Landscaped trenches that keep rain from overpowering rivers. Underwater beds of eelgrass to reduce erosion. Waterside sitting areas that would give a front-row seat to the rise in sea levels. These are some of the inventive ways New York City and nearby coastlines might be better protected against severe storms like Sandy as a result of the six winning proposals of the federal government's Rebuild by Design competition. While each proposal tackles a different shoreline region, environmental sensitivity plays a big role in each. Related Links: ENR New York ENR New York Featured Projects The region "is a special geography
Related Links: ENR MidAtlantic When the recession hit, leaders at engineering firm Pennoni Associates could easily have been tempted to follow a safe, conservative strategy. After all, the firm, which has been in business for nearly a half-century, had played a key role in building many landmark structures in and around its Philadelphia home, including stadiums, bridges and skyscrapers. But Pennoni decided not to stand pat.As many firms pulled back because of weakened markets, Pennoni went on the offensive, growing internally and through acquisitions. As a result, Pennoni revenue rose steadily, to $128 million last year—$107 million of which was
Photo by Mike Verzella, Courtesy of L.F. Driscoll/Structure Tone Penn Medicine has allocated $1 billion in improvements to meet demand projections. Related Links: After Sandy, Hospitals Rethink Where to Put IT and Other Systems After Sandy: Rethinking, Recovering, Rebuilding Two separate conferences held in Manhattan recently emphasized two major themes in hospital and health-care construction: Project teams must be flexible as client demand evolves with changes in the marketplace, and hospitals themselves must be made more resilient to major weather events, such as Superstorm Sandy."The future is in ambulatory care," Gary Acord, executive director of planning, design and construction at
Superstorm Sandy's effect on many of the beaches of the East Coast was like a knife on burnt toast—scraping and scraping away, until, in some places, not much was left but rocks. But in a widespread and intensive effort that began last summer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its contractors began replenishing beaches and undoing years of erosion, work that is expected to continue through most of this year. The aim is to restore beaches to their original construction state. Related Links: Engineering News Record Architectural Record "People who go to the beach will notice a big difference
A few months after the ribbon was cut on two new schools in Newark, an ambitious multi-block redevelopment project has broken ground with three new apartment buildings intended to house the schools' teachers as well as other city educators. Rendering by TEKTEN, Courtesy of RBH Group Creating A Community: The 410,000-sq-ft project is attempting to fashion a vibrant mini-neighborhood with low-slung stores, homes and schools. Photo by Matthew Hochberger, Courtesy of Arup Making Progress: With two of the six planned buildings completed and three more under way, the $160-million project is coming to life. Related Links: ENR New York More
What does it take to do a massive spire-to-sidewalk, inside-to-outside restoration of one of Manhattan's best-known landmark churches? The crew assigned to the three-year, $177-million upgrade of St. Patrick's Cathedral has found it comes down to preparation, coordination and an enormous amount of scaffolding. Related Links: ENR New York More ENR New York Projects The project includes replacing marble on the facade and interior of the historic structure, which looms from Fifth to Madison avenues and from East 50th to East 51st streets and is on the list of National Historic Landmarks. It also involves repairing or replacing more than
From office buildings to sports arenas to subway stations and movie studios, family-owned E-J Electric Installation has consistently added to its portfolio of services and projects.
Some homeowners in New York state, New York City and New Jersey that were hit hard by Superstorm Sandy have a few options. These include rebuilding, which in some cases will require homes to be elevated above flood levels, or accepting a government buyout offer. Photo by Sharon Karr/FEMA Moving up: Some homeowners already have decided to stay put and are elevating their homes, like this one in Ortley Beach, N.J. Related Links: ENR New York More ENR New York Projects There are three separate buyout plans pending—one each from New Jersey, New York state and New York City. Each
A s Superstorm Sandy bore down on the New Jersey coast last fall, officials at the Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin huddled to figure out what to do. Nor'easters had historically pummeled the low-lying area laced with inlets, and so the hospital was taking the storm seriously. To compound problems, Southern Ocean was nearing the end of the first phase of a two-phase project to build a new emergency department (ED) and renovate its existing ED structure. The 32,500-sq-ft project would more than triple the ED's size and nearly double the hospital's patient rooms to 42. Related Links: ENR
A college campus is supposed to be a place where students can lose themselves in thought, ensconced in an academic bubble as they stroll to and from class. But at New Jersey's Montclair State University, those reveries were threatened with disruption starting last summer by a $92-million project to upgrade an aging power and thermal plant that involved digging a large and deep trench through the heart of the campus. Related Links: Engineering News Record More ENR New York Projects The trench, which will carry steam and water pipes, measures 15 ft across and up to 20 ft deep in