Southern Steel Engineers provided structural steel connection and miscellaneous steel design services for the SpaceX Starbase Office in Boca Chica, Texas. The project added 329,493 sqft of office space across five levels, expanding the capabilities of the existing SpaceX factory complex.

Connection Design
SSE engineered connections for a wide range of structural elements, including heavy wide-flange vertical bracing, axial and moment connections, column splices, horizontal bracing, hollow structural section (HSS) members, and skewed connections. To accommodate fabricator preferences, we implemented hybrid moment connections with complete joint penetration (CJP) welded top flanges and bolted bottom flanges.

In addition, doublers were applied at numerous beams supporting vertical bracing to meet demanding load requirements while avoiding the need to upsize primary beam members. This approach provided both structural integrity and material efficiency.

Miscellaneous Steel Design
Miscellaneous steel design encompassed railings, treads, and infill details for three interior multi-level access stairs, three monumental stair systems (excluding glass guardrails, which were outside our scope), and a roof access ship’s ladder.