Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building Renovation & Seismic Upgrades

The Bennett Federal Building is an eight-story office building constructed in the early 1960s. Big-D constructed a high-performance seismic upgrade, and renovated the main entrance, lobby, and parking structure. The building was seismically retrofitted with 344 unbonded braces manufactured by Nippon Steel. This state-of-the-art Buckling-Restrained Braced Frame (BRB) system saved more than $2.5 million and two months of construction duration. The aging precast exterior cladding was replaced with an attractive, blast-resistant, and energy-efficient glass and stone curtain wall system. Seismic upgrades also included additional footings, shear walls and reinforcement of the elevator core. The Bennett Building was among the first few projects of its kind in the country and the first federally owned building to use buckling-restrained brace technology. Challenges included PCB and asbestos abatement and construction on an occupied building. Big-D completed the renovations in only one year, with minimum disruption to the more than 600 tenants.