MMI provided structural and civil engineering services for a new building addition on the existing Loyola University campus. The Structural scope involved demolition of an existing library structure to make room for a new three-story, 35,000 square foot building that would provide additional office and seminar space as well as a chapel for the students at the university. The elevated floors of the structure were designed with structural steel consisting of composite steel beams and a composite concrete on metal deck floor while the first floor was designed around a conventionally reinforced concrete slab and beam system. Support of the structure against lateral loads, such as wind and seismic, utilized a combination of beam-column moment frames and braced frames. The entire structure was supported on wood-concrete composite piles and was modeled using RAM, a finite element analysis and design program. The Civil scope for the project included new utilities, drainage, grading, and sidewalk paving around the facility.

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A few of the unique features of the project include an arched chapel roof, concealed brick lintels, and new foundation work that required coordination with the existing foundations of the original library structure and existing utility lines. In an effort to minimize difficult demolition operations related to the existing foundations that were located well below the new construction, new building foundations had to be configured on a location specific basis to avoid existing foundations that were to remain. Along the entire west side of the building, where existing active utility lines were present, foundation elements were designed to be held back from the utilities creating eccentric column foundations in order to avoid costly rerouting of these lines.