2021 CFSEI DESIGN EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS

FIRST PLACE – COMMERCIAL

THE LEFFLER GROUP – BLUE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION WORLD HEADQUARTERS AND COMMUNITY CENTER - CHEYENNE, WYOMING

Blue Federal Credit Union World Headquarters and Community Center
2401 East Pershing Avenue
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001

Completed: December 2020                             

Owner: Chandler Elmore
Architect of Record: Jonathan Bassett, Open Studio Architecture
Engineer of Record for Structural Work: Martin/Martin Wyoming
Cold-Formed Steel Specialty Engineer: Russ Leffler, P.E., S.E., M.L.S.E., The Leffler Group
Cold-Formed Steel Specialty Contractor: Laura Kiahtipes, Holsinger Drywall Inc.
Award Entry Submitted by: Ryan Nelson, P.E., S.E., M.L.S.E., The Leffler Group

Project Background

Blue Federal Credit Union World Headquarters and Community Center is a pinnacle structure of Cheyenne, Wyoming’s city renewal development plan, which includes a large campus configuration and area revitalization.

The structure consists of a three-story office wing and a two-story community wing. The community wing serves as an amenity space for the office building and can host community events with a room that opens to a large outdoor space.

The superstructure uses steel construction with composite concrete floors and an intricate cold-formed steel (CFS) and curtain wall glazing exterior envelope.

Design Challenges and Solutions

This project provided several unique cold-formed steel conditions and successes, including:

Large Unsupported Lengths:  

Several sections of the three-story and two-story areas required the stud framing clear spanning from the foundation to the roof utilizing 42 ft.-(800S200-97) and 46 ft.-(800S300-97) spans.

Field Panelization Utilization for Erection:

Portions of the walls were pre-built on the ground and lifted into place to allow safe handling of the walls, which were over 40 feet tall.

Offset CFS Framing Supporting Curtain Wall:

In several locations, the CFS framing cantilevered off the building edge to support up to 24-ft.-tall curtain wall glazing framing. Large curtain wall mullion reaction support was successfully designed without requiring welding. The stair cores contain 45-ft.-tall curtain wall glazing with CFS sill support.

Other Architectural Features:

CFS framing was utilized for wing walls, building pop-outs and extended eyebrow framing.

The Blue Federal Credit Union World Headquarters and Community Center is an excellent example of the flexibility and strength utilization of cold-formed steel for modern architectural envelopes. Cold-formed steel can be used to create beautiful architectural facade features and can also be designed to provide substantial envelope cladding support and transfer loading to the primary structure.