The French Lick Event Center Expansion

This $12,500,000 expansion adds over 58,000 square feet to the existing 109,000 square feet of event space at the French Lick Resort in French Lick, Indiana.  The expansion design includes 8 breakout rooms and a 22,000 square foot ballroom with three sections to allow multiple configurations.  Multiple uses for the Event Center include conventions, meetings, car shows, and trade shows.

Silver Creek Engineering provided all structural design services for the expansion.  Our scope included submitting sealed drawings to the state, developing gravity and lateral loads, designing the gravity and lateral resisting systems, producing drawings and specifications, reviewing shop drawings and submittals, and providing construction support and site observations.

The new addition is an L-shaped building that fits between three existing structures:  a pre-engineered golf facility, a post-tensioned concrete parking garage, and the steel Event Center building.
 

The ground level of the new building is designed to be used for guest car traffic and semi trailer deliveries while the main floor, 20 ft. above the ground level, contains a convention space with 22 ft. high ceilings as well as office space, meeting rooms, restrooms, and storage space with 16 ft. high ceilings.  An elevated walkway facilitates the flow of people from the back of the existing Event Center to the new addition.  An elevated vehicle ramp, extending from the main level to a nearby road, serves as a loading dock for deliveries.  The ramp will also be used to move automobiles in and out of the building for car shows. 
 

The new structure is made up of steel moment frames and X-braced frames with a concrete slab-on-steel framing and steel joist floor system.  The roof is composed of steel moment frames and 126 ft. long span steel moment joist frames.  The exterior façades are covered in EFIS veneer to match the Event Center.

Given the height and layout of the addition, special considerations had to be taken into account for the lateral and foundation systems so that the new addition would not collide with the existing structures from a code prescribed seismic or wind event.

In order to achieve adequate overhead clearance while accommodating the HVAC and electrical systems necessary for a large multi-use space in a relatively small plenum, we designed floor support systems with minimal depth in the loading dock areas, used metal deck with deep flutes to hide electrical conduits, and coordinated joist designs between the mechanical engineers and joist manufacturers.

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The new structure is made up of steel moment frames and X-braced frames with a concrete slab-on-steel framing and steel joist floor system.  The roof is composed of steel moment frames and 126 ft. long span steel moment joist frames.  The exterior façades are covered in EFIS veneer to match the Event Center.

Given the height and layout of the addition, special considerations had to be taken into account for the lateral and foundation systems so that the new addition would not collide with the existing structures from a code prescribed seismic or wind event.

In order to achieve adequate overhead clearance while accommodating the HVAC and electrical systems necessary for a large multi-use space in a relatively small plenum, we designed floor support systems with minimal depth in the loading dock areas, used metal deck with deep flutes to hide electrical conduits, and coordinated joist designs between the mechanical engineers and joist manufacturers.