MuseumLab: Structural Engineering Solutions that Support a New Chapter in Learning
Back in 2017, AES began working on a unique adaptive reuse of the former Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny building. Originally built in 1890, this facility is on the National Register of Historic Places and now stands as the “largest cultural campus for children in the United States,” attracting patrons with kids 10+ years of age who can explore a variety of exhibits and learning opportunities in art, technology, and making.
MuseumLab recently won an Architizer A+ Jury Award for the Cultural-Museum category, and additionally brought home the AIA Pittsburgh Silver Award within the Large Project category. Despite the extensive renovation work done in the structure to transform it into the facility that it is today, much of the original structure was intentionally left to give tribute to its rich history and cultural heritage.
“Traditional restoration was not affordable and the emerging archeology of the building clearly offered as an exhibit, in and of itself, a discovery about how things are made.”
Working closely with the design team of Koning Eizenberg Architecture, PWWG Architects, Mascaro Construction, Iams Consulting, LLC, BranchPattern, BABICHacoustics, Langan Engineering, and Clio Consulting, AES provided several creative structural engineering solutions that brought the architectural visions of the design team to life.
One of the most significant components of the project - one that patrons and visitors immediately experience upon entering the building - is a custom floor infill structure constructed for a new gathering space. This infill structure features custom-fabricated tapered steel beams with unique saddle supports to bridge existing arched wall openings. Several other smaller floor infills were required to facilitate the interconnection between other disconnected floor areas. This is also the area showcasing the keystone aesthetic element of the facility titled “Over View” by FreelandBuck.
Above this central gathering space, a new raised roof was constructed along with a suspended interconnecting “bridge” to tie together previously disconnected floor areas within the building. This bridge is uniquely suspended on one end from the roof structure, creatively and frugally providing support where no elements existed beneath.
The project also included new stairs and an elevator for vertical circulation, along with the retrofitting of original library stack structures to accommodate an interactive youth climbing exhibit incorporating custom netting installed between stack components.
Various other modifications to the building were undertaken, including new floor and wall penetrations for the upgrading of the mechanical systems, and the addition of new external egress stairs. All of these structural modifications, along with the exemplary work and solutions provided by the other design professionals involved in the project, contributed to the successful adaptive reuse of the former Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny building into a new facility that now benefits families and youth within the Greater Pittsburgh region.
This article was co-authored by Evan Rowles, PE, and Matt Kaufman, CPSM. Evan was the Principal-in-Charge for AES’s MuseumLab structural design team, overseeing all of the structural solutions that the firm provided to help make this project a success.