Monthly Archives: April 2019

Client Type, Renovation, Work Type

MercyManhattan at Herald Square

MercyManhattan at Herald Square

New Life at Herald Square

After taking ownership of 2 Herald Square, SL Green worked with Mercy College to unveil the MercyManhattan project – increasing the institution’s presence in the building from 55,000 to over 95,000 sq. ft. The ambitious, multi-year gut renovation introduces a prominent new entry on 34th Street, new student commons, increased classrooms, over 130 dormitory units, and dining to enhance the Mercy College student experience. Having previously completed over a dozen projects in the building, SL Green engaged EDG to bring our unique expertise to the table and provide full-service structural engineering across all five floors.

Gut Renovation in Historic Construction

As with any historic building, renovating Herald Square required navigating complex conditions and extensive coordination across disciplines and throughout construction. EDG acted as a trusted adviser on the existing structure, with comprehensive understanding of the building’s various details and techniques, including terracotta arches and early steel construction with rivets. With cost and time efficiencies in mind, we designed for escalator removal, elevator infill, floor infill, support of new MEP units, generