Local Engineering Project Receives National Honor – C27
GREENPOINT LANDING BLOCK D CITED IN NATIONAL ENGINEERING COMPETITION
Innovative Structural Design Creates Extra-Long Cantilevers
WASHINGTON, DC – DeSimone Consulting Engineers of New York City has earned a National Recognition Award for exemplary engineering achievement in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 55th annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) for designing the structural systems for Greenpoint Landing Block D in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The 850,000-square-foot structure accomplishes the unique architectural vision of two complementary towers overlooking the Brooklyn Waterfront. As they rise in elevation, one tower sets back while the other extends out toward the first, like a set of precariously stacked boxes. The taller tower, 430 feet in height, juts out every seven floors until the uppermost section extends about 40 feet from the base.
To achieve the taller building’s distinctive long cantilevers, DeSimone developed a system of post-tensioned hanger columns to complement the structure’s shoring trusses. A-frames were introduced along two of the column lines spanning between levels four and seven to further balance the building’s structural loads. The use of higher-strength concrete and higher-grade rebar served reduced the cantilevered sections’ weight and served to minimize Block D’s overall carbon footprint.
The project is part of 195 entries this year representing engineering excellence from throughout the nation and the world. Judging for the awards program—known industry-wide as the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry”– took place in February and was conducted by a national 27-member panel of built environment leaders, along with experts from government, the media and academia. Award criteria focused on uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, and generating excitement for the engineering profession.
Recognition of all award winners including top winners—20 Honor Awards, 16 Grand Awards and the prestigious “Grand Conceptor Award” for the year’s most outstanding overall engineering achievement—will take place during the 2022 EEA Gala, to be held in Grand Hyatt, Washington, DC, on Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of America’s engineering industry, representing more than 5,200 independent engineering firms and more than 600,000 professionals throughout the United States engaged in the development of America’s transportation, water and energy infrastructure, along with environmental, industrial and other public and private facilities. Founded in 1906 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACEC is a national federation of 52 state and regional organizations.
