Award of Merit: Government/Public Buildings
Racing against the clock to reopen 14 Superstorm Sandy-devastated beaches by Memorial Day, the team was tasked with building and installing 35 modular buildings on the shores of New York City's Coney Island, Rockaway and Staten Island. To meet the aggressive schedule of the project, which also included boardwalk and beach access renovation and repair, the team worked 24/7 over three shifts for 87 days.
The modular units, built with structural steel skeletons to withstand harsh weather, include comfort stations, lifeguard stations and offices that contain skylights and solar panels.
The largest unit is more than 58 ft long and 14 ft high and weighs more than 120,000 lb.
The units are set on elevated concrete piles above the sand with switch-backed ramp access. Piles were embedded more than 30 ft deep with an above-grade projection of between 8 and 12 ft. Both the units and the pile design were calculated to withstand a 500-year storm.
The "super load" units were manufactured in Pennsylvania and transported to Newark on semitrailers. They were then barged to the beaches and hoisted into place using the largest available crane in the city.
FMS SANDPRFAB Contract No. 1 – New Prefabricated Modular Building Units, New York
Key Players
Owner New York City Dept. of Design and Construction
General Contractor Triton Structural
Lead Designer Garrison Architects
Structural/Civil Engineer McLaren Engineering Group
MEP Engineer Plus Group Consulting Engineering PLLC
