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Adding a Notch to the City Skyline

 

Part I. Introduction. The developers of a $545-million complex on the west side of Manhattan hope their project, like its predecessor on the site, is going to be a crowd-pleaser.

The 3.7-acre site was once a location Madison Square Garden, where young and old enthusiasts watched large-scale events that ranged from circus performances to boxing matches. That structure was demolished and replaced with a new Garden at another site more than 20 years ago, and the block has been used for surface parking ever since.

The new owner, New York Communication Center Associates, is giving the site, just one block from Broadway, a chance for a comeback. Communication Center Associates is a joint venture of four New York City companies – The Zeckendorf Co., World Wide Realty Corp., Arthur G. Gohen and KG Land New York Corp., an affiliate of Japan’s Kumagai Gumi Co. Ltd.

Architect David Childs, a partner in the New York City office of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, designed the master plan fro the site. Acknowledging that he was in the unusual position of having a full city block to design. Childs says he wanted to create a neighborhood of impact. “The project, called World Wide Plaza, was “planned as a mirror image” to the initial grouping of buildings at Rocke­feller Center, three blocks to the east. Although the initial Rockefeller Center was commercial and World Wide Plaza is a mixed-use project, both have sepa­rate lowers that step down on the site.

Between the towers on each site is a ` plaza with public seating and a large outdoor sculpture. Both plazas can be reached by the public horn three directions and both are skirted by a nar­row drive designed as a drop-off point for people entering the tallest tower.

At World Wide Plaza, the massing of the project steps down from the 53-story commercial tower to a 41-story residential tower and again to a U -shaped pattern of 7 to 10-story townhouses that ring the western edge of the site. The steps lead­ing into the townhouses provide the same rela­tionship to the street as the tenement walk-ups directly opposite.

Part II. Class tower. Childs, who designed the com­mercial tower as well as doing the master plan, says the tower's design is "classically derived. The spandrels in the glazed brick exterior are set back to define the verticality of the shaft, "like the pin stripes on a suit," he says. "It's clearly like New York in character, but a solid, geometric, modern office building." The four-story sections that intersect each of the tower's four corners are clad with granite. Windows are dear glass.

Architect Frank Williams and Asso­ciates, New York City, designed the residential tower and townhouses. The residential tower is accessed directly from the public plaza, which is designed to promote pedestrian traffic. Six theatres will be constructed beneath the plaza. For privacy, residents will share a private courtyard inside the ring of residential buildings.



 

8. Answer the questions to parts I and II:

 

1. What do the developers of the complex on the west side of Manhattan hope for?

2. What was located on the site before?

3. How has the site been used after Garden’s demolition?

4. Who is the new owner of the site?

5. Who designed a master plan?

6. Why was Childs in an unusual position?

7. How was the project planned?

8. What do the WWP and Rockefeller Centre have in common?

9. How is the public plaza decorated?

10. Is there any drive for cars?

11. How many stories are the towers?

12. In what way is the relationship of the townhouses to the street provided?

13. What is the design of the commercial tower?

14. In what way is the verticality of the shaft defined?

15. Do you like the appearance and the character of the commercial tower?

16. Who designed the residential tower and townhouses?

17. How can people access the residential building?

18. What will be constructed beneath the plaza?

19. What is planned inside the ring of residential building?

20. Can you characterize the complex in one word?

 

9. Read part III and answer the questions after it. Make sure you can explain the following terms and word combinations from part III.

 

Excavation of the rest of the site Parking lot Excavation and foundation contractor To deal with a maze Underground debris To set the construction schedule back Rebar Cut with torches Equipment housed in the basement Oil tank Rocky subsurface Explosive charges Close blasting A close and more precise line Spacing To chip away To turn to a backhoe To renovate a subway entrance Token booth Superstructure Exterior tube   Lobby Grade level Granite-clad columns Prefabricated off the site Option Faced with granite Dowels Preset holes Vaulted ceiling Coffered sections Fiberglass-reinforced gypsum Joist framing system To be within the footprint Transferred loads Structural engineer Associate partner with Mechanical mezzanine Project manager Rigid frame Bays Setback (n) Wind stresses Braced core    

Part III. Demolition. A three-story brick building in a corner of the site was quickly demolished in two days. But when excavation of the rest of the 200 x 800-ft site began, no one knew what was below the asphalt parking lot. Excavation and foundation contractor Delma Construction, New York City, discovered that the old Garden's reinforced concrete floor slab had simply been cut in half and dumped into the building's basement. Instead of a simple excavation, Delma had to deal with a maze of underground debris. The process set the construction schedule back about a month, says Dominic Fonti, the commercial tower's project manager for HRH Construction Corp., New York City. Rebar had to be cut with torches before it could be removed by crane.

