Educational Projects

Nielsen-Baumert Engineering, Inc. has designed several university dormitories similar to the Scott Village Dormitory pictured at left. This project included a four-story dormitory framed with reinforced concrete to create 55,000 square feet of living space and a 26,000 square-foot single story commons building. After the completion of this project, Nielsen-Baumert Engineering, Inc. designed the structures for ten 3-story wood apartments and associated commons building for the Scott Village site.

Other typical Nielsen-Baumert Engineering, Inc. dormitory projects include the design of the structures for the Swanson Hall Renovation Project and the new McGloin Hall for Creighton University in Omaha, NE; and new wood framed apartment style student housing units and associated storm shelter for Hastings College in Hastings, NE.

        The George W. Beadle Center Biomaterials Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was completed in 1995 at a cost of $23,700,000. The concrete framed building has three stories (plus partial basement), with 132,000 square feet for classrooms, laboratories, and an auditorium. There are numerous large utility tunnels, air intake tunnels, and high bay areas.
        Due to vibration concerns, the primary floor framing system consists of cast-in-place wide pan joists with integral concrete beams and columns. The long span auditorium roof was framed with precast double tees. Sloping roofs were framed with steel beams, light gage metal framing and standing seam roof deck.
        Beadle Center presented numerous structural challenges. The concrete joist layout required for the laboratories resulted in joists being offset from the column lines, which required unique detailing in the design of the lateral load resisting moment frames. Due to the plan dimensions of the structure, building expansion joints were desirable, but not practical due to the intricate nature of the facade in combination with the configuration of the metal roof; therefore pour delay strips were utilized in lieu of expansion joints to control shrinkage cracking. The steel framed roof, along with numerous tall brick clad ventilation "chimneys" resulted in a multitude of concentrated loads being superimposed on the top level of concrete framing, requiring close coordination of those loads with the design of the concrete beam/joist system.

Nielsen-Baumert Engineering, Inc. performed the structural engineering for the Creighton University Beirne Tower Medical Research Facility pictured at left, which was a six-story addition to the existing Criss Laboratory Facility in Omaha, Nebraska.
The tower was constructed using flat, cast-in-place concrete slabs with integral concrete beams and columns. Renovation of the existing facility included the addition of steel framed penthouses at the two ends of the structure. Also included was the addition of a new freight elevator, which required new openings in the existing floors and an intrusion mortar pile foundation system installed under low overhead clearance conditions.

A unique feature of the tower was the use of a large walk-through masonry arch at ground level, which was suspended from the concrete frame with structural steel framing.

        Located on the Creighton University campus, the project included three buildings for student housing interconnected with enclosed walkways. Each of the three buildings is a three-story wood framed structure featuring apartment style housing. The total floor space for the three buildings is 110,000 square feet and houses approximately 250 students.
        The primary roof and floor framing for the buildings consist of pre-engineered wood trusses and load bearing wood stud walls. The exterior walls are brick veneer. One of the buildings has a basement area that serves as a storm shelter for the occupants of all three buildings.
        The project was designed and built using fast-track methods. A structural foundation package was released shortly after design development was completed to allow the Contractor an early start. The Contractor utilized prefabricated wood panel walls to speed up framing erection. The total construction cost for the project was approximately $10,200,000.

Nielsen-Baumert Engineering, Inc. designed the structure for the residence hall at left with 91,000 square feet of floor space. McGloin Hall is a five-story residence hall tower located on the Creighton University campus in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The framing system for the hall consists of cast-in-place concrete slabs, beams and columns. The exterior walls are covered with a masonry veneer. The project was completed in 1998 with a construction cost of $9,500,000.
The photo on the bottom shows the typical floor designed by Nielsen-Baumert Engineering, Inc. being formed and reinforced in preparation for the next concrete placement.

The following is a partial list of other educational facilities with structural design performed by Nielsen-Baumert Engineering, Inc.:

· OPS - Chandler View Elementary - Omaha, NE

·        Emerson Elementary School - Columbus, NE
·        Centennial Elementary School - Columbus, NE
·        Humphrey Public School Addition/Remodel - Humphrey, NE
·        OPS George Beadle Middle School - Omaha, NE
·        NE Community College - Activities Center - Norfolk, NE
·        NE Community College - Ag & Technology Complex - Norfolk, NE

· Mercy High School - Music Room Addition - Omaha, NE

·        Columbus High School Addition/Renovation - Columbus, NE
·        St James / Seton School Addition and Remodel - Omaha, NE
·        Wilson Junior High School Addition and Remodel - Council Bluffs, IA
·        OPS - Mountview Elementary - Omaha, NE