Project Name: Burns & McDonnell Company Headquarters

Company Name: Burns & McDonnell

Project Location: Burns & McDonnell

Project Information/Details: State and local leaders joined Burns & McDonnell to dedicate the opening of the final building on its world headquarters campus to those who worked on its front lines — the critical infrastructure workers. Since breaking ground in 2018 on the $42 million project, crews worked more than 134,000 hours without any safety incidents — even through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “While most of our workforce was working while sheltering at home, we averaged nearly 70 people on this project every day,” said Ray Kowalik, chairman and CEO of Burns & McDonnell. From daily temperature checks to staggering schedules to improve social distancing, Kowalik says he had two main goals for the project: Keep everyone safe and keep everyone working. “We always knew this project would create new jobs, but we could not comprehend just how vital these types of critical infrastructure projects would be to keep crews working through a pandemic,” he said. Designed and built by Burns & McDonnell in partnership with VanTrust Real Estate, the project generated work for more than 50 companies in Missouri and Kansas. “We’re proud of Missouri’s infrastructure workers who have continued to safely move essential projects forward even during this challenging, unprecedented time in our state,” Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said. “Critical infrastructure projects like the Burns & McDonnell campus keep Missouri moving forward by meeting the increasing needs of our communities and fueling economic growth.” Nearly 30 minority- and women-owned businesses worked on the campus expansion, surpassing goals set at the beginning of the project. “For generations, Burns & McDonnell has invested in building up not only Kansas City’s infrastructure, but also social services for those in need throughout our region,” said Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. “I am glad to see Burns McDonnell’s renewed investment in Kansas City, their ongoing work with small and locally owned businesses, and their commitment to all people in this community.” “As a minority-owned business, we look for projects that lead to multiple opportunities,” said Nilson Goes, president, Infinite Energy Construction. “We partner frequently with Burns & McDonnell on critical infrastructure projects which helps us build our business — and our community.” Using integrated design-build delivery, it took 13 months to build the 142,000-square-foot, four-story office building and 550-stall parking garage. The new office building houses 776 office seats, increasing the size of the Burns & McDonnell world headquarters campus by 22%. During the final stages of the project, the firm quickly adapted plans and implemented strategies to keep employees, partners and customers safe and healthy within the new building. Robust technology teamed with large workstations, conference rooms and outdoor patio and courtyard will promote compliance with social distancing requirements. Additionally, while the first wave of employee-owners transitioned back to the office this month, the majority will be phased back onto campus by the end of the summer. World Headquarters Campus Highlights 4,339 total office seats on campus. 345 total conference rooms on campus. 34-acre campus; 14 landscaped acres. More than 3,800 feet of dedicated walking trails. 20,000-square-foot childcare center for 144 preschool-aged children with a focus on STEM. Full-service pharmacy. On-site health center. On-site credit union. On-site fitness center. On-site cafeteria. Coffee bar with barista service. 2,500-square-foot rooftop event space. Two auditoriums with advanced audiovisual equipment. Throughout the pandemic, Burns & McDonnell continues work on nearly 10,000 other critical infrastructure projects in Kansas City, across the country and throughout the world. “Critical infrastructure is the foundation for growth and new opportunities throughout our county and across the United States,” said Jackson County, Missouri Executive Frank White, Jr. “While COVID-19 has challenged our businesses to a degree most could have never imagined, we are inspired by those who successfully completed the Burns & McDonnell campus project through a pandemic. We salute the critical infrastructure workers who will continue to build our hopes and projects of the future.”