The excavation process also uncovered all of the mechanical equipment that had been housed in the basement of the old Garden. Obstacles included an oil tank full of oil that had to be emptied before it could be removed from the site, Fonti says.

To excavate the site's rocky subsurface, explosive charges had to be kept very small because blasting was so close to an active subway line. This slowed the construction schedule another three to four weeks, says Fonti. To get a close and more precise line for the charges, workers drilled holes that were about 6 in. on center. This spacing meant that the rock wall was just chipped away. When workers were as close as 20 to 25 ft to the subway, they turned to a backhoe fitted with a hydraulic hammer.

Zeckendorf had agreed to renovate and expand a subway entrance that will be part of the commercial tower. The entrance had been sealed 22 years ago when the old Garden was demolished. When workers opened it, they found lots of dust and an old token booth that was later removed—but no graffiti. It is "probably the only subway entrance [in New York City] untouched by graffiti," adds Fonti. During the excavation, the only part of the old Garden structure that was retained was its north foundation wall. Nearly 100 lin. ft o f it was integrated into the foundation wall system for the commercial tower. The superstructure of the 778-ft-high commercial tower consists of an exterior tube with a braced frame at the core. The tube resists most of the overturning moment and the braced core resists most of the shear forces.

An arcade, elliptical in plan, surrounds the lobby at grade level. The arcade's 25-ft-high granite-clad columns were prefabricated off the site. Fonti says this option was faster and saved money on labor. The 4-ft-high sections are 6 in. thick and consist of a concrete layer faced with granite. The sections are connected on the site with dowels inserted into preset holes. The 35-ft-high vaulted ceiling in the arcade is also made of prefabricated sections. Its coffered sections, with ornamental borders, are made of fiberglass-reinforced gypsum. They are hung from a metal joist framing system.

Although the arcade is open to the exterior, it is still within the footprint of the structural tube. To get the tube's loads around the three-story arcade, they are transferred to the corners of the building through heavy diagonal W14 sections.

Structural engineer Richard F. Rowe, an associate partner with SOM, explains that transferring the loads "over a couple of stories is more elegant, so the load is gradually distributed to the places that you want it." He adds that it is important to recognize that the transfers take place so you can't see them from the exterior." A network of transfers is located between the second and fourth floors. Transfers also take place in a 4 to 5-ft-high space below the second level, used as a mechanical mezzanine, says Robert P. Sanna, one of HRH's project managers on the job. Above the fifth floor, wide tube columns are used as structural members instead of W14s. Structural engineer Robert A. Halvorson, a partner with SOM, adds that the rigid frame is interrupted between the 41st and 43rd floors. The columns stay in the same location, but a 2-ft recess of the beams between the 19-ft-bays provides a setback for exterior lighting equipment to be installed. Halvorsons explains that the wind stresses are low enough at that height that the rigid frame can be interrupted without problem.

 

10.Answer the questions to part III:

 

1. Was excavation of the site simple?

2. What was below the asphalt parking lot?

3. Why was the construction schedule set back about a month?

4. Who was excavation and foundation constructor?

5. What obstacles were in the basement of the Old Garden?

6. Why were explosive charges small?

7. How were the holes for the charges drilled?

8. What was just chipped away?

9. What did the workers use when they were as close as 20 ft to the subway?

10. Why was the subway entrance different from others?

11. What part of the old Garden structure was retained?

12. What is the function of the exterior tube?

13. What is the shape of the arcade?

14. What materials are used for the arcade?

15. How are the sections connected?

16. What materials are used for the arcade’s vaulted ceiling?

17. How are the tube’s loads transferred?

18. What is Richard F. Rowe?

19. Where is the rigid frame interrupted?

20. What provides a setback for exterior lighting equipment?

 

11.Read part IV and answer the questions after it. Make sure you can explain the following terms and word combinations from part IV.

