The National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) is pleased to publish the winners of the 2020 Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards. The awards were announced during NCSEA’s 28th annual Structural Engineering Summit, which was held virtually this year. A video of the presentation can be found on the NCSEA website. Given annually since 1998, each year the entries highlight work from the best and brightest in our profession.
Awards were given in eight categories, with one project in each category named the Outstanding Project. The 2020 Awards Committee was chaired by Carrie Johnson (Wallace Engineering Structural Consultants, Inc., Tulsa OK). Ms. Johnson noted: “We had two rounds of judging to allow the judges more time to focus on each individual project. The preliminary round was performed by NCSEA Past Presidents and the final round by NCSEA’s Northeast Coalition with engineer judges from Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. The judges had an enormous task of trying to determine winners. The level of challenges requiring innovation and creativity was impressive. The group of winning projects is outstanding.”
Please join NCSEA and STRUCTURE magazine in congratulating all the winners. More in-depth articles on several of the 2020 winners will appear in the Spotlight section of the magazine over the 2021 editorial year. Visit the NCSEA website (https://bit.ly/2IYbDb8) for more!
2020 Panel of Judges
Preliminary Round – NCSEA Past Judges
Bill Bast, S.E., LPI, Inc.; Craig Barnes, P.E., CBI Consulting Inc.; Marc Barter, P.E., S.E., SECB, Barter & Associates, Inc.;
Mike Tylk, S.E., TGRWA, LLC; Ron Hamburger, S.E., Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Inc.; Barry Arnold, S.E., P.E., ARW Engineers;
Ben Nelson, P.E., Martin/Martin; Tom DiBlasi, P.E., SECB, DiBlasi Associates, PC; Tom Grogan,P.E., Retired;
Vicki Arbitrio, P.E., Gilsanz Murray Steficek LLP; Carrie Johnson, P.E., Wallace Engineering Structural Consultants, Inc.;
Jim Malley, S.E., Degenkolb Engineers; John Joyce, P.E., Engineering Solutions LLC; Sanjeev Shah, P.E., Esq., Shajeev Shah, Inc.
Final Round – NCSEA’s Northeast Coalition from Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts
Bassem Almuti, P.E., Cannon Design; Bruce Richardson, P.E., The DiSalvo Engineering Group; Craig Barnes, P.E., SECB, CBI Consulting;
Erik Nelson, P.E., S.E., Structures Workshop; Graham Carr, P.E., Vital Structures, LLC; Han Xu, P.E., Thornton Tomasetti;
James Fox, P.E., BVH Integrated Services; Kevin Chamberlain, P.E., S.E., Distefano & Chamberlain;
Mark Rodriguez, DiBlasi Associates; Michael Fillion, P.E., S.E., Fillion Group; Rick Boggs, P.E., S.E., SECB, Fuss & O’Neill;
Robert Kane, EIT, McNamara Salvia; Ben Nelson, P.E., Martin/Martin
Outstanding Projects
Category 1: New Buildings under $30 Million
ICE Block I
ICE Block I
Sacramento, CA | Buehler
ICE Block I is one of the first projects in Northern California to utilize an exposed mass timber structure. The building blends three structural materials seamlessly: mass timber at the upper floors, concrete podium at the second floor, and steel Buckling Restrained Braced Frames. The fourth floor “mezzanine” provides expansive views through a glass curtainwall.
Category 2: New Buildings $30 Million to $80 Million
Casa Adelante
Casa Adelante
San Francisco, CA | Mar Structural Design
Casa Adelante is a seismically resilient, nine-story affordable housing project for low income seniors. The specially “tuned” reinforced-concrete building uses self-centering walls on a rocking mat foundation. Lead extrusion dampers within the foundation control the seismic response. The building has been evaluated to have zero days of downtime for repair after a major earthquake.
Category 3: New Buildings $80 Million to $200 Million
International Spy Musuem
International Spy Musuem
Washington, D.C. | SK&A
The International Spy Museum is a 130,000-square-foot, distinctively designed steel building. The design incorporates exposed, sloping columns along the south and west faces that are part of the building’s gravity load carrying system and support an intricate series of exposed steel monumental stairs and platforms and a sixty-foot-tall glass “veil.”
