Project Description:
The Ben and Esther Rosenbloom Center For Jewish Life at University of Maryland is a 38,700 square foot new construction two-story building located in College Park, Maryland. The Center is a non-separated mixed use building with several amenity spaces on both the first and second floor. The majority of the building is classified as assembly occupancy with business and residential occupancies as accessory occupancies. A performance-based design was conducted to address two components of the new Center. One component is the the two-story opening located near the front entrance of the building. The other is the open stair located on the southeast side of the building. The building has a few key features and challenges that need to be addressed. Notably, floor two has a high occupant load of 1,175 occupants. Additionally, the building uses an open concept that opposes compartmentalization while having unenclosed vertical openings. In regards to the two-story opening, the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) denied the code modification and does not allow for smoke detection to be used as an alternative to the “open and unobstructed” requirement. A performance-base will be used to justify that the space failing to be “open and unobstructed” is acceptable, along with any other deviations from the code requirements of NFPA 101. In regards to the open stair configuration, the stair is considered an ‘exit.’ A performance-based will be used to justify eliminating the stair enclosure on both levels to create openness and reduce cost.