 

Project engineer Core bracing
Tight bay spacing Chamfered corner
To splice on at midspan To form Ts
Field-welded Wedding cake pattern
Shop-welded (on to one side) beam stubs Gravity load
Curved masonry  

 

Part IV. Bracing. Gary R. Steficek, SOM's project engineer for the commercial tower, adds that not all of the core bracing continues to the top of the building, either. Some of the bracing stops at the 16th floor, some stops at the 40th and the rest continues to the 50th floor. Tight bay spacing was needed at the corners to help transfer the wind loads around the corners of the building. There are four 11-ft-wide bays at each end and alternating 19-ft and 11-ft bays in the center. Each end bay has a chamfered corner. Columns that had beam stubs spiced on at midspan to form Ts were used between the 11-ft-wide bays. "The [horizontal] stubs were welded on in the shop where it is a lot easier to make a moment connection," says Steficek. Mosher Steel Co., Houston, fabricated the structural steel for the theaters and commercial tower. Steficek adds that the stubs could not exceed 5-ft because they had to be transported through tunnels into New York City. That meant that for the 19-ft-wide bays, stubs could only be shop-welded onto one side of the columns and additional beams for the frame had to be fieldwelded.

The steel framing that surrounds the tube in a wedding cake pattern at the building's base does not add to its stability. Steficek explains that the 18 floors of framing around the base of the tube carry only their own gravity load. The curved masonry on the exterior that is designed to mirror the arcade inside is six stories high. Steficek adds that the floor area varies from about 45,000 sq. ft at the base to about 25,000 sq. ft on the upper floors.

 

12.Answer the questions to part IV:

 

1. Who is the project engineer for the commercial tower?

2. Does all of the core bracing continue to the top of the building?

3. What was needed to transfer the wind loads around the corners of the building?

4. What columns were used between the 11-ft-wide bays?

5. What welding was used for the horizontal stubs?

6. What company fabricated the structural steel?

7. What needed field welding?

8. What is the steel framing compared to?

9. What load do the 18 floors of the framing carry?

10. How high is the curved masonry?

11. How does the floor area vary?

 

13.Read part V and answer the questions after it. Make sure you can explain the following terms and word combinations from part V.

Impermeable envelope Wind forces Research director Wind tunnel Boundary layer Round dormers Roof space A four-store-high plenum Air intake Exhausted air Water intake Wind loads Built-up patches Sheltering effect Penthouse Panelized roof Curtain wall Scaffolding Crane Derrick Assistant project manager Subcontractor   Mullions To span between the girts To specify Loosened up copper The bolt spacing Copper stiffeners Gasket Translucent glass Tight midtown site Staging area Plaza’s landscaping Vehicular drive Tree wells Principal designer Landscape architect To frame parts of the structure Substantial amount of seating Pavilion(s) Retail space To wash with lights Lit from within    

Part V. Wind forces. Most skyscrapers have an impermeable envelope. This building project is unusual because both the arcade at grade level and the copper-clad roof a re open to wind forces on the interior walls, says Nicholas Isyumov, research director at the University of Western Ontario's Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory, in London, Ontario.

Round dormers that let air in and out through copper grilles are locate d at the top and the bottom of the 150-ft-high roof space, creating a four-story-high plenum. Bottom dormers at the 50th floor level have an air intake through cooling towers located at the 708-ft to 731-ft levels. The air is exhausted through the dormers at the top of the roof. All of the dormers are in a vertical position to reduce the chance of water intake. Mechanical-electrical design is by Cosentini Associates, New York City.

The actual wind loads on the building will be higher than they are on some nearby skyscrapers because it is "away from the built-up parches of Manhattan. It does not have the sheltering effect of surrounding buildings and the biggest, strongest winds in Manhattan tend to come from the west," says Isyumov. To the west of the project, most of the surrounding buildings are five-story walk-up tenements.

