2024 AIA Extreme Weather and Flood

Introduction

In cities like Manhattan, where urban development and water bodies converge, floodproofing of structures is not just a regulatory requirement but a crucial aspect of building design. The coastal geography of New York City is considered highly vulnerable to flooding from extreme weather conditions. As we witness climate change and sea level rise, we anticipate flood risks to increase.

In a recent AIA NY presentation on flood and hurricane mitigation, a panel of experts, including building envelope consultants, a structural engineer, and an architect, shared their insights on addressing the challenges posed by extreme weather events in New York City. The discussion covered Flood Zone and Wind-Borne Debris Region designations, relevant building codes, and real-world applications, highlighting critical construction details from ongoing projects.

In this article, we will focus on Daniel Kinsley’s portion of the presentation, where he shared his expertise on flood mitigation for building envelopes. A future article will summarize Jessica Mandrick’s structural engineering perspective. GMS has completed several projects that showcase innovative floodproofing strategies to enhance building resilience and safety.

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Structural Code Training – Seismic

On June 21, 2022, Ramon Gilsanz presented the differences between the seismic portions of the 2014 New York City Building Code and the latest released Code as part of SEAoNY’s Code Update Training Series. The course showcases the different design factors, calculations, classifications, systems, and inspections required depending on the structural makeup of the building.

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Fire behaviour of concealed connections for steel gravity frame construction

This study, authored by Ramon Gilsanz, Daniel Gleave, Andrew Dolan, and Sarah Ropert of GMS and Erica C. Fischer of Oregon State University, examines the feasibility of a new concealed connection for steel gravity framing that has been shown to protect connection components from the increasing temperatures and subsequent thermal degradation that occur during a fire.

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Tour Aerin Lauder’s Indoor-Outdoor Tropical Escape

The February 2022 Architectural Design features Casa Loro, a large Panama Estate for which the GMS team – including Phil Murray, Jessica Mandrick, and Ana Gallego – provided structural engineering services. The completed estate includes a three-bedroom main house, four guest cabins, a pool house, and a separate spa building totaling approximately 16,000 sf.

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Deflection of Flat-Plate Slabs

The competing factors governing structural design and dimensioning of reinforced concrete slabs create opportunities for optimizing the cost and performance of reinforced concrete flat-plate slabs. Using a slab prototype from an existing building, this study compares designs using different strengths of reinforcing bars and concrete.

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CookFox Converts a Storage Facility into a Lush, Luxurious Apartment Complex

Making a 15-story tower feel intimate is no small feat. That’s exactly what the New York–based firm CookFox Architects set out to do when it took on the task of transforming the former Whitehall Storage Facility into a 91-unit luxury residential building on 150 Charles Street in New York City’s West Village.

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Fundamentally Preserved, Entirely Transformed

In autumn 2015, Porcelanosa, a Spanish manufacturer of tiles and kitchen/bath finishes, opened a new 18,000-squarefoot New York showroom at 202 Fifth Ave. Occupying the former Commodore Criterion building, the store required a full gut renovation to create seven levels within a building envelope that previously had only six levels.

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Google’s NYC Office by Interior Architects Has Eye-Catching Features at Every Turn

In view of the High Line park and the Hudson River, Google has a new home. With space split between two Chelsea landmarks, and revamped by Interior Architects, the search engine’s sales team enjoys impressive digs that are nevertheless decidedly understated. The goal here was to play against type by celebrating the low-tech and the local.

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Reinventing Woolworth

Downtown Manhattan’s iconic 1913 Woolworth building has gone through many redesigns over 17 years, and is under renovation and conversion to luxury condominium.  This article presents a case study of structural and logistical issues involved in the adaptive reuse of an early 20th century skyscraper and outlines the case for achieving sustainability through such re-purposing.

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Coordinating Fast Paced Urban Projects

The fundamental principle that drives the need for speed in construction is economic. However, not all projects rely on speeds to maintain profitability. Those that do, achieve efficiencies through uniformity of design, systematized construction methods, and the engineer’s engagement during constructions.

