RDH served as the facade structural engineering consultant, engaged by the Kawneer Collaborative—a specialized team within Kawneer Company, Inc. Our scope included design-assist support, structural and thermal calculations for submittals, and shop drawings for one of our most complex projects to date, marked by significant geometric and material challenges. The building’s rotated and offset levels encourage movement between labs, classrooms, and social spaces—an approach that introduced extensive variation in facade geometry and detailing.
Enclosure performance depended on how the large-format unitized curtain wall accommodated building movement and atypical support conditions. Further complexity arose from the integration of triangular glazing and GFRC diagonal and spandrel elements. These panels were connected to full-story steel trusses using highly customized anchors designed to handle differential live load deflections along the top chord of the truss as well as the significant seismic movement. RDH developed a tailored support strategy, including a mid-span rocking dead-load anchor with corner key-hole wind load anchors. This approach managed building movements, enabled seismic resilience and maintained continuous air, water, and thermal performance.
Although the architectural drawings suggested repetition, the BIM model revealed substantial complexity. RDH collaborated with the design team, manufacturer and the glazing contractor, Aragon Construction, to align performance, constructability, and design intent— resulting in a comprehensive set of shop drawings with hundreds of details tailored to variable conditions across the enclosure.
The Robert Day Sciences Center stands as both a technical and visual achievement. For RDH, it represents a milestone in facade and structural engineering—demonstrating how precise enclosure design can enable ambitious architecture and long-term durability. The project also led to a subsequent commission to develop a new window wall system for Kawneer, underscoring RDH’s role as a trusted technical partner.
