Project Guidelines
The program is for a Government Office Building in Omaha, Nebraska along the Missouri River. The building was originally constructed as a LEED Gold regional office building for the National Park Service (Department of the Interior). For the purpose of this competition, teams should now assume that the project will be a new construction of a federal multi-agency building to be managed by the General Services Administration (GSA) with significant building security requirements.
The Government Office Building should be designed assuming a High Asset Value at a High Homeland Security Threat Condition as per FEMA-426. In addition, it has been identified at a Level III GSA classification according to the Department of Justice guidelines. Due to these criteria, it is anticipated that the design of the engineered building systems will change significantly from the original program. The architecture may also need to be modified accordingly, with appropriate rationale/justification combined with sensitivity to the program and architecture of the provided preliminary design documents.
Space programming for the new building is shown on the schematic plan. The supplied plans, elevations, and sections are a schematic allocation of the services for this project. The supplied plans and program information may be modified based on the concepts of the design submittal. The floor plan can be rearranged. However, any room size changes should be supported with reason and rationale. The intent of the architectural programming as shown in the schematic drawings shall not be modified by eliminating spaces. The exact final dimensions of the building shall be determined by the project team.
A soils report for the project site is also included.
The submittals shall address the following as a minimum:
* Design of Building with a High Homeland Security Threat Condition
Design criteria for this building should all strive to reduce physical damage to buildings, related infrastructure, and people caused
by terrorist assaults. Appropriate mitigation efforts should be utilized throughout the design process.
* High Performance Building
The building shall be designed to integrate and optimize on a life cycle basis all major high performance attributes, including energy
conservation, environment, safety, building security, durability, accessibility, cost-benefit, productivity, sustainability, functionality
and operational considerations. Information technology maintenance and upgrade, without interfering with daily routines shall be
considered.
Schematic Drawings for the competition:
Download a complete copy of the Competition PROGRAM.
Code Information
It is the responsibility of the design teams to research and apply the proper design codes as applicable for the local building department and for use by a government client as of September 1, 2011. Information concerning local building codes can be found with the City of Omaha Permits and Inspection Division.
Eligibility
The competition is open to both graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in the accredited architectural engineering programs and programs actively seeking accreditation by EAC/ABET, supervised and advised by faculty. Students that are not enrolled in an accredited architectural engineering program or programs actively seeking accreditation by EAC/ABET may be members of the team but may not be the team leader.
It is anticipated that teams will consist of 2-3 students per category and teams may include a maximum of ten participants. A team leader shall be designated as the point-of-contact for the purposes of the competition and shall be responsible for all correspondence and submittals. The team leader shall be a graduate or undergraduate student in an ABET-accredited architectural engineering program. The other members of the team may be graduate or undergraduate students in other schools or programs. Participants are limited to competing on only one team and teams are prohibited from using help from students not officially listed on the team. All team members shall have student memberships in AEI. There is no cost for AEI student memberships and applications are available at AEI Student Application.
Each school/program may have multiple teams competing. However, only one team may be working on the same design solution. In addition, each team leader must be a member of an AEI student chapter in good standing. In order to be in good standing, the AEI student chapter must provide current contact information and submit a chapter report as required by the AEI Student Bylaws. Please note that annual dues for AEI student chapters will be waived for all chapters who have one or more teams participating in the competition.
The official list of team participants shall be submitted at the time of registration and confirmed at the time of submittal. Any changes to the team composition, at any point in the competition, must be justified and approved in advance in writing.
Faculty/Professional Responsibility
The entries are expected to be the students’ own work under faculty supervision and advisement. Faculty and/or professional consultants shall not directly participate in the design work. The extent of faculty and/or professional consultant involvement shall be limited to answering questions, providing references and general guidance, and providing general feedback, as would be expected for a capstone design project. Individual schools and/or programs may offer course credit for participation in the competition.
