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In 1991, the University of Washington completed a seismic life safety and property damage risk assessment of all campus facilities. This report, called the Earthquake Readiness Advisory Committee (ERAC) Report, rates various buildings on campus in regard to their potential for sustaining significant damage and for loss of life in the event of a major earthquake. The Suzzallo Library ranks among the highest for both of these factors:
Not only is Suzzallo Library a high seismic risk, but the infrastructure in the 60-70 year-old building is obsolete and inefficient. The Library's mechanical, electrical, and life safety systems fail to meet current standards, are costly to maintain, contribute to user and staff discomfort, and are unable to support wiring needs for current information technology. The Suzzallo Library's fire alarm system is antiquated and the Library does not have a fire sprinkler system. In addition, the Suzzallo Library meets neither the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), nor those of the Washington State Building code regarding emergency notification, exiting, elevator, or toilet room access.
- Unreinforced masonry walls between the structural frames pose threats to lives in the instance of significant seismic activity. The slender columns of the historic Suzzallo Reading Room cannot withstand a major earthquake without shedding the unreinforced masonry veneer. The anchorage of various building components such as the exterior cladding, the parapet walls, and the towers in Suzzallo is far below the minimum standards established by the study. During a major earthquake, these pieces will fall and may cause injury or death to people who are trying to exit the building or who are standing outside the building.
- The heavy use of the Suzzallo Library gives this building a high life-safety hazard potential. In a typical academic year weekday, over 11,000 students, faculty, staff, and members of the general public enter the combined Suzzallo and Allen Libraries. Suzzallo Library is also open longer hours than most campus buildings, typically 96.5 hours weekly during the academic year.
The Library's protective skin (masonry, glass, and roofing) is aging and needs attention. The outer surfaces have been damaged by water penetration, air pollution and mildew, and require repairing, seismic upgrading, cleaning and coating with a breathable sealer.
The project described here is the First Phase of the total work needed to fully renovate the Suzzallo building. While this project addresses the seismic and infrastructure deficiencies in the 1925 and 1935 sections and provides seismic bracing for the octagon and the 1963 addition, it does not take care of the mechanical, electrical, and communications upgrades needed for the 1963 addition. These and other improvements scheduled for the 1963 addition are part of a future project.
Structural, mechanical, and life-safety:
- Seismic modification of the structure of the Library and repair of the exterior will safeguard lives. With the addition of several concrete shear walls and steel struts linking floors to columns and walls, the entire Library will perform as a single, rigid structure during an earthquake. (At present, the building sections move separately and can hit against each other in a major earthquake.) The exterior brick walls and the masonry parapets, towers, spires, and finials will be reinforced and reattached to the structure. The concrete roof slab will be repaired and reinforced.
- Fire safety systems (detection, alarm, sprinklers) will be added.
- Improved disabled access for entrance, exiting, toilet rooms, and added fire safety features will make the Suzzallo Library more inviting and usable for persons with disabilities.
- The aging electrical system will be brought up to date so that the increased power loads required since it was first installed can be safely accommodated.
- The communication system will be upgraded with increased capacity to support current and future electronic information needs.
- Ventilation, heating, and air handling systems in the 1925 and 1935 sections will be replaced. Leaking pipes which threaten Library collections will be replaced. Inadequately vented public and staff areas will be upgraded.
- The original plumbing in the 1925 building and the 1935 addition, some of it no longer functioning, will be replaced.
Changes to enhance services:
The scope and nature of the major renovation work provide an opportunity at the same time to improve services for all who use the Suzzallo Library. After the seismic work is done, rooms must be reconstructed, and it costs no more at this point to move public service units to a better location or to change the use of a room to improve library service.
- The main Reference and Circulation departments will move to the 1st floor, making them much more visible and accessible to library users.
- The Government Publications department will move to the Ground Floor, and its circulating collection will be shelved in open stacks, available for browsing and self-service use. The Microform and Newspaper Collection also will move to the Ground Floor, bringing these two collections closer together for better service to library users.
- Group study rooms will be created to enable students and faculty to meet as teams, utilizing library resources and networked information. One of the rooms will be specially equipped for use by students with disabilities.
- Two instruction rooms are planned, equipped with computer workstations for hands-on training in Internet, Web, and other electronic information resources.
- An additional reading room on the 1st floor will increase the quiet user study space available in the Suzzallo Library.
- The historic Suzzallo Reading Room will be refurbished and will continue to be devoted to quiet study.
Seismic renovations of older, historic buildings are not inexpensive. Several types of bracing methods must be employed for Suzzallo, from shearwall and foundation work in the 1925 and 1935 sections to floor knitting around the octagon and large metal seismic braces around the perimeter of the 1963 section. The goal is to preserve the appearance of such important spaces as the historic Suzzallo Reading Room and the grand staircase while making them safe. Careful preservation of the detailed cast stone work and carved wood within Suzzallo and the terra cotta and brick on the exterior of the building is a responsibility that has been taken very seriously by the University and by the architects and the contractor chosen to carry through with this renovation project.
Another factor affecting the cost of the Suzzallo Library Renovation is the need to keep the Library open and operating during the entire period of construction. Portions of the building will be closed during various stages, but students and faculty must continue to have access to the collections and the services housed within the Suzzallo library at all times. In order to make this access possible, a complicated series of moves of staff and collections has been planned for each stage of construction. Construction barriers must be air-tight in order to reduce the amount of construction dust that will affect library users, staff, and the collections. It is estimated that the entire project will take 24 months.
Although the University requested construction funding for the Suzzallo Renovation Project from the Legislature, the Project was not funded in the 1997-99 biennium. However, the University's request for funding in the 1999-2001 biennium was successful, and at the end of April 1999, the Legislature voted to fund the project in the amount of $42.6 million. Starting in Summer 1999, after assembling the architectural and construction team, the University and the Libraries worked to reactivate the project, and construction began in Summer 2000.
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