The Boro
Tysons Corner, Va.
Award of Merit
Owner: The Meridian
General Contractor: Clark Construction Group
Lead Design Firm: Shalom Baranes Associates
Civil Engineer: VIKA
MEP Engineer: Girard Engineering
Structural Engineer: Tadjer-Cohen-Edelson Associates
Subcontractors: Helix Electric; JCM Associates (Mechanical/Plumbing Contractor)
The 16-acre mixed-use development features three residential buildings ranging from 13 to 32 stories, a five-story office building and a mix of retail and entertainment spaces. The already tight schedule was threatened by the discovery of an underground storm sewer and high-voltage electrical line traversing the site. By expediting redesign of below-grade structures and prefabricating soldier beams, the project team safely preserved the utilities while also reducing the original 30-week sitework schedule by half.
Other schedule hurdles remained, however. A grocery store to be located in the podium supporting two residential towers had to be ready a year ahead of other project elements. Project visualization technology proved essential to precisely position more than 200 apartment utility risers within the grocery store space. A large steel structural bathtub capable of collecting up to 3 ft of water was installed in a 6,000-sq-ft interstitial space above the grocery store. It provided an additional protective measure during upper-level construction.
Needing a crane to deliver bulky materials efficiently to a ninth-floor amenity area, the project team developed a shoring plan so that the crane could be safely positioned atop a below-grade parking garage. That allowed retail interior fit-out work to stay on schedule by eliminating the need to bring materials through building lobbies. The three-year, $320-million project was completed on schedule and on budget.
