GVSU Seidman Center
Photo credit: Integrated Architecture; Pioneer Construction; Paul Hart Photography
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Architect: Integrated Architecture
Contractor: Pioneer Construction
Square Footage: 120,000
Construction Cost: 33,000,000
The GVSU L. W. Seidman Center is a new four-story LEED-certified building located alongside the Grand River on GVSU’s downtown Grand Rapids campus, and houses the school’s College of Business. The project consisted of the Brownfield redevelopment of a previously developed and contaminated site, including the demolition of an abandoned four-story concrete building.
The new structure consists of four levels of structural steel framing with composite concrete slabs and a steel truss mansard roof. Building foundations presented the largest challenge, as the in-situ soils were not adequate for supporting the building. The ground improvement system of Controlled Modulus Columns was utilized to stiffen the existing soils, providing a suitable subgrade for conventional shallow foundations. A four foot thick base partially consisting of crushed concrete from the existing building acted as a load distribution “platform” between the building foundations and the CMC’s.
