Surveys, Studies and Investigations
Ehlert Bryan offers a variety of services to complement our design and repair work. These services provide building owners with the data needed to make informed decisions and develop project goals.
Condition Assessments
Feasibility Studies
For many projects, the structural implications of the proposed work is unknown and can potentially make or break a project. During the conceptual (or “dreaming”) phases of a project, Ehlert Bryan can work alongside an owner or architect to develop structural schemes that can support the project’s vision. Through our creativity, we are able to make visions a reality that were previously deemed impractical or too expensive. For these studies, structural analysis is often performed to validate conceptual ideas, and our deliverable is typically a report and corresponding sketches or drawings.
Value Engineering (VE)
Our team can provide insight to the overall constructability of the project considering contractor staging areas, sequencing of construction, site accessibility and public safety during construction. We review all disciplines and take a team approach to each and every study.
Examples of past VE studies include:
- Collegiate campus expansions
- Government buildings such as the General Assembly building and garage expansion in Richmond
- New fire stations
- Police stations
- Penal institutions
- Various Municipal buildings such as waste water and transportation facilities
- Affordable housing project renovations and expansions.
Performing a VE study can potentially save clients millions of dollars, and the ideal time to conduct one is at the end of the Design Development phase. This allows for course corrections to occur throughout the remainder of the design, which helps to keep the project on time and within budget.
Progressive Collapse
Many General Services Administration (GSA), Department of Defense (DoD), and other federal, state and local government agency projects require that new and existing building structures be designed to mitigate the risk of progressive collapse. We perform progressive collapse analyses per both the GSA and DoD (UFC) requirements.
We offer a highly technical approach to progressive collapse analysis, often using 3D finite element models to perform non-linear, dynamic and time-history analyses that can have a substantial impact on the efficiency and cost of the increased structural resilience.
Additional services include, but are not limited to:
- Seismic Certifications
- Due Diligence Reports
- Forensic Investigation
- Constructability Reviews