Architecture
The Foundry at 41st Street is an apartment building located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The project began in the fall of 2015 and ended in the spring of 2017. Currently, the building contains 182 apartments in a U-shaped pattern. This building celebrates the steel industry in an area that has always been, and will always be, steel country. The site of the building is famous for its rich history as a foundry and mill. The entire building is clad in metal, giving the exterior an industrial feel. Interestingly, the structure of the building is primarily wood, however, this wood is not exposed. The main function of the building is to house the buildings' occupants, giving them a place to call home. Significant effort was placed on the experience of the resident. Residents have access to a community fire pit, grills, indoor and outdoor gyms, and Bay 4. Bay 4 is located adjacent to the apartment building and consists of the original steel framing from one of the original structures on site.
Building Enclosure
Facades: The exterior of The Foundry at 41st is almost completely clad in metal. The first level, the parking garage, is enclosed by concrete masonry units. These units give way to metal cladding approximately half way between the first and second floors that continues to the roof. The metal clad style of façade mimics the façade of the previous steel factory located on the site. In the image below, three main façade colors on the original structure are visible. Metallic gray, rust, and green were chosen for The Foundry at 41st to mimic the original buildings. These colors are spread across the façade in a seemingly random pattern, similar to that of the original structure.
Large glass windows are present in all of the apartments. Mullions break the large windows into smaller pieces. Additionally, many apartments have decks with sliding glass doors and a glass railing system. Door glass is comprised of 1/2" tempered translucent glass. Window glass is comprised of 1" clear insulated glass and 1" insulated glass with a ceramic frit pattern.
Construction:
Construction began on The Foundry at 41st in the fall of 2015 and was completed in the spring of 2017. The Foundry at 41st is primarily constructed of concrete, steel, and wood. Prior to any building construction, soil borings were taken and the site was properly graded. Due to the existing soil conditions, a deep foundation system of augercast piles was placed. This was followed by masonry stair and elevator towers extending the full height of the building. Then, steel was erected on the first level and wood was used in the remaining levels to build the structure of the building. Next, interior and exterior finishes were completed. Lastly, landscaping including additional plantings and paving was completed on the site.
Electrical:
The electrical system throughout The Foundry at 41st is relatively standard for residential construction. 120-volt and 240-volt power has been wired into each apartment. The circuits primarily run on 120-volt power. However, as the majority of apartments contain washers, dryers, and ovens, these devices run on the higher 240-volt power. For circuits less than 100 feet, #12 AWG wire was used. From there, as circuit length increases to 150 feet, 250 feet, and greater than 250 feet, wire size increases to #10 AWG, #8 AWG, and #6 AWG respectively. Additionally, neutral wires were used for each individual branch circuits and not allowed to be shared. Electrical penetrations through all walls and floors were required to have fire stops matching the fire resistance of the walls and floors they travel through.
Lighting:
The first floor contains a wide variety of lamps and fixture styles as this area is the common space and contains spaces such as a game room, activity rooms, public restrooms, offices, fitness rooms, and more. The remaining levels are then similar to each other. Each hallway is lined with 8’ wide distribution linear fixtures running at a color temperature of 3000K. The apartments are organized into 8 different room types, each containing a different lighting fixture layout. These lights are primarily track lighting systems, auxiliary area lights, and bathroom exhaust/light fixtures. Similar to the hallway lights, these fixtures emit light at a temperature of 3000K.
Mechanical:
The Foundry at 41st is comprised of two occupancy types and two types of mechanical systems. The first level is primarily supplied through two rooftop air handling units while the upper five levels contain package terminal air conditioning units in each apartment to heat and cool the rooms as desired by the occupants. The residential apartments are organized into 8 typical layouts. Duct sizes range from 8” to 12” in diameter depending on the size of the apartment. Exhaust air is taken out of the bathrooms through a light/exhaust fan at a minimum rate of 75 cubic feet per minute. Additionally, the apartments that contain washers and dryers were provided with 4” exhaust ducts connecting the dryers to the exterior of the building.
Structural:
The structure of this building utilizes two primary structural systems. The first floor acts as a steel podium for the remainder of the wood structure. Load travels from each residential floor of the building into 16” TJI 360 floor joists spaced at 24” OC. These joists then transfer loads onto wood bearing walls consisting of #2 Douglas Fir-Larch spaced at 16” on center. This structure runs from the roof down to the second floor. At the second floor, load is distributed through a 5 ¼” composite concrete deck onto steel joists and girders below. These joists and girders then transfer the loads into wide flange columns. The columns transfer loads into pile caps and ultimately into augercast piles which send the loads into the ground. The design live load on the residential floors was 40 psf while 100 psf was used for the public rooms per the International Building Code. The majority of the bearing walls in the structure are sheathed with either oriented strand board, plywood, or gypsum wall board. On the first floor, steel angles form braced frames in 13 locations. These braced frames, in addition to the sheathed walls above, provide the lateral stability the structure needs to resist wind and seismic loads.
Fire Protection:
As previously mentioned, The Foundry at 41st contains two building types, Type IA and Type IIIB. Type I construction requires that the majority of the structure be constructed of noncombustible materials. Type III construction requires that exterior walls be of noncombustible materials but allows for interior building elements to be constructed from any material permitted by code. Fire-retardant-treated wood framing was used on the exterior walls of the building to comply with this code. Between the first and second floors, 3 hours of fire protection is required and was provided for all interior and exterior bearing walls. Though the 2nd floor slab was required to have a fire rating of two hours, a rating of three hours was provided. Between the remainder of the floors and between each dwelling unit, ½ hour of fire protection was required but 1 hour was provided. This 1-hour rating was primarily accomplished through 1 hour rated gypsum board. In each apartment there is a fire extinguisher. Additionally, in each hallway there are several fire extinguishers depending on the length of the hallway. Fire alarms were also placed in each of the hallways per code requirements and smoke detectors are located in each apartment. As dictated by fire codes, maximum occupancy was calculated for the residential building to be 1,857 people.
Transportation:
Concrete masonry units were used to create three stair towers and two elevator shafts that run from the ground floor of the building up to the 6th floor. On each floor of the structure, people move through the center of the building through long corridors.
Telecommunications:
Telecommunication cables were placed in order to supply cable and internet to each apartment. Though it is the responsibility of the tenants to choose a provider and internet/cable plan, the cables have been run to support the residents’ needs. Two-way communication systems are also located in each elevator to connect passengers with emergency personal in the case of an emergency.
Security:
Security design was completed for The Foundry at 41st and consists of locks, security cameras, card swipes, and more. The majority of the exterior parking lot and first floor are monitored by security cameras. Additionally, many rooms on the first floor are secured through swipe access.
History and Sustainability Features
The site of The Foundry at 41st has a lengthy history. Beginning in 1869, a foundry was built on the site under the leadership of Seaman-Sleeth Company. This foundry was renovated and updated several times. After several transitions of ownership and 130 years later, the site began to mill steel decking under the direction of Alexander Simakas. After 11 years, the mill ceased operation and was developed into what is known today as The Foundry at 41st. By re-purposing this building from an abandoned foundry and mill to an apartment building, a brownfield was turned into a beautiful apartment complex. As part of this re-purposing, Bay 4 was created. Bay 4 was one of the bays in the previous foundry. Today, residents can enjoy a plaza under this existing bay of steel. The area hosts events such as markets, concerts, private events, and more.
Roofing: The majority of the roof is comprised of a roof membrane system sloping down to drains. In the north west corner of the building at the 6th floor is a roof terrace consisting of a pedestal paver system.