Los Angeles Chapter Dinner Meeting:

Program and Speakers:
The Cathedral of Christ the Light
By Peter Lee, SE, SECB, Associate Director
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, San Francisco

And, Paul Gilham, PE, SE, Chief Engineer
Western Wood Structures, Inc., Tualatin, OR

Abstract of Presentation:

With the dedication of The Cathedral of Christ the Light on September 25th, 2008, the new Cathedral serves as the Diocese of Oakland's new multi-use facility replacing the historic St. Francis de Sales Cathedral damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. The award winning design of the facility includes a 1500 seat main Cathedral sanctuary, as well as, a mausoleum, parish hall and offices, Diocese chancery offices, a conference center, the Bishop's rectory, a library, café and parking for 200 cars with a total occupied area of 252,000 square feet. Peter Lee, SE, Associate Director with the San Francisco office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, will present the overall design of the project including the development of the structural design concept of the Cathedral and superstructure, as well as, significant aspects of the Cathedral's structural analysis, design and construction. The presentation will include Paul Gilham, PE, SE, Chief Engineer of Western Wood Structures in Tualatin, Oregon who will further illustrate the Cathedral's innovative use of glulaminated timber in describing the construction modeling, fabrication and erection of the Cathedral's main superstructure.

The Cathedral incorporates a highly innovative use of modest materials including glu-laminated timber, exposed reinforced concrete, high strength steel, aluminum and glass to provide lightness and luminosity into a symbolic form. Located 4.7 km from the Hayward Fault adjacent to Lake Merritt in Oakland, the 120 foot-tall main Cathedral sanctuary is seismically isolated and designed to resist a 1000-year earthquake. The geometry of the Cathedral is derived from Vesica Pisces motif and concepts using intersecting spheres to create an efficient structural form. Advanced computer modeling techniques were used to capture the behavior of seismic isolation combined with the glu-laminated superstructure interconnected with pre-stressed high-strength steel rods and timber compression struts supported on a base of reinforced concrete reliquary wall and sanctuary floor structure to achieve expected enhanced seismic performance and longevity for the next 300 years and more.

To view project photo: Click on Link

Venue:
Luminarias Restaurant
3500 Ramona Blvd.
Monterey Park, CA

Schedule:
5:30 p.m. Social Hour & Networking
6:30 Dinner
7:30 Program