Project Name: New LaGuardia Terminal B Headhouse

Company Name: WSP USA

Project Location: New York City, New York United States

Project Information/Details: With the opening this week of the new Terminal B Arrivals and Departures Hall (also known as a headhouse), Governor Andrew Cuomo’s vision for a unified LaGuardia Airport is becoming a reality. The facility, developed and operated by LaGuardia Gateway Partners (which includes Vantage Airport Group) and designed by HOK and WSP USA, carries that vision forward with a highly efficient yet adaptable terminal that completely transforms the passenger experience while paying homage to the architectural grandeur and individuality of New York City. The four-story, 850,000-sq.-ft. facility houses passenger services and amenities, including airline check-in, baggage drop-off and pick-up, and security. These enhancements are supplemented by extensive food, beverage and retail options. The steel-framed terminal, with its linear, precisely articulated and dynamic form, presents a modern, cohesive face to both the landside and airside. It replaces a disjointed patchwork of structures with one that closely follows the curves of the Grand Central Parkway (GCP) and the airport access roads. Connected to two island concourses by a pair of 450-foot-long steel truss pedestrian bridges, the headhouse serves as the nexus to the new Terminal B. From these transparent-walled bridges, elevated 65 feet above grade, arriving and departing passengers can enjoy panoramic skyline and airfield views as taxiing planes pass beneath them. The bridges offer more than a sleek appearance. They enabled the design team to move the terminal 600 feet closer to the GCP. This approach, on which HOK collaborated with Vantage Airport Group, allowed for the construction of two additional miles of aircraft taxi lanes that will reduce airport ground delays. The team designed a simplified and intuitive circulation network comprising over eight miles of new roadway and 20 new bridges that provide an effortless connection from the airport to the GCP and New York City. This sophisticated roadway network becomes part of the overall airport aesthetic. The roadways in front of the headhouse frame the GCP, and its column structures align with the headhouse design to provide one cohesive visual. “The architectural design of the new Terminal B is second to none, and we’re so excited for our guests to enjoy both the striking visuals this new terminal offers, as well as the innovative concepts that improve passenger flow, comfort, and overall experience for travelers,” said Stewart Steeves, Chief Executive Officer of LaGuardia Gateway Partners. “As we move into this new era of history for LaGuardia’s Terminal B, we’re so grateful for our partners HOK and WSP for creating an aesthetic worthy of the great design history of New York.” “LaGuardia Airport is one of New York City’s most significant civic buildings. Reconnecting the experience and quality of this airport with its extraordinary city was the prime focus of our design work at LaGuardia Terminal B,” said Carl Galioto, FAIA, HOK’s president and New York office managing principal. “Our design concept focuses on two main components: a superior passenger experience and an exterior architectural expression that conveys a civic presence from the Grand Central Parkway. The building is a metaphor for New York, a city of islands and bridges, and the terminal is connected to the city with views of the skyline from the passenger bridges. Our ambition was to help transform LaGuardia into an airport with a distinct civic identity worthy of this metropolis.” “In addition to the building itself, LaGuardia’s new and improved roadway network is unlike any other, in that it was designed from the beginning as a critical feature of the overall airport terminal aesthetic,” added Bernie McNeilly, WSP USA’s chief operating officer for transportation and principal-in-charge of the project. “Even before passengers arrive at the terminal, they will get a satisfying sense that things have changed for the better here and will set in motion a more pleasant, comfortable travel experience. It provides New York with a world-class facility that balances beauty, design and function, and leaves those visiting or traveling through the city with a positive and memorable impression.” The new Terminal B treats arrivals and departures with equal emphasis. This challenged the widespread practice among airports of offering the most monumental spaces to departures while relegating low-ceilinged, basement-like zones to arrivals. At LaGuardia’s new Terminal B, incoming and outgoing passengers will share soaring, airy, grand-scaled sequences. Flexible, Adaptable and Enduring WSP designed the roadway network to accommodate current and future transportation demands, evolving transportation mode shifts and accessibility in a constrained landside environment. It consists of precast bulb-tee beams spanning to cast-in-place concrete piers and multi-span continuous steel girder bridges with one- and two-level roadway structures. The construction phasing strategy enabled continual operation of the existing airport while seamlessly shifting to the new infrastructure as construction was completed. Inside the terminal, all check-in and passenger screening areas are located on the third floor. As needs change, this location will give Terminal B the adaptability to accommodate evolving security screening and technology. Instead of providing rigid parameters for each of its airline tenants, the ‘common-use’ design allows airlines to move easily within the terminal, expanding or shrinking their footprints within the terminal. The sustainable design strategies in the new Terminal B, which is targeting LEED Silver certification, include generous use of non-glare daylighting, passive shading, natural local materials and storm resiliency. The efficient new infrastructure and layout will reduce the airport’s overall carbon footprint due to lower fuel demands from taxiing aircraft. The Team LaGuardia Gateway Partners was selected by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to deliver an extensive capital redevelopment project at LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B that will provide world-class terminal facilities and operations for passengers and airlines. LaGuardia Gateway Partners is composed of Vantage Airport Group, Skanska, Meridiam and JLC Infrastructure for development and equity investment. Vantage Airport Group leads the redevelopment program and management of Terminal B, with Skanska Walsh as the design-build joint venture and HOK and WSP for design. Many other firms made important contributions to the project, including Thornton Tomasetti as structural engineer for headhouse (HOK served as structural engineer for the pedestrian bridges); Hardesty & Hanover as structural engineer for bridges and landslide drainage; Advantage Engineering Associates for street lighting, intelligent transportation systems, electrical and security elements; KS Engineers and Arora and Associates for roadway overhead signage and structural elements and fire protection engineering. Additional M/WBE firms that contributed to this effort include Switzer, Foit Albert, RCGA and NPA for architecture; Kiku Obata for graphics; and Cerami for acoustics. HOK designs buildings and spaces that respond to the needs of people and the environment. HOK designers are rooted in technical excellence, driven by imagination and focused on a solitary goal: to deliver solutions that inspire clients and communities. WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world's leading engineering and professional services firms. WSP USA’s engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals design lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 9,500 employees in 150 offices across the U.S., WSP USA partners with our clients to help communities prosper.

