center will be housed in a new building constructed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. The project will include the analysis of the energy and environmental efficiencies of a sod roof in comparison with a reflective roof being installed on another, identical wing of the same building. The suitability of the existing roof structure to support the loads associated with the addition of a sod roof will be evaluated.

B. Definitions
 For the purpose of this specification the following terms are defined for
the parties involved:

1. ENGINEER -- The term ENGINEER shall refer to the organization selected to perform the specified work. Three organizations have been "short-listed' to receive this inquiry. They are:

Senior Design Project Team
Room 935
Benedum Hall
The University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh PA 15213

Enviro-Pro, Inc.
Cool Water Lane
Paradise, PA 15220
(412) 654 7245

GreenSteel, Inc.
69 GreenSteel Place
Pittsburgh, PA 15225
(412) 654 7245

2. OWNER -- The term OWNER shall refer to the McGowan Center for Artificial Organ Development, the developer of the project. The McGowan Center is part of the University of Pittsburgh with current headquarters at:

413 Center for Biotechnology and Bioengineering
300 Technology Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15219-3112
(412) 383 9970

 3. CONSULTANT -- The term CONSULTANT shall refer to  Oyler Consulting
Services, the consulting firm retained by the OWNER. Their headquarters is
at:

   92 Youngwood Road
   Pittsburgh PA 15228-1117
   (412) 343 1652

 4. OTHERS -- The term OTHERS shall refer to parties with responsibilities
external to this project, which interface with those assigned to the ENGINEER.

C. Location of Project

1. The building to be retrofitted is located on the north side of East Carson Street in Pittsburgh's South Side district, close to the intersection of Sarah Street with East Carson Street.

2. Climatic Conditions
 
a. Mean Annual Precipitation   40 inches
   b. Peak Precipitation per Month  10 inches
   c. Mean Annual Temperature   60.0 F
   d. Maximum Temperature   100.0 F
   e. Minimum Temperature   -25.0 F
   f. Design Wind Velocity    100 mph
   g. Seismic Zone     Two
 
D. Background

The McGowan Center for Artificial  Organ Development is currently housed in the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Biotechnology and Bioengineering. It will soon be moved to a new building, constructed by the Urban Renewal Authority, on Pittsburgh's South Side. The external shell of this new building will be completed later this Fall. Design and construction of the internal structure (offices and laboratories) will occur early in 2001. At this time it is anticipated that the new building will qualify as a LEED Gold awardee, indicative of its adherence to the principles of "Green Construction". Its roof will be reflective, to minimize requirements for air conditioning.

The building consists of two identical wings, and a central core. It has been suggested that this particular building provides a unique opportunity to compare the environmental aspects of two different roof systems -- reflective and roof garden.

E. Intent of Specification

It is the intent of this specification that the ENGINEER consider this
document as a functional specification, one that specifies the required
results rather than the specific methods used to obtain them. This specification is limited to the determination of the feasibility of retrofitting the roof of one wing of the aforementioned building to permit the installation of a sod roof (or roof garden).

E. Applicable Standards

All standards and specifications which are referenced in this document are
intended to provide an indication of the required level of quality. It is
also the ENGINEER'S responsibility to conform to building codes and other
applicable standards which apply to the site in which the system is installed.

F. Enclosures

1. Engineering Drawings showing the building as currently designed

2. Excerpts from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering proposal
 
3. Standards

a. Pennsylvania Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act
(Act 2)
b. American Institute of Steel Construction,  "Specification for the Design,
Fabrication, and Erection of Structural Steel for Buildings"
c. American Concrete Institute,  "Building Code Requirements for Reinforced
Concrete"
 
II. ENGINEER'S Scope of Work

The ENGINEER shall be responsible for the Civil and Environmental Engineering
necessary to perform the required study. This includes:

A. Review of the literature to determine the state of the art of roof gardens

B. Comparison of initial and life cycle costs for a roof garden, a reflective roof, and a conventional roof

C. Determination of design methodology for installation of a roof garden

D. Determination of roof loads associated with installation of a roof garden

E. Review of current roof support structure to determine its suitability for roof garden loads

F. Calibration of hydrologic behavior of roof gardens in response to weather

G. Budget level cost estimate, including energy savings

H. Determination of short and long term investment costs for roof garden

I. Preparation of a video presentation describing the project
 

III. Scope of Work by OTHERS

A. Procurement and installation of required equipment and systems

B. Construction of required facilities

C. Construction of infrastructure elements
 

IV Schedule

The project schedule requires that the civil and environmental engineering be completed by December 1, 2000, to permit the OWNER to evaluate the feasibility of this approach.  As part of this project the ENGINEER will produce a detailed schedule for the civil and environmental engineering design work, utilizing the Primavera software platform, and will issue status reports  every two weeks.

VII Deliverables

A. Preliminary design drawings illustrating the approach

B. Budget level estimate for each alternative

C. Summary of advantages and disadvantages of each alternative

D. Technical report evaluating the suitability of the current structure to support a roof garden

E. Video presentation describing the project

 Return to Senior Design Projects