Southern Steel Engineers provided connection and miscellaneous steel design services for Project Live Oak, a five-story Amazon sorting and fulfillment center in Chatham County, Georgia. The 640,000-square-foot facility was designed to accommodate the demands of large-scale e-commerce operations and included both complex structural connections and extensive miscellaneous steel features.

Connection Scope
SSE engineered a wide variety of connections throughout the project, including composite joist connections, column splices, axial beam connections, moment connections, and vertical bracing connections. The primary force-resisting system consisted of heavily loaded moment frames. To accommodate the preferences of the fabricator and erector, we implemented a hybrid moment connection design that utilized a complete joint penetration (CJP) welded top flange and a bolted bottom flange.
Because the project included a high number of composite joist connections, we collaborated closely with the fabricator and erector to develop fully bolted connection details. This solution streamlined the erection process and significantly improved efficiency in the field.

Miscellaneous Steel Scope
The miscellaneous design scope was extensive, covering ten multilevel and roof access stairs, twenty-four mezzanine access stairs, seventeen dock stairs, three mezzanine ramps, and guardrail systems ranging from 3’-6” to 8’-0” in height.
In addition, Pegasus chute rails were designed to guide sorting robots as they dropped packages into designated openings, enhancing the building’s functionality as a fulfillment center.