Project Name: Aloft Ocean City

Company Name: New Millennium Building Systems

Project Location: Ocean City, Maryland United States

Project Information/Details: Photo credit: Keith Iott, Iott Architecture and Engineering Little did he know it, but an online continuing education course Keith Iott took a few years ago would help form his vision for a first-of-its-kind hotel project in Ocean City, Md., in 2019. Iott was both architect and engineer for the Aloft Ocean City project, a five-story, 78,000-square-foot waterfront hotel with picturesque views of Isle of Wight Bay. The first resort hotel for the Aloft brand, it opened in May 2019, just in time for the summer vacation season. Meeting the opening date was crucial to the project, as was keeping costs down and retaining Aloft’s open-air style with common spaces uninterrupted by columns and guest rooms with maximum floor-to-ceiling heights. To complete those objectives, Iott’s building design is made up of a steel podium frame for the ground floor while the guest rooms above feature load-bearing cold-formed steel (CFS) demising walls with a 3.5-inch dovetail long-span composite floor deck with a 2-inch lightweight concrete cover. “This was a rare opportunity to have a dialogue with an ‘all-in-one’ lead architect and structural engineer,” says Marty Williams, design development manager at New Millennium Building Systems. “Keith skillfully balanced structural, serviceability and space design needs.” Iott says the combination of dovetail composite floor deck and CFS panelized walls is a first-of-its kind framing system for Ocean City, where post-tensioned concrete is the prevailing construction method. In fact, he says the Aloft project might not have even proceeded without the cost and time savings associated with the dovetail deck-CFS combo. “The biggest problem I was seeing with post-tensioned is it eats up a tremendous amount of the schedule and a good chunk of the budget,” says Iott, who has used post-tensioned concrete on dozens of projects. “I was looking for an alternative that would allow us to have the non-combustibility and durability of a concrete system but without some of the downside potential.” “The dovetail composite floor deck in the guest room floors was a game-changer in terms of being able to accommodate what we wanted to do structurally, what we wanted to do from a fire-protection standpoint and, more importantly, what we wanted to do in terms of driving the schedule.” Williams says the dovetail composite deck-CFS demising wall system is increasingly common in hospitality. “Long-span composite deck and CFS walls have successfully framed so many hotel and apartment developments, it’s become too difficult to track them,” Williams says. “It was surprising to hear Aloft was a first for Ocean City.” Aloft’s guest room floors aerial view Photo credit: Richard Jarvis, Owner’s Representative Architect and Engineer Keith Iott says the cold-formed steel demising walls and 3.5-inch dovetail long-span composite floor deck used on Aloft’s guest-room floors enabled the project to meet budget, performance and timeline demands. Open for the season As a resort town, the hospitality industry is important to Ocean City. Each summer, about 8 million visitors, descend on the popular vacation town. The Aloft hotel added 120 rooms to the town’s 10,000-plus guest room count to accommodate the seasonal crush. The project broke ground in March 2018. Completing construction as quickly as possible was paramount to Iott and developers Blue Water Development and Real Hospitality Group, and Sunsations Real Estate Group. The CFS-dovetail composite floor deck system helped speed construction. Iott says the project took 14 months from foundation to certificate of occupancy—2.5 to 3 months quicker than what would have been possible using post-tensioned concrete. Compressing the schedule was important, Iott says, in order for the hotel to be able to book the entire summer tourist season. “People were pretty amazed how quickly the frame went up once we got above the podium,” says Iott, owner and founder of Iott Architecture and Engineering. “This is a pretty slick system.” Iott credits several factors for the accelerated construction timeline: 1. The structure’s decreased weight that eliminated the need for foundation piles 2. A quick-curing, 2-inch concrete cover over the 3.5-inch dovetail composite floor slab 3. Minimal shoring required during installation of the dovetail composite floor deck Savings by the numbers The dovetail composite floor deck and CFS load-bearing demising walls provided a variety of impressive benefits. Here are some of them. Faster construction: 2.5 to 3 months quicker than alternatives Reduced cost: Eliminated $1.5M to $2.5M in construction costs Lighter weight: 66% lighter than a post-tensioned concrete building Reduced floor slab thickness 