A significant aspect of this project involved demolishing a two-story concrete shear wall that was being used as a ramp between the half-level intersections of the existing building. This space was converted to house a monumental stair that now serves as the hub of the school—connecting four levels of structure in a single space. The bottom of the stair bears on a ground slab, then is framed out with geofoam for the “social stair” along with the entire bottom landing. The bottom landing is surrounded by concrete shear walls that provide the structural base for the structural stair stringers (the curved beams on the outside of the treads).

Three major portions of the building had to be demolished—the aforementioned concrete shear wall ramps, the roof above the new stair, and the waffle slab that tied into the shear walls. Removing shear walls required infilling the existing structure with steel x-braces to maintain the integrity of the lateral system. The roof above the new stair was raised to provide additional natural light into the stair space.