The roof structure, used as a penthouse for the mechanical equipment, is made of prefabricated copper panels. HRH suggested that the roof be panelizes so it could be installed like a curtain wall and scaffolding would not be needed for its erection. As results, the roof was built from the interior "with as few pieces as possible," says SOM's Rowe. The 2 x 26-ft-long copper sheets were lifted by crane and derrick, adds Peter M. Chorman, SOM's assistant project manager for the roof and arcade. They were stored on the 47th floor and on the two floors inside the roof. Subcontractor Werner Dahnz, Toronto, designed and fabricated the copper roof panels. They are made of girts with ribs "similar to curtain wall mullions that span between the girts, " says Rowe. The girts are being bolted in the field to sloping columns. The copper roof panels had to be equipped with doors to provide access to the lighting equipment that will be used to illuminate the roof.

Rowe adds that SOM typically specifies that a portion of a window wall be tested for wind loads air infiltration. Here, in addition to a section of a wall, a section of the roof with dormers also was built and tested. "The first time it failed miserably. The copper loosened up in the first test," explains Rowe. The problem was corrected by increasing the bolt size and reducing the bolt spacing from 18 to about 12 in. on center. The copper panels, with copper stiffeners on 8-in. centers, are held between aluminum glazing stops that are bolted to aluminum mullions. A gasket separates the two dissimilar metals. At the top of the copper-clad roof is a pyramid space frame clad with translucent glass.

The grade-level plaza, located between the residential and commercial towers, is reached directly from the arcade. Its construction was a priority because its open area was needed for the storage of construction materials on the tight midtown site. The plaza also is being used as a staging area for the fabrication of reinforced concrete sections for the residential tower and the townhouses. But before the structure supporting the plaza's landscaping, fountain and vehicular drive could be built, the project's six theaters had to be constructed.

The roof of the theaters is at the bottom of the tree wells, says Michael Sardina, principal designer for the landscape architect, The SWA Group, Boston. Loading is the 10-ft-wide vehicular drive that is adjacent to the commercial tower.

To support the plaza weight and get the necessary clear spans for the theaters, four 7 ½ -ft-deep girders frame parts of the underground structure. Two of the deep girders are 80ft long and two are 60ft long. The heaviest of them weigh 784 Ib. per ft.

The plaza will have trees, shrubs and "a substantial amount of seating," says Sardina. Two 30-ft-high pavilions one on either side of the plaza, will provide entrances to the underground theaters as well as retail space on the plaza. To attract pedestrians and keep the public spaces active at night, the commercial tower will be washed with lights. The rooftop pyramid, lit from within, will become a beacon on the city's skyline.

 

14.Answer the questions to part V:

 

1. What envelope do most skyscrapers have?

2. Why is this project unusual?

3. What is creating a four-story plenum?

4. Where is the air intake at the 50th floor?

5. How is the air exhausted?

6. Why are all the dormers in a vertical position?

7. Why are the actual wind loads on the building higher than on nearby skyscrapers?

8. Where do the biggest winds in Manhattan tend to come from?

9. Is the roof structure used as a penthouse for residents?

10. Why wasn’t scaffolding used for the roof construction?

11. What mechanisms were used to lift copper sheets?

12. Who designed and fabricated the copper roof panels?

13. How is the access to the lighting equipment provided?

14. What was tested for wind loads and air filtration?

15. How are the copper panels held?

16. What is reached directly from the arcade?

17. What was another function of the plaza?

18. What was necessary to construct before the fountain and vehicular drive?

19. Where is the roof of the theatres?

20. What frame parts of the underground structure?

21. What will the plaza have?

22. What do the 30-ft-high pavilions provide?

23. Why will the commercial tower be washed with lights?

24. What will the roof-top pyramid become?

 

Comprehension check

 

15.Decide whether the following statements are true or false according to the text:

 

1. The commercial-residential complex in Manhattan is an added notch to a city skyline.

2. The structure was demolished and replaced with a surface parking.

3. Rockefeller Center and World Wide Plaza differ in functions.

4. Both plazas can be reached from two directions.

5. Excavation and foundation contractor had many obstacles in the excavation process.

6. The subway entrance was covered with graffiti.

7. The superstructure consists of an exterior tube with a braced frame at the core.

8. The arcade’s granite-clad prefabricated columns saved money on labour and time.

9. Transferring the loads over a couple of stories can be seen from the exterior.

10. The rigid frame couldn’t be interrupted because of wind stresses.

11. It is a lot easier to make a moment connection by welding in the shop.

12. The steel framing that surrounds the tube in a wedding cake pattern at the building’s base does not add to it’s stability.

