This recently issued Manual of Practice is intended as a guide to design professionals and their clients such as building owners, prospective purchasers, tenants, regulatory officials, and others. This guideline establishes the assessment procedure, including investigation, testing methods, and format for the report of the condition. The methodology is particularly relevant in the current period marked by numerous building conversions. As a member of the Subcommittee on Structural Condition Assessment of Existing Buildings, Dan Eschenasy, the GMS Principal Forensic Engineer, contributed to its development by focusing mainly on the chapter related to the assessment of masonry.

It should be noted that Dan also contributed to the Publication of the ASCE Guideline for Condition Assessment of the Building Envelope (30-14), and together with Alissa Shapiro, GMS Associate, participates in the development of ASCE 11-28 Structural Condition Assessment of Existing Buildings Standard.

Link to Publication

After several years of planning and construction, the St. John’s Terminal building at 550 Washington Street is now home to Google’s HQ.  The project, which was completed earlier this year, is comprised of the adaptive reuse of the 90-year-old former freight terminal and a new 9-story overbuild addition. The new aluminum and glass structure spans two city blocks and is built on top of the original 3-story brick clad terminal that served as the end point for what was the Tenth Avenue elevated rail; known today as the High Line.

In an ambitious blend of historic preservation and modern construction, 50 Ninth Avenue, formerly known as 44-54 Ninth Avenue, has undergone a significant transformation. Spearheaded by MEPA Realty LLC and Tavros Capital, the project involved the renovation of nine existing historic buildings and the addition of a nine-story commercial structure. GMS provided structural engineering services, demolition engineering and structural special inspections for this complex project.  The revitalized site now stands as a testament to innovative design and careful preservation.

GMS Partner Ramon Gilsanz presented “Disaster Prevention” at the 2024 ASCE Metropolitan Section Seminar Series on Thursday, May 16th.

The Yale Peabody Museum recently underwent its first major renovation and expansion since its inception in 1925. GMS provided structural engineering services for this ambitious project, which aims to increase daily engagement with visitors and Yale students.

Last Saturday, Ramon Gilsanz, Founding Partner, joined a NIST/GEER team to survey the area surrounding the epicentral region. Here’s the report from GEER, Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance:

As a fun exercise, can you guess the correct percentage of women in our office here at GMS?

On February 27, 2024, the residential conversion of this former 22 story office building was topped out with a 10-story addition. The new structure includes the replacement of its brick façade with a modern fenestration with more expansive windows, and the gut renovation of its 1.1 million square feet of interiors will be converted to 1,300 rental units.

GMS Partner Jessica Mandrick presented on “ASCE 7 Flood Loads – Changes in ASCE 7-22 Supplement 2” at SEAoNY’s annual conference on Thursday, February 8^th.

10 members of the GMS Team attended this year’s conference on “Past, Present, and Future of Building Codes,” attending Jessica’s presentation as well as others on topics such as “Design Steel Your Way,” “Geotechnical Peer Review,” and “Reinforcing Steel Specifications from 1910 to Today.”