Category 4: New Buildings over $200 Million
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Courtesy of Alex Nye.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Los Angeles, CA | Buro Happold
The project consisted of a museum plus a soaring spherical addition housing a 1,000-seat theater. The original steel and concrete structure required seismic strengthening in addition to its major renovation. For the 150-foot-diameter orb-shaped theater, an unusual base-isolation system allows movement 30 inches in any direction during an earthquake.
Category 5: New Bridges or Transportation Structures
Dublin Link Pedestrian Bridge. Courtesy of Cory Klein.
Dublin Link Pedestrian Bridge
Dublin, OH | Endrestudio
The Dublin Link Pedestrian Bridge was conceived simultaneously
as a sculptural form, an efficient structure, and a dramatic experience for Dublin’s visitors and residents alike. Its features of the Eye of the Needle central pylon, sinuously curving deck, and unusual single-sided suspension method create a unique and structurally innovative bridge.
Category 6: Forensic / Renovation / Retrofit / Rehabilitation Structures < $20 Million
West Virginia State Capitol Building
West Virginia State Capitol Building
Charleston, WV | WDP & Associates Consulting Engineers, Inc.
Repairs to address the structural deficiencies of the historic inner dome and interior supporting walls of the West Virginia State Capitol Building were designed to strengthen portions of the existing structure. Supplemental supports preserved integrity while supporting the dome in place as the walls beneath were completely removed and rebuilt.
Category 7: Forensic / Renovation / Retrofit / Rehabilitation Structures > $20 Million
Google Spruce Goose
Google Spruce Goose
Los Angeles, CA | Arup
By rehabilitating and seismically upgrading the existing timber Spruce Goose aircraft hangars to current code requirements, the buildings have been transformed into a modern office. Retrofits included the use of up to 52-inch self-tapping wood screws, heavy steel (multi-tier) braced frames, and steel tie rods to limit deformations under seismic loads.
Category 8: Other Structures
Mackinac Bridge Paint Platforms
Mackinac Bridge Paint Platforms
Mackinaw City, MI | Ruby + Associates, Inc.
Unique platforms allowed for removal and collection of original lead-based paint and repainting of the Mackinac Bridge’s towers. Traveling along cables, davit-like “outriggers” supported two-story movable structures to paint the towers’ upper portion. A second platform, consisting of steel box trusses, was used for the struts connecting the tower legs.
Award Winners
Category 1: New Buildings under $20 Million
Wagner Education Center
Wagner Education Center
Seattle, WA | KPFF, Inc.
The Wagner Education Center establishes a new front door for the Center for Wooden Boats. The dramatically exposed structure, simple yet evocative materials, and energy-efficient design solve the challenges presented by a limited budget and restrictive site.
Category 2: New Buildings $30 Million to $80 Million
Apple Park Visitor Center
Apple Park Visitor Center
Cupertino, California | Nabih Youssef & Associates
A large column-free space dominates the Apple Park Visitor Center. The extremely transparent building is enclosed by a twenty-foot-tall perimeter glazing system and covered by a thin curved carbon-fiber roof deck. The building utilizes a novel post-tensioned steel roof structure.
Cal Poly Pomona Student Services Building. Courtesy of Bill Timmerman.
Cal Poly Pomona Student Services Building
Pomona, CA | John A. Martin & Associates, Inc.
The 138,400-square-foot Student Services Building is comprised of two structures separated by a spacious breezeway. A streamlined, undulating roof serves an essential role in passive solar design. The engineer’s process decreased costs, increased construction speed, and delivered a sustainable campus icon.
North Surrey Sport & Ice Complex. Courtesy of Calvin Owen Jones.
North Surrey Sport & Ice Complex
Surrey, BC, Canada | StructureCraft Builders Inc.
This new 134,000-square-foot complex features three ice arenas with curved, long-span hybrid-timber roofs and provides venues for lacrosse, basketball, and trade shows. Centrally located near transit, the building is part of an effort to rejuvenate this up and coming area.
Category 3: New Buildings $80 Million to $200 Million
Charles Library, Temple University
Charles Library, Temple University
Philadelphia, PA | LERA Consulting Structural Engineers
The architect’s vision demanded a dynamic and innovative structural system, employing a combination of large cantilevers and long-span arches. The 4-story library features a building-wide green roof, a 3-D printing workshop, an automated book storage and retrieval system, and more.
University of Michigan Biological Sciences Building
University of Michigan Biological Sciences Building
Ann Arbor, MI | SmithGroup
Integrating science education with innovative research space and an interactive museum, the vision was to bring science to life by putting active research on display and encouraging interactions between scientists and visitors. The design encourages visitors to explore science in new ways.
