Structural Engineering for Bjornson Winery

Ogren Engineering performed the structural engineering for the Bjornson Winery between Salem and Dundee, OR. This 10,000 square foot Insulated Concrete Form building contains a wine production area, a barrel storage room, office space and a tasting room.  Adjacent to the tasting room is an outdoor patio with a view of the vineyards.

Because it was built into the steeply sloping hill, large retaining walls are an intergral part of the design of the building.

As always, Ogren Engineering listens to the contractors whose job it is to build the buildings.  The contractor has been wanting to try a new idea he had for attaching the concrete walls to the floor diaphragm to resist out-of-plane loads, but was not the typical way that connection had been done in the past.  After a successful brain-storming session Ogren Engineering was able to provide him with a solution that incorporated the ease of construction he was looking for with the code compliance required by the building department.

The typical out-or-plane wall to floor connection consists of a strap embedded into the concrete wall and a series of blocking and straps what can often times be very tedious to build.  This connection features one anchor bolt embedded into the concrete wall surrounded by two lines of blocking extending into the floor diaphragm.  Very simple and much easier for the contractor to build whick resulted in reduced construction time, reduced labor costs and an easier connection to inspect.

The back of the building where the loading area features a cover to protect the wine from both radient heat from the sun and rain.  The large beam supporting the cover required a special connection to the concrete wall.