Lafayette Building – Parking Garage Repairs

McLaren Engineering Group provided structural engineering services for the rehabilitation of the basement-level parking garage at the General Services Administration’s Lafayette Building in Washington, D.C. This historic building was built in 1940 and provided financial support to governments and loans to businesses during the Great Depression. A section of the parking deck, above a large, active mechanical room needed structural repairs, and the mechanical room had to remain in operation during repairs.

Inspection

McLaren’s team conducted a condition assessment of the affected areas of the parking garage and prepared a repair plan and procedures. The repairs were performed in advance of the mechanical equipment replacement below, which had been leaking steam condensate causing the concrete parking deck above to deteriorate.

Parking Garage Repairs

McLaren ensured that the damaged structure could be repaired while existing utility conduits remained in place and operation of the mechanical equipment below the parking structure remained uninterrupted. Construction drawings included design details for immediate repair and options for future repair work. McLaren designed shoring installation above the damaged floor framing, allowing temporary suspension and minimizing mechanical systems impact. McLaren also designed repairs to re-establish structural integrity of the spalled concrete joists, including specifications for protection and/or replacement of existing steel reinforcement and application of appropriate repair materials.

McLaren provided bidding and construction phase services, including the qualification of contractors, walk throughs of the facility with the facility owner, and compliance verification.