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Exoskeleton with a Twist

A new torquing tower that rises out of an existing two-story Art Moderne style brick warehouse built in 1938, which was once part of the Gansevoort Market. It now stands as a case study of melding old with new via a steel framing approach that serves as both an innovative aesthetic and a standard erection process—while at the same time respecting neighborhood context.

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GMS Wins Award for Outstanding Public Service

Our firm is honored to receive this year’s Outstanding Public Service Award, which recognizes an outstanding company who has contributed significantly to New York and its communities.

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Cool Carousel

Jane’s Carousel dates back to 1922 when it was initially installed in Idora Park in Youngstown, Ohio. In the early 1980s, it was purchased for installation in Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park (now Brooklyn Bridge Park) in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn. After more than two decades of restoration, it now resides in a pavilion in the park.

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One Jackson Square (Metals in Construction)

One Jackson Square is a new residential building in the Greenwich Village Historic District. It might not follow the prevalent masonry architectures in the West Village, but pays homage to its neighbors by reflecting them in an intriguing kaleidoscopic pattern. Gilsanz Murray Steficek served as the structural engineer and curtain wall consultant.

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Sacred Simplicity

The Park Synagogue congregation settled in Cleveland Heights in 1950 with a landmark synagogue. Now, the expanding congregation is also served by the new Park East Synagogue in Pepper Pike, designed by Centerbrook Architects and Planner, which incorporates a sanctuary, school, library, and a community center. Gilsanz Murray Steficek served as the structural engineer.

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Quality Assured at GMS as Firm Expands Services

Gilsanz Murray Steficek, a structural engineering company based in NYC, has formed a Quality Assurance Group that offers inspection and testing services for clients with new construction or restoration projects.

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GMS Values Mentoring

According to Engineering Business Institute (EBI), 88 percent of the firms Best Structural Engineering Firm to Work have a formal mentoring program for new engineers. Gilsanz Murray Steficek is one of those firms, and GMS offers a unique program that aims to promote personal growth of its members.

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Tradition With a Twist

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s new Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center is a structure that houses both the performing arts and experimental media, with traditional and well-lit space for performing arts and slick curtain wall exterior and sheer white polished walls on the interior for experimental media. Gilsanz Murray Steficek served as a structural engineer.

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Time Warner Center (New York Construction)

The new Time Warner Center houses the new world headquarters for Time Warner, the 1,970 seat Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Shops at Columbus Circle, 199 condominiums, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 200,000 sqft office spaces, and a 504 stall valet parking garage. To quote a jury panel member, “[It] was a mind-boggling effort. The size, the complexity, the coordination required was incredible.” Gilsanz Murray Steficek served as a structural engineer.

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For GMS, it wasn’t so much the times as the people

Gilsanz Murray Steficek opened new offices in Essex County, NJ and Los Angeles, CA in 2003. Prior to that, the New York office established a building envelope design consulting in 1999 as Joseph Blanchfield, an architect with over 25 years of experience, joined the firm. Ramon Gilsanz, one of the founding partners, foresees a growth in construction market, and plans to grow with the market through expansion, for exposure to new people means new ways of doing things.

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430 Park Avenue Renovation Creates Class A Office Building

430 Park Avenue was built as an apartment and was converted to office building in 1950. Now, it is being renovated into Class A office building. Gilsanz Murray Steficek served as a structural engineer and curtain wall consultant. GMS designed the new curtain walls and steel substructure that were located behind the existing masonry façade to support the new curtain wall.

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New York Stock Exchange Trading Floor Expansion

The New York Stock Exchange Trading floor expansion project was on tight schedule due to shortage of qualified workers and complex design. There were other complications such as owner requests and long fabrication times for some materials, but the team succeeded in delivering on time with extra integrity. Gilsanz Murray Steficek served as a structural engineer.

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