Project Description:

The new Gerald Ratner Athletic Center at the University of Chicago's Hyde Park campus will include the Olympic-sized Myers-McLoraine Pool, a competition gymnasium, health club facilities and a University of Chicago Hall of Fame.  The center was designed by Cesar Pelli, designer of the Petronas Towers in Malaysia.  The project was awarded the 2003 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement of the Year award by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the 2004 Project of the Year Overall by Midwest Construction News.

ecs Involvement:

·         ECS provided subsurface exploration, in-situ pressuremeter testing and geotechnical engineering for the project.  Significant challenges resulted from the differential settlement criteria for the cable-supported roof.  To address these concerns, geotechnical design recommendations included conventional shallow foundations along with ground modification using triple-fluid jet-grouting technology to reduce the compressibility of a layer of stiff silty clay beneath the roof masts.  This was the first time this technique was ever used in Chicago. 

·         ECS provided environmental site assessment services to characterize the on-site soils for potential contaminates of concern (COCs) associated with past commercial and residential use of the property including semi-volatile organic compounds and metals.  Environmental services included soil and ground water sampling and laboratory analysis of collected samples.  ECS completed a risk assessment to evaluate soils and ground water for disposal requirements and for construction worker safety/exposure potential.  After evaluation of both fill and natural site soils ECS assisted the project team in a staging plan to utilize on-site soils and eliminated off site disposal of potentially impacted material.