Photo courtesy LBG

The team engineered a phased secant-pile excavation that formed a watertight box around an active underground stream—work executed inches from fragile, rubble foundations. When poorer-than-expected rock appeared beneath the core, the design-build foundation team fast-tracked deeper piles and revised rebar cages without affecting the critical path.

Above grade, the new facade introduced hand-set limestone panels and curved, double-paned casement windows crafted in Italy. Extensive digital shop drawings and anchorage modeling ensured the stone accommodated wind loads and floor-to-floor movement, while a two-story performance mock-up validated structural, thermal and weather performance before fabrication began.