June 2006
tion may be given to whether or not this can be reduced and still accommodate all minor floor
depressions without compromising clear dimensions established for service subzones and
channels.
313.5.5 Shear Elements: Reference is to UBC earthquake zone 3. VA Standard for Seismic
Design is document H-18-8, which adopts the latest edition of the IBC with modifications, nota-
bly a story drift limit of 50% of the IBC values. Comparison of wind and earthquake loads
should be removed.
314.1.2 Vertical Loads: The Red Book refers to two basic live load values on main floor ele-
ments of 75 psf and 115 psf. These include 15 psf from the interstitial level (reduced from 25
psf) combined with either 60 or 100 psf for the main floors. The 25 psf load should be continued
for interstitial levels, and a 80 psf live load plus a 20 psf partition load should be used for the de-
sign of the main floors at all locations. This allows the relocation of corridors in the future with-
out concern for floor loading demands and eliminates the need for two different live loads.
314.1.3 Vertical Loads: Remove the note that refers to the National Building Code. The IBC
shall be used for all loading designations.
314.1.4 Vertical Loads: Revise Table 310-1 to remove the Modified Class 115 Loading desig-
nation and combine it with Special Loading. Change the partition loads in Table 310-2 from 25
to 20 psf. The topping slab load should be "Applicable DL" instead of 25 psf since it may vary for
different projects. Change Uniform Live Loads to 80 psf for all locations as noted previously. To-
tal Live Load on the main floor elements therefore becomes 95 psf (since 25 psf at interstitial
level can be reduced to 15 psf per note 3).
314.1.5 Vertical Loads: Modify the first sentence in this section to reflect changes described
above.
314.2 Lateral Loads: Reference should be made to VA Document H-18-8 for seismic design
and IBC for general lateral load design.
Amend Section 314 to add new subsection 314.3
as follows.
314.3 Blast Loading: VA now has requirements
for the consideration of blast loadings. Two
documents need to be considered. The first is
"Department of Veterans Affairs Physical Security
VA Medical Center
Strategies Report", dated May 13, 2005. The
Martinsburg, WV, 1983
second is "ISC Security Design Criteria for New
Federal Office Buildings and Major Modernization Projects", dated September 29, 2004. The
engineer is required to consider progressive collapse of the structure. This may be a major de-
terminant in the selection of the structural system.
315.1 Fire Protection: Structures shall be fire resistive construction in accordance with Na-
tional Fire Protection Association (NFPA) National Fire Codes and International Building Code
(IBC). Refer to VA Fire Protection Design Manual for additional guidance. As of the date of this
Supplement, there have been only two full-scale fire tests of complete assemblies for the inter-
stitial system. These tests were conducted by US Department of Commerce
SUPPLEMENT TO RESEARCH STUDY REPORT
VA HOSPITAL BUILDING SYSTEM
SECTION 4-8
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