2.5 inches Increased ceiling height 2.5 inches Smaller column footprints expanded the amenity level floor area Lightweight benefits From the ground up, the dovetail composite floor deck on CFS frame contributes to speedy erection by virtue of its lightweight materials. The Aloft Hotel sits on a spread footing foundation—which couldn’t have been used with a heavier structure—instead of a pile foundation. That saved precious time, Iott says, because of the labor and material required for piles. “They’re big spread footings, but otherwise you can’t do a 5-story post-tensioned concrete building on spread footings,” says Iott, who estimates the building weighs 66 percent less than a post-tensioned concrete building would have weighed. “We saved a month-and-a-half or 2 months between the piles and the pile caps as opposed to just pouring big concrete footings.” On the ground floor, the lightweight floor slabs above allowed Iott to achieve open spans uninterrupted by columns. “Because of the significantly reduced dead load of the floor slabs of the dovetail composite floor system (38 pounds per square foot) vs. the dead load of post-tensioned concrete slabs (100 pounds per square foot), we were able to design a 4,000-square-foot column-free bayfront banquet venue that enjoys spectacular views of the bay and the tidal marsh,” Iott explains. “The banquet venue has four floors of guest rooms above. This would have been very difficult and expensive to achieve using a post-tensioned concrete floor system within the proscribed height limitations.” The columns used elsewhere on the ground floor were smaller since they were supporting lighter loads, Iott says. Instead of 12-inch-by-36-inch columns, the project features up to W8” steel columns. Columns with less girth helped produce clear sightlines and open spaces. “We ended up with a much more open floor plan just simply by reducing the mass of the columns,” Iott says. “It gave us much more design flexibility, which lead to more unimpeded views to the bay, the marsh and the outdoor amenities.” Quick-curing benefits Iott was particularly pleased with the ability to have workers on the dovetail composite floor deck a day after concrete floor above was poured. With 30 years of experience to draw on, Iott estimates this was a primary time-saver during erection. “That was the beauty of what happened here, when the floor was poured, plumbers were roughing-in plumbing the day after,” Iott says. “You just don’t see that in post-tensioned concrete construction. It compressed the schedule. We were able to save significantly on the schedule.” Minimal-shoring benefits The Aloft guest rooms are primarily 13 feet at their longest, with some larger rooms 19 feet. Dovetail composite floor deck creates clear spans up to 28 feet—more than meeting the demands of the project—with unshored spans reaching 16 feet. Iott says this saves a considerable amount of time. The absence of shoring in the 13-foot units allowed trade mobilization immediately after the floor above was poured. Man-hours required to set up, install and then remove the shoring after concrete has cured were substantially reduced. The demands on the shoring engineer were similarly lessened in a minimally shored frame. The combination of dovetail composite floor deck and CFS load-bearing demising walls contributed to shaving 2.5 to 3 months off the Aloft’s construction. Photo credit: Keith Iott, Iott Architecture and Engineering The dovetail long-span composite deck was erected with shoring in Aloft guest rooms with 19-foot spans but did not require shoring in rooms with 13-foot spans, creating cost and times savings during the project. Keep costs down The benefits of the lightweight dovetail composite floor deck-CFS wall system also manifest in overall project cost. Besides accelerating erection time, the spread-footing foundation supported mammoth savings over a pile foundation, which Iott says is used in approximately 90 percent of the concrete structures built in Ocean City. “We saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in piles, in the cost of driving piles, in the cost associated with pile caps, pedestals and everything, and then savings of time,” he says. Reduced tonnage also meant fewer and smaller columns, another set of cost savings. The thin-slab dovetail composite floor deck’s strength reduces the amount of concrete required, and its staggered head-of-wall arrangement negates the need for costly fire-protection material. Altogether, Iott estimates using the dovetail composite deck with the CFS bearing walls helped save $1.5 million to $2.5 million in total construction costs. Manage floor height Ocean City tightly regulates the height of new construction, limiting new construction to 50 feet. It’s understandable the municipality would not want skyscrapers spoiling the scenic views of the