13. This building has an impermeable envelope.

14. The air is exhausted through the dormers at the top of the roof.

15. The actual wind loads on the commercial tower will be lower than they are on nearby skyscrapers.

16. The roof was panelized to be installed like a curtain wall from the interior.

17. The copper roof panels had to be equipped with doors to provide access to the lighting equipment to illuminate the roof.

18. The project’s six theatres construction was a priority.

19. To support the plaza weight four heavy girders framed parts of the underground structure.

20. The commercial tower will be washed with lights to be protected from flying aircrafts.

 

16. What do you think:

 

1. Do skyscrapers have any chance to get ground in Belarus?

2. What do you know about construction industry in this country?

3. Does it follow the high-tech designs of Skidmore, Owings and Merril and other construction companies and businesses?

4. Can you imagine living in a penthouse or on the 41st floor of a skyscraper?

5. Would you like to live there or just enjoy a breathtaking view from a sky deck or working in the office on the 100th floor?

 

17. Make up the plan of the text.

 

18. Make a summary according to your plan. The following word-combinations will help you:

 

The title of the article is… .The article touches upon … . The article consists of … parts. The first part deals with such problems as… . The second/third part reports on … . Such designs as…are described. The advantage of this design is… . The article is provided (illustrated) with (photos, diagrams, tables). The final part of the article gives the information about… .

 

 

Language focus

 

19. Match the words with their synonyms:

 

1) walk-up 6) surround a) access f) tenement

2) design 7) adjacent b) beam g) reflect

3) construct 8) mirror c) design h) nearby

4) girder 9) reach d) light i) skirt

5) develop 10) illuminate e) build j) project

 

20. Match the words with their antonyms:

 

1) increase 6) install a) walk-up f) exterior

2) let (air) in 7) top b) reduce g) remove

3) tower 8) load c) demolish h) exhaust

4) construct 9) intake d) let out i) weight

5) interior 10) underground e) bottom j) subway

 

21. Match the words with their definitions:

 

1. expand a) to remove the building from the site

2. interrupt b) the top part of a building

3. slab c) finished with granite, glass or other material

4. impermeable d) the underground part of a building

5. walk-up e) a town house without elevators

6. excavate f) the company making part of the project

7. residential g) the unit between storeys of a building

8. plaza h) a part between two streets of any town

9. subcontractor i) to make wider

10. foundation j) the building equipment used on a tight construction site

11. demolish k) to make a break n a process

12. blasting l) not letting air n or out

13. roof m) the room with arches as a ceiling

14. backhoe n) to dig the ground for a foundation

15. clad o) making explosion

16. arcade p) a place for public activities or entertainment

17. block q) meant for people to live in

 

22. What do we call: (use the words from the list below)

(bracing , contractor , hydraulic, aluminium, exterior,

load, fabricate ,scaffolding, design, core, demolition, charge ,

commercial building, brick, depth, surface, crane,

basement, derrick, superstructure).

1. the person or organization signatory to a contract to do certain work within a specified time for payment.

2. a silvery grey metallic element with good corrosion resistance used in many light alloys.

3. structure members to stiffen it or to resist wind forces.

4. hydraulically powered tool on the jib of an excavator.

5. something outer or external.

6. an action applied to a structure, artifact or its surroundings.

7. construct or manufacture by a fabricator.

8. a broad class of mechanical devices for lifting and moving heavy loads.

9. a crane with a vertical mast.

10. the process of knocking down or pulling a building.

11. the distance from a surface innards.

12. a small rectangular block of fired clay used in building.

13. the part of a building or other structure above the foundation.

14. the outside part or uppermost layer of something.

