Devon Energy Center

[Kerry]

I wasn't doing it either but you're not thinking three deminsionally. The columns are staying in the same place. They're just ever so slightly being placed further inward towards the elevator cores, thus giving the slight angle we will eventually notice.

I would think the columns will stay in the exact same place all the way to the roof. They are supporting the weight of the building. If they start moving the columns off center from the column below then weight is shifted to the floor. That would be bad. The tapper will come from just not building the floor so far out from the columns. If it is 20' feet from the column to the edge of the building, the next floor it will be 19'6", or whatever the actual measurment will be.

[Snowman]

I would think the columns will stay in the exact same place all the way to the roof. They are supporting the weight of the building. If they start moving the columns off center from the column below then weight is shifted to the floor. That would be bad. The tapper will come from just not building the floor so far out from the columns. If it is 20' feet from the column to the edge of the building, the next floor it will be 19'6", or whatever the actual measurment will be.

They don't have that much room to give all the way up, until you get to the crown their are just not very extreme angle in the curtain walls slope. Most of the weight is supported by the core anyway and with every wall having the same slope it is very stable distribution of force from the structure above and should have a higher ability to absorb lateral force applied than if they were true vertical.

[bluedogok]

It is pretty easy to shift columns, especially in a concrete column building but it can be done with steel framing as well. You build a bit more at the floor to transfer the load to the column below. The Maxus Energy Tower (or at least what it used to be called) in Downtown Dallas has the columns shift out on every floor as the glass slopes out from the base to the cap increasing square footage on the way up. We offset footings and structures all the time in renovations to get things to work, sometimes you have to build in transfer beams and such to spread the load out.

[ljbab728]

I wasn't doing it either but you're not thinking three deminsionally. The columns are staying in the same place. They're just ever so slightly being placed further inward towards the elevator cores, thus giving the slight angle we will eventually notice.

I am thinking three deminsionally. I just commented that you can't see it from the pics. The columns and the floor plates still appear to be exactly perpendicular. As I said, it may not be to noticeable until the exterior panels are in place in that area.

[Kerry]

It is pretty easy to shift columns, especially in a concrete column building but it can be done with steel framing as well. You build a bit more at the floor to transfer the load to the column below. The Maxus Energy Tower (or at least what it used to be called) in Downtown Dallas has the columns shift out on every floor as the glass slopes out from the base to the cap increasing square footage on the way up. We offset footings and structures all the time in renovations to get things to work, sometimes you have to build in transfer beams and such to spread the load out.

Thanks for the info bluedog. Are the columns supporting just the floor on top of the column or every floor above?

[OSUPeterson]

I would think the columns will stay in the exact same place all the way to the roof. They are supporting the weight of the building. If they start moving the columns off center from the column below then weight is shifted to the floor. That would be bad. The tapper will come from just not building the floor so far out from the columns. If it is 20' feet from the column to the edge of the building, the next floor it will be 19'6", or whatever the actual measurment will be.

Most of the structure in this type of building is supported through the core. They will be moving the support columns inward as the taper starts. There is no way they would build 20' of flooring out from the main structural columns, they are near the edge. Placing that much weight that acts as a cantilever, to be supported by the curtain wall (glass panels) would be interesting.

When saying that moving the supports in would fail the flooring, you need to look at the building as a system. The force would be applied across the entire area of the reinforced floor and transmitted into the core and exterior supports. The rebar reinforcement does a lot of this work.

I would assume secondary supports similar to trusses would be used to support the curtain wall as it starts to become more horizontal. I would assume that the supports would move in slightly and larger heads are placed on each support as they start to taper the building. I am an engineer, but I don't specialize in structural or civil so I may be wrong.

[bluedogok]

Thanks for the info bluedog. Are the columns supporting just the floor on top of the column or every floor above?

Typically in a steel framed building the columns are there to carry the load above and in many cases may be more than one floor tall. Beams/joists carry the floor load and transmit the load to the columns.

In cast-in-place concrete framed buildings the design is different since you don't have the joists normally, you have beams in the place of heavy loads.
Here are some pics from the second floor of JDM Place during construction showing how those cast-in-place columns and floor are done. The only beams under the floor were around the old freight elevator and perimeter.

[Dulahey]

Just a few notes here.

First, the columns ARE supporting a large load. The design of the columns on the lower floors are by far the strongest ever to be built in Oklahoma. The core, while also supporting some vertical load, is mostly there to resist shear.

The columns are not "shifting" in the taper. They're actually slowly being bent inwards. And based on sketch ups you would not be able to see the tapering in the previous picture that you guys were referring to.

[Kerry]

Just a few notes here.

First, the columns ARE supporting a large load. The design of the columns on the lower floors are by far the strongest ever to be built in Oklahoma. The core, while also supporting some vertical load, is mostly there to resist shear.

The columns are not "shifting" in the taper. They're actually slowly being bent inwards. And based on sketch ups you would not be able to see the tapering in the previous picture that you guys were referring to.

So in this explanation the columns ARE being built right on top of each other even if the axis isn't true vertical. Based on this, if the building was tall enough the columns would come to a single point or arch.

[UnFrSaKn]

Eventually, you'll be looking right into the sun on the web cam around this time of day when it reaches near the full height.

[UnFrSaKn]

April 8 2011

Part 1

[David]

Awesome pics as always, man.

[mcca7596]

Is the rotunda going to be open air or will it just have a very clear glass?

[UnFrSaKn]

That reminds me, I forgot to put the finished renderings of the auditorium/rotunda at the end of the video.

[mcca7596]

That reminds me, I forgot to put the finished renderings of the auditorium/rotunda at the end of the video.

Are they new ones?! From the ones I have seen it is hard to tell what kind of material, if any, encloses the rotunda.

[UnFrSaKn]

No, just the same ones. Looks like clear glass.

[mcca7596]

Thanks, I forgot about that one.

[soonerwilliam]

William are you going to post pictures or a video of Sandridge Energy's construction that's going on?

[architect5311]

So in this explanation the columns ARE being built right on top of each other even if the axis isn't true vertical. Based on this, if the building was tall enough the columns would come to a single point or arch.

The Pinnacle in Nashville during construction...

[UnFrSaKn]

William are you going to post pictures or a video of Sandridge Energy's construction that's going on?

Construction, or demolition?

[dwellsokc]

Crane raising (Monday, April 11, 2011) 8 hours time-lapsed into 2.7 minutes...

[maestro6]

That's an awesome time-lapse of the crane-raising, dwellsokc. Thanks so much for preparing and posting it!

[soonerwilliam]

Construction, or demolition?

Demolition

[SSEiYah]

This may have been answered earlier, will there be an observation floor/restaurants on the top of this buliding? Seems like it would be a cool concept in okc since I dont know of any other high-rise restaurants here.

[edcrunk]

This may have been answered earlier, will there be an observation floor/restaurants on the top of this buliding? Seems like it would be a cool concept in okc since I dont know of any other high-rise restaurants here.

Yes, on the 49th floor. It's aiming to be one of the top restaurants in this region.