Bob Evans Farms, Inc. has a new corporate headquarters built by Corna Kokosing Construction Company in New Albany, Ohio. Modern style infused with the farming traditions of the company’s heritage comes to life at the new headquarters in a two-story structure with a unique truss system supplied by Vulcraft.
Corna Kokosing Construction worked with the Vulcraft team to engineer a custom roof joist system that was lighter and more economical than steel fabricated truss. The original concept for the roof system would have included steel fabrication trusses with wood decking, bearing on structural steel framing. This approach proved to be too heavy and costly. The Vulcraft team worked to value-engineer a lighter, less expensive design unique to this project. The custom roof joist system replaced the steel fabricated truss.
The main building contains a total of 77 unique joists in three different configurations, with a total weight of 83 tons. Scissor Special Joists with various top and bottom cords were used along with a 3N/3NA 20 Ga. steel roof deck and 3”VLPA 20/20 Ga. steel floor deck.
The trusses needed to have unique panel point locations to handle the calculated load of the wood planked deck. The space along the center of the trusses needed to allow for exposed ductwork. The project has three different length configurations, but required the same panel points for aesthetics. Vulcraft designed, fabricated and shipped the joists in one piece to the site. They manufactured a joist that spanned more than 60 feet with a three inch extension on both ends. The joists were 13 feet six inches deep with sloped bottom cord members.
The custom joist system kept the project on budget and provided an aesthetic appeal that met the needs of the architect and owner. The design of the joists allowed the builders to reduce the entire weight of the steel system, which reduced the structural framing and footer sizes. The lighter joist and use of bolted x-bridging allowed for less temporary bracing, faster erection time and reduced crane size.
For their work on the project, KJWW Engineering Consultants was recognized as a winner of the 2014 NuHeights Design Awards by Vulcraft/Verco Group. The NuHeights Design Awards recognize outstanding design, architecture and the diverse applications of building with steel.