A 36,000-square-foot Army National Guard facility included 5,793-square-foot assembly area, approximately a 75-foot square. This area featured a hip roof capped by a skylight, with the area underneath clear of framing.

The Point of Rocks, MD engineering team recommended that the layout be changed from a one-way system to a two-way grid, using four primary three-pitched scissor members intersecting at the corners of the skylight. This evenly distributed the reactions from the hip girders and half-scissor joists within the grid, allowing equal chord sizes on all four sides of the skylight. Design was in STAAD and detailing in AutoCAD.

Although the new design required complex splices, it avoided potential complications in the initial design. As a result, the steel was used more efficiently and improved the look of the architecturally-exposed frame.

• Fabricating plant: Point of Rocks, MD
• Steel Fabricator: Marysville Steel
• Drawings prepared by InteliBuild