Enclosure Feasibility Study

Introduction and Problem Definition

The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes, located on a National Historic Site in Kingston, Ontario, aims to become a cultural staple for the community and preserve the historical artifacts of Great Lakes shipwrecks. The Museum has purchased a former ship-building site on Kingston's industrial waterfront and intends to revitalize the existing shipyard building and dock. The Museum plans to reinvigorate interest in marine exploration by procuring the S.S. Keewatin, the last Edwardian-era Great Lakes Maritime vessel. The Museum aims to enclose the S.S. Keewatin in a permanent atrium-type display to protect and preserve it and teach the public about the history of the ship, the dry dock, and Kingston. The project aims to develop a design proposal that aligns with the Museum's strategic business plan to gain prevalence in the Kingston tourism market, expand operations and partnerships, and increase outreach. The project's objectives include developing a cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing design to preserve the vessel's integrity, operate year-round, and fall within the fundraising budget.

Metrics for Success

The Kingston Marine Museum of the Great Lakes aims to revitalize the historic dry dock site by acquiring and displaying the S.S. Keewatin. The goal is to increase audience engagement, stimulate learning through events and research, and expand museum operations and partnerships. The design of the enclosure must follow specific functional requirements and constraints, such as accommodating a maximum of 332,072 visitors annually, having a factor of safety of 2.0, reducing overall volume inside the structure, protecting the ship from weather events and degradation, and having a suitable climate control system. Constraints include ensuring the ship fits inside the dry dock, preserving the hull, incorporating sustainable building design, and keeping the project under budget.

Background Research

This text discusses the background research conducted to gather information and ideas for the design of an atrium to enclose the S.S. Keewatin ship in Ontario, Canada. The research covered a range of topics, including similar museum enclosures around the world, materials for construction, and building regulations. Two comparable enclosures, the S.S. Great Britain and the Cutty Sark, were investigated, and the materials of construction were analyzed. Glass was found to be a costly material, while concrete was a cheaper option. A balance between aesthetics and structural integrity would need to be achieved to use glass in the design. Concrete could be used in combination with steel and glass to create a cost-effective and appealing design.

Idea Generation

The section describes the ideation process used to generate design concepts for the enclosure surrounding the S.S. Keewatin, which is divided into four main sub-categories: the docking and support of the ship, the atrium, the visitors center, and the ship itself. The Five Whys technique was used to identify critical design elements that fulfill stakeholder requirements, and SCAMPER and COCD were utilized to analyze and ideate upon these design elements. The COCD approach allowed for free-flowing ideas to be generated without being constrained by the feasibility of the idea. Three high-level design concepts were created using the outcomes of the ideation methods, which were presented to stakeholders in a meeting.

Stakeholder Input

The stakeholder input for the design of the enclosure of the Keewatin ship came from various departments under the City of Kingston, board members from the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes, and residents of Kingston. The needs of each of these stakeholders have been analyzed to determine how they impact the scope of the project and what each of them require in the creation of a successful design and development of the enclosure. Stakeholder input ranged from considerations related to the development of sitework, structural integrity of the enclosure, parking and transportation, regulations, landscape plans, environmental controls, and water leakage concerns. These inputs led to design changes and recommendations for the project.

Decision Making

The text discusses the decision-making process for the design of an enclosure for a heritage ship at a museum. The initial feedback led to the decision to have the funnel protruding from the building and connect the atrium to the existing building. The intermediate design concepts were created using the feedback from the municipality, and the final design incorporated key elements from these designs. Various decision-making techniques, such as pros and cons tables and Pugh charts, were used to analyze potential solutions with respect to cost, feasibility, complexity, maintenance requirements, sustainability, and aesthetics. The Pugh chart was used to determine the best design solution, and the pitched roof design was chosen due to its simplicity, classic shape, and simple glass facade. The design was modified to include a combination of materials to prevent a greenhouse effect and reduce costs.

Final Design

The final design of the project was divided into three categories: the Revit model, engineering validation, and economic feasibility assessment. The Revit model was created using the CAD model of the dry dock and existing building, which was imported into the software to produce a dimensionally accurate atrium enclosure. The design included a foundation made of cast concrete, with the first level mainly comprised of glazed glass and birch wood for the roof, feature wall, and large aesthetic beams. The structure was strengthened with steel supports, and all elements were validated for structural capability. Stakeholder considerations and metrics for success were mapped to design elements to ensure qualitative validation of the design. The proposed final design was evaluated with project metrics to assess its efficacy.

The ship support structure for the S.S. Keewatin project requires the ship to be elevated 2.3 meters above the floor of the dry dock to ensure the hull is preserved and stabilized, and to make the entrance accessible for visitors. The ship needs approximately 104 keel blocks to support its load, and these blocks should be laid before construction on the atrium begins. Validation of the atrium design elements and Revit rendering was done through qualitative mapping to key performance indicators, as well as consulting with local experts on required features. The features of the design were mapped to the key performance indicators, including cost, safety, ease of implementation, accessibility, environmental impact, heritage and preservation, and regulatory compliance. Validation was also done through consultation with a local contractor and expert who validated the needs of the design and provided feedback on necessary elements. A Permit Application Checklist was provided to guide the necessary process for the client at the conclusion of the project.

The document presents a cost estimate for the construction of a permanent enclosure for the SS Keewatin, a museum ship located in Canada. The estimate includes three main sections: sitework costs, enclosure costs, and design and labor costs. The total cost is estimated to be just under $13.6 million, including a 30% contingency. The sitework costs are estimated at $1.16 million, the enclosure costs at $6.14 million, and the design and labor costs at $3.14 million. The cost estimate is intended to provide the museum board with an idea of the feasibility of the project, to be used to aid in fundraising efforts with sponsors of the Museum. The material costs were validated with external resources and are generally consistent across professionals.

The design of the building must adhere to the Canadian Building Code and Ontario Building Code Guidelines, which require consideration of snow loading and wind loading. A factor of safety of 2.0 was chosen for the structural design, with a minimum acceptable safety factor of 1.5 for snow and wind loading conditions. Snow loading was calculated using Equation 2, while wind loading was calculated using Equation 3. The model was simplified for the calculations, including modelling the structural glass as a singular pane. The required snow loading force is 4,780 N/m2 ULS and 3,740 N/m2 SLS, while the required wind loading force is -5,800 N/m2 at the Corner, -3,000 N/m2 at the Edge, and -2,400 N/m2 in the Field. From the snow loading analysis, it was determined that the design produced is structurally sound at a factor of safety of 1.5, and the next step would be to import the structure into another analytical software and recalculate the factor of safety to achieve a safety factor of 2.0.

Conclusion

The feasibility of enclosing the S.S. Keewatin was assessed through a design process that involved researching, ideating solutions, and making decisions that fulfilled stakeholder requirements. Several iterations and designs were presented to stakeholders to ensure that the decisions made were valid. The final proposal consisted of wood, steel, glass, and concrete in a stacked design and was modeled in Revit for detailed dimensions. Engineering validation was conducted to confirm the safety of the proposal, and it is estimated to cost approximately $13.6 million. An alternative solution of a semi-permanent tent structure was also presented. Recommendations and next steps were provided on how this work can benefit the Museum.