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Designing an educational facility for a university usually isn’t like designing a U.S. embassy. But an expansion of Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport presented Yost Grube Hall Architecture many challenges similar to those posed by a government building on foreign soil.

鈥淲e do a lot of work for U.S. State Department,鈥� YGH principal Tom Robbins said. 鈥淲ith embassies, you design for a bomb going off. In both cases you have to design for things you don’t want to happen.鈥�

What OSU officials don’t want is for an earthquake and resultant tsunami to kill or injure people in or near the facility. That risk is a major concern for the new $50 million, 72,000-square-foot building that will sit on a man-made sand spit in Yaquina Bay. The site sits squarely inside the expected inundation zone in a sizable seismic event.

A three-story core space will connect to a two-story wing that will have an auditorium, an innovation lab and community space. The building is designed to serve as a 鈥渧ertical evacuation鈥� site. The only similar structure in the U.S. is Ocosta Elementary School near the Pacific Ocean in Westport, Washington.

鈥淚 would say this has been more intriguing (than an embassy project) because it has not been done before,鈥� Robbins said. 鈥淚t’s been harder due to the defining criteria. I would also say it is also much more exciting.鈥�

The building had to be able to withstand a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and resultant tsunami. Such an earthquake would likely cause liquefaction, softening the land directly underneath. Then a predicted 30-foot-tall wall of water would hit the building at 30 mph. The inundation zone would likely extend beyond OSU’s Newport campus.

鈥淭he tsunami is the attention-grabber,鈥� Robbins said. 鈥淭he building is designed to take an impact. We did a number of computer simulations on debris flow. We do kind of benefit from the location. The site likely won’t have a lot of debris.鈥�

In order to address the likelihood of liquefaction, the building’s foundation will extend more than 100 feet below the surface 鈥� more than twice the 45-foot height above ground. A progressive collapse system will keep the building upright even if two of its columns collapse.

The building will also serve evacuees unable to reach Newport’s Safe Haven Hill site, which is approximately a 15-minute jog from the city. A ramp will allow people to reach the roof, and two staircases inside will be built within a hardened shell. Also, an elevator within the shell will rely on a separate power source.

鈥淵ou have to pay attention to everything from the foundation as well as scouring from the tsunami,鈥� said Robert Cowen, director of the Hatfield Marine Science Center. 鈥淲e will have large items striking the building. Engineers have looked at all of the aspects.鈥�

General contractor Andersen Construction, structural engineer KPFF and geotechnical engineer GRI all oversaw design elements. That information was then checked by OSU’s own engineers.

鈥淚t has been examined by a large number of engineers,鈥� Cowen said. 鈥淲e had a suite of engineers with an oversight committee examine how the data was being looked at and interpreted.鈥�

That work gave OSU officials confidence that the site could accommodate a structure able to serve students and the five state and federal agencies currently on the campus, but also survive an earthquake and tsunami. The idea was to allow different disciplines to work in a combined environment. It will have rolling whiteboards, an auditorium, classrooms and office space.

鈥淲e have designed it with open laboratories,鈥� Cowen said. 鈥淵ou might find a physicist next to a marine biologist next to a resource economist. We are trying to meet the needs of a broad group.鈥�

OSU is also hoping to prove critics wrong and show that a safe building can be built in a seismically active coastal area.

鈥淲e want to make this building a demonstration project of how to build responsibly in a tsunami zone,鈥� Robbins said. 鈥淥ur team is excited about that.鈥�

On the Boards is a 91视频 feature offering a look at the projects in Oregon being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact 91视频 architecture and engineering reporter Kent Hohlfeld at 503-802-7224 or [email protected].