Miami arts centre and residential tower recognized with two CRSI HONORS awards

The Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI) has recognized two Florida projects among the 2016 CRSI HONORS Design and Construction Award recipients.

The Grove at Grand Bay in Coconut Grove (engineer: DeSimone Consulting Engineers) received recognition within the multi-family residential category.

The award citation says:

Terra Group teamed with celebrated Danish architect Bjarke Ingels of BIG Architects, to bring modern luxury to historic Coconut Grove, Miami’s oldest neighborhood. Terra and Ingels envisioned a residence that would evoke luxury, but also fuse it with distinctly contemporary design. Grove at Grand Bay is a 310-foot, 23-story condominium building located in Coconut Grove, Florida. It is the first truly twisting towers in the United States with floor plates that rotate every three feet up to 39° at every elevation from the 3rd to the 17th floors, and includes 40-foot interior spans with up to 20-foot cantilevers. The core consists of composite shear walls to resist the torque generated by the sloping columns.

Ingels’ design creates two gracefully twisting towers that appear to be turning to capture the view as they rise to the sky. It is also the first structure in Coconut Grove to have achieved LEED Gold Certification.

As well, the Faena Arts Center in Miami Beach (DeSimone Consulting Engineers) won in the museum category.

The use of a combination of steel sheet piles and an unreinforced concrete tremie slab, to construct a 22-foot deep underground parking garage that is a stone’s throw from the ocean and that is 3 feet above the ground water table, especially considering the tight site constraints which was also economical. This system created a “bathtub” which allowed the contractor to work in the dry.

The cylindrical portion of the building, located at the south end of the site, has the majority of its base truncated with a wedge cut away that contributes to create the plaza space facing Collins Avenue. The result is that the cylinder is cantilevered from the cube. This required that a significant portion of the cube be constructed to anchor the cylinder prior to shoring of the cylinder being removed. This sequence allows the weight of the cube to counteract the overturning forces of the cylinder. A finite-element construction sequencing computer analysis was performed to determine exactly how much of the cube had to be built before the cylinder was safely anchored.

CRSI says nationally entries were evaluated on the basis of: 1) Satisfaction of project goals, 2) Incorporation of innovative solutions, 3) Efficient use of steel reinforced concrete, and 4) Achievement of sustainability objectives.

“The buildings and other structures awarded CRSI Honors have all shown that steel reinforced concrete can be used in unique and beautiful forms. The material continues to be used by innovative owners, architects, engineers and contractors and we are pleased to present these awards,” said CRSI president and CEO David McDonald.

For more than 35 years, CRSI has recognized design and construction achievement by owners, architects, engineers, and construction managers across North America. This year’s entries represented a wide range of project types from all regions of the United States as well as Western Canada. Each of the selected project demonstrates excellence and highlights thoughtfully considered solutions brought to fruition through the efficient use of steel reinforced concrete.

Nationally, here are the projects projects (submitting organization is in parenthesis) CRSI has selected for recognition:

MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL
45 East 22nd Street, New York, NY (DeSimone Consulting Engineers)
Avalon Willoughby Square, Brooklyn, NY (DeSimone Consulting Engineers)
BAM South, Brooklyn, NY (Rosenwasser Grossman Consulting Engineers)
Grove at Grand Bay, Coconut Grove, FL (DeSimone Consulting Engineers)
Jasper-45 Lansing Street, San Francisco, CA (Louie International Structural Engineers)
Millennium Tower, Boston, MA (DeSimone Consulting Engineers)
Premier on Pine, Seattle, WA (Cary Kopczynski & Company)
Viktoria, Seattle, WA (Cary Kopczynski & Company)
100 East 53rd Street, New York, NY (Merit Award) (DeSimone Consulting Engineers)

COMMERCIAL OFFICE
AOI Global Headquarters, Sugarland, TX (Yong Architects)
Hollywood 959, Los Angeles, CA (Cary Kopczynski & Company)

EDUCATIONAL FACILITY
SMUD East Campus Operations Center, Sacramento, CA (Buehler & Buehler Structural Engineers, Inc.)
Earthquake Engineering Laboratory, Reno, NV (BJG Architecture & Engineering)

HEALTHCARE FACILITY
Parkland Hospital, Dallas, TX (Datum Engineers)

MUSEUM
Faena Arts Center, Miami Beach, FL (DeSimone Consulting Engineers)

CHURCH
Provo City Center – Temple, Provo City, UT (Reaveley Engineers + Associates)

STORAGE VAULT
Granite Mountain Records Vault, Salt Lake City, UT (Ensign Engineering and Land Surveying)

BRIDGE
Estrella UP at Grand Avenue, Surprise, AZ (Stanley Consultants. Inc.)

PARKING GARAGE
San Diego Rental Car Center, San Diego, CA (Austin Sundt Joint Venture)

For more information on this year’s CRSI HONORS Design and Construction Awards winning projects, visit honors.crsi.org.

Top image: Aerial view Faena Arts Center under construction. Photo courtesy of Layton Construction, Sandy, UT