Category 4: New Buildings Over $200 Million
W Hotel Tower
W Hotel Tower
Bellevue, WA | Cary Kopczynski & Company
The 41-story W Hotel Tower caters to every need. The structure incorporates North America’s largest use of a seismic design innovation recently pioneered by the Engineer of Record. The combined success of the architecture and structure makes the W Hotel Tower an outstanding example of contemporary building design and construction.
New Stanford Hospital. Courtesy of Bruce Damonte.
New Stanford Hospital
Palo Alto, CA | Nabih Youssef & Associates
The base-isolated New Stanford Hospital represents the latest in seismic resiliency technology, one of the first to use Triple Friction Pendulum isolation bearings. A base-isolated steel moment frame structure was designed for Functional Recovery performance following a major seismic event.
Category 5: New Bridges or Transportation Structures
707 Fifth – Manulife Place Pedestrian Bridge. Courtesy of Tom Harris.
707 Fifth – Manulife Place Pedestrian Bridge
Calgary, Canada | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
707 Fifth – Manulife Place Pedestrian Bridge’s elegant structural system, known as a suspended lenticular truss, improves connectivity within the downtown core. The new link provides a seamless connection to adjacent buildings while managing subgrade conditions, installation sequences, and non-structural coordination.
LaGuardia Airport Pedestrian Bridge B
LaGuardia Airport Pedestrian Bridge B
East Elmhurst, NY | HOK
Relying on concourse islands to increase efficiency and trim years off the construction schedule, and using cutting-edge parametric optimization, 450-foot-long bridge trusses were proposed that surpassed vibration requirements. Construction-staging strategies minimized cost and facilitated erection with precise deflection predictions.
Category 6: Forensic / Renovation / Retrofit / Rehabilitation Structures < $20 Million
First Unitarian Society Meeting House
First Unitarian Society Meeting House
Madison, WI | Pierce Engineers
The under-designed center-hinged arches of this National Historic Landmark settled significantly over the years. Pierce Engineers designed a pretensioned cold-formed/steel hybrid truss that could be installed to take load off failing trusses without the use of shoring to transfer load.
Napa County Historic Courthouse
Napa County Historic Courthouse
Napa, CA | ZFA Structural Engineers
The jail portion of the Napa County Historic Courthouse was demolished in 1977. A new Administrative Annex was built as infill between the remaining Courthouse and the Hall of Records buildings to create a single-occupancy space between the three separate structures.
28 Liberty Street
28 Liberty Street
New York, NY | Shmerykowsky Consulting Engineers
Renovation of the sub-cellar floors included a new inter-floor escalator opening connecting five floors. This involved the simultaneous removal of two axially-loaded floor framing members on two levels and the redistribution of their axial loads via a new double truss system.
Category 7: Forensic / Renovation / Retrofit / Rehabilitation Structures > $20 Million
Yotel. Courtesy of BAR Achitects.
Yotel
San Francisco, CA | Holmes Structures
Yotel San Francisco, a survivor of the great 1906 and Loma Prieta earthquakes, required a full seismic retrofit. Engineering challenges included designing to high forces, strengthening the frail existing structure within tight spaces, and rising to unforeseen construction challenges.
Stanley A. Milner Library Renewal
Stanley A. Milner Library Renewal
Edmonton, Canada | Fast + Epp
The transformation of the existing monolithic concrete façade was accomplished through a complex truss system that cantilevered from the existing structure to transform the building’s shape. Other features included a new lateral system, a reading ramp, and enhanced open spaces.
Category 8: Other Structures
Coastal Wall at Northwestern University
Coastal Wall at Northwestern University
Evanston, IL | SmithGroup
Northwestern University’s Ryan Fieldhouse and Walter Athletics Center required an innovative solution. To maximize available land, the team created “virtual” land by cantilevering the building to Lake Michigan’s edge. SmithGroup designed a curved coastal wall to withstand dynamic waterfront conditions.
Cayton Children’s Museum Courage Climber. Courtesy of Paul Vu.
Cayton Children’s Museum Courage Climber
Santa Monica, CA | Holmes Structures
To evaluate the complex geometric shape of this 1,500-square-foot tensile structure, a parametric form-finding tool was utilized to assess the distribution of loads with the use of a non-linear mesh of cable elements. The building’s roof was also strengthened to accommodate the climbers.
