Saiful Bouquet is the structural engineer for the new Spinal Cord Injury Institute and Community Living Center, a multi-story 115,000 sq. ft. facility for VA San Diego Healthcare. The building includes a total of 88 inpatient/outpatient beds, including a new 45-Bed Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Institute and a 43-bed 44,000 sq. ft. Community Living Center (CLC). A few of the key features of the new building include Acute Care, Long Term Care, Research Areas, Therapeutic Pool, Rooftop Garden, and connections to the existing hospital. The building is designed to be LEED Certified.
Based on the VA H-18-8 Seismic Design Requirements, the new bed tower is identified as a Critical facility and adheres to some of the most restrictive seismic design criteria. Furthermore, as a VA Hospital, the building has been designed for blast resistance which includes preventing progressive collapse. Progressive collapse design includes requirements to prevent the spread of an initial local failure due to blast from one element to another element which could eventually result in building collapse. To meet these restrictive criteria, the building is a structural steel building utilizing moment frames around the perimeter of the building with Sideplate moment connections to prevent progressive collapse. Buckling-restrained braced frames were strategically located at the interior of the building to provide additional stiffness and strength for the stringent seismic design requirements. The foundation system consists of both spread footings and pile foundations that support the building on the local dense Scripps Formation.