bays. With the dovetail thin-slab composite floor deck, Iott maximized available space per floor while adhering to the stringent zoning codes. He says the thin-slab floor of 5.5 inches—3.5-inch dovetail composite floor deck with a 2-inch lightweight concrete cover—saved 2.5 inches per floor, contributing to the guest rooms’ airy, loft-like feel. “We were able to throw that extra 2.5 inches of increased ceiling height into each guest room floor,” Iott says. “That may not sound like much, but with post-tensioned concrete we would need an 8-inch floor slab. “The floor heights just work out better.” Williams agrees. “Because thin floors help lower building height, they fit perfectly in urban and other high-density localities like Ocean City,” he says. “It’s particularly critical here because everyone wants to feel the sun and see the water. Controlling floor height helps make that happen.” Head-of-wall arrangement As it creates a thin-slab floor, the dovetail long-span composite deck introduces significant fire-control benefits. This characteristic of dovetail composite floor deck caught Iott’s eye during a New Millennium Building Systems continuing education course. The UL-approved head-of-wall design utilizes staggered deck flutes to create an uninterrupted concrete break that compartmentalizes fire and smoke between the units. The “built-in” breaks eliminate the labor, time and cost of placing expensive—and messy—fire sealants needed if the deck flutes were set aligned over the CFS bearing walls. “The minute the concrete cures, you’re virtually fire-stopped,” Iott says. “Ocean City has a very, very thorough and very responsible fire marshal’s office. They’re very knowledgeable, and fire-stopping is always an issue, as it should be. When I showed the fire marshal that head-of-wall detail with the staggered deck flutes, he got it instantly. He said, ‘OK, that’s great. It’s perfect.’ ” Dovetail composite floor deck offers the shallowest unprotected fire ratings available, and Williams says the Aloft’s 5.5-inch lightweight concrete composite floor slab attains a 2-hour fire rating. “Based on the Aloft’s height and occupancy, the fire code only mandated a 1-hour fire endurance rating,” he explains. “The 3.5-inch dovetail deck topped with 2 inches of light-density concrete actually achieves a 2-hour rating. For projects utilizing regular-weight concrete, increasing the cover to only 2.25 inches (5.75-inch total slab) would also suffice for 2-hour designs.” During construction, Iott says the CFS wall-dovetail composite floor deck system offers another fire-safety component: avoiding a wood frame, which is trendy among some segments of the hospitality industry. “I’m not a fan of wood framing for this scale of construction even though it is permissible under the current building codes,” he says. “With this system, we avoided the possibility of a catastrophic fire during construction, which is the most dangerous time. Long-term exposure of wood frames to wind, rain and the ocean-air can also be troublesome. “Furthermore, multi-story wood-framed construction runs the risk of near-term issues related to shrinkage of structural components, which can cause many problems. The long-term issues related to water intrusion with the potential for structural degradation is a huge concern in a hostile ocean environment such as Ocean City. The combination of load-bearing cold-formed frame walls coupled with the dovetail deck creates a very dimensionally stable structural frame, which with a properly designed and constructed building envelope will ensure many years of service.” Once complete, the Aloft Ocean City added 60 jobs to the local economy and contributed to a surge in redevelopment of the 45th Street Village area. A half-mile south of the Aloft, Ocean City’s Roland E. Powell Convention Center is undergoing a $24.5 million expansion. “This is Blue Water’s first new construction in Ocean City, and I’ve loved watching it progress from blueprint to reality,” says Todd Burbage, co-owner of Blue Water Development and Real Hospitality Group. “Aloft was designed with a modern, open-air style that incorporates the look and feel of the ocean environment.” “Infusing jobs and business opportunities into our local economy is very important to us,” he added. “Locally sourced builders are always a priority for us; we employed over 100 individuals from local construction companies to work on the Aloft.” Iott already is looking ahead to the next opportunity to use a dovetail thin-slab, long-span composite floor deck system. “We’ve got another hotel on the boards that we are very excited about. That owner watched the Aloft as it was under construction and is encouraging us to use the same structural system on his hotel,” he says. “It’s going to be 7 stories above a podium, so we’re going to see what it’s going to take to make it work.”