Seismic Evaluation of the Four-Sided Structural Sealant Glazing Curtain Wall System for Cathedral Hill Hospital Project

Cathedral Hill Hospital (the California Pacific Medical Center) is a 15-story building to be constructed in Downtown San Francisco. The curtain wall system for this building is primarily of unitized design employing a four-sided structural sealant glazing (SSG) system. To ensure satisfactory seismic performance of the curtain wall system for this project, dynamic racking tests were carried out according to AAMA 501.6 procedure on curtain wall mockups constructed with vertical and horizontal mullions that had section properties similar to the ones that will ultimately be used on the building. Although the curtain wall system designed for this building is unitized, the preliminary tests reported in this paper were carried out on mockups that were constructed as stick-built. The objective of the preliminary tests was to evaluate the performance of structural sealants as well as the glass when the mockup is racked in a worst case scenario. The building and curtain wall design are explained and the results of racking tests presented.