15. having most of the space used for commerce; often including stores, offices, libraries, churches, museums, warehouses, government buildings etc.

16. a temporary structure to provide access or protection to temporary works; may be in timber or made of tubular steel poles.

17. to formulate an idea and turn it into a practical reality as a structure.

18. central or most important part of something.

19. a quantity of explosive inserted in a drill hole in a blasting operation.

20. the underground storey of a building.

23. Arrange the following words into groups according to the part of speech. Pay attention to their suffixes and prefixes.

 

Verb Noun Adjective Adverb
       

 

Construction, miserably, loosen, infiltration, residential, equipment, subcontractor, stability, electrical, developer, predecessor, commercial, relationship, replace, parking, provide, acknowledge, unusual, separate, outdoor, derive, geometric, intersect, directly, define, walk-up, verticality, western, pedestrian, privacy, excavate, basement, courtyard, private, uncover, contractor, hydraulic, renovate, spacing, subsurface, explosive, precise, impermeable, charges, locate, stiffness, dissimilar, translucent, arcade, vehicular, fabrication, panelize, chip away, blasting, retain, superstructure, overturning, prefabricate, preset, fiberglass, structural, transfer, elegant, gradually, rigid, bracing.

 

Language development

 

24. Complete the sentences with a suitable preposition. You can choose from the following ones: from, as, to, with, about, of, for. Some of them can be used more than once.

 

1. The skyscraper steps down … nearby walk-ups.

2. The operations ranged … blasting … fieldwelding.

3. The site is used … surface parking.

4. The project was designed … a mirror image … the buildings in downtown.

5. The walls were clad … granite.

6. The theatre can be accessed directly … the public plaza.

7. The workers had to deal … a maze of underground debris.

8. The tests set the construction schedule back… a month.

9. The blasting will be too close … a railway.

10. The Central Park has a substantial amount …seating.

 

25.Translate the following combinations of noun groups and colloquial expressions. Then choose any 10 items and make up your sentences or find the similar ones in the article.

 

a) city skyline, crowd- pleaser
large- scale events tenement walk- ups
pin stripes on a suit mirror image
joint venture neighborhood of impact
parking lot excavation contractor
reinforced concrete floor slab building`s basement
token booth foundation wall system
exterior tube shear forces
concrete layer fiberglass- reinforced gypsum
tube columns wind stresses
core bracing beam stubs
wedding cake pattern gravity load
research director wind tunnel
copper grilled bottom dormers
air intake water intake
nearby skyscrapers built- up patches
curtain wall copper roof panels
air infiltration aluminium glazing stops
tree wells  

 

b) be going to be give a chance for a comeback
acknowledging be in the unusual position
plan as a mirror image to step down on the site
be reached from be skirted by
be accessed directly from deal with
cut with torches be housed in the basement
be emptied be chipped away
during the excavation resist an overturning moment
elliptical in plan be prefabricated off the site
save money on labour face with granite
insert into holes be within the footprint of the tube
transfer loads around the arcade use as a mechanical mezzanine
interrupt the rigid frame provide a setback
at midspan form Ts
weld on in the shop have an impermeable envelope
be open to wind forces be exhausted
have the sheltering effect of use as a penthouse
as a result be lifted by crane and derrick
be bolted be tested for wind loads
fail miserably be clad with translucent glass
located between use as a staging area
support the plaza`s landscaping be at the bottom of the tree wells
adjacent to substantial amount of seating
attract pedestrians be washed with lights
become a beacon on the city`s skyline.  

 

26.Fill in the correct words from the list below and translate the following sentences into your native language:

 

Location, site, drive, drop off point, reached, plazas, ranged, mixed- use project, block, surface, city block, joint venture, derived, explosive charges, sealed, spandrels, set back, accessed, townhouses, ring, demolished, backhoe, hydraulic hammer, dumped, basement, excavation, uncovered, arcade`s, prefabricated off, untouched, curved masonry superstructure, core, Transferring, couple of stories, vaulted, sections, curved masonry, rigid frame, interrupted, core bracing, actual wind loads, structural steel

 

 


Date: 2015-02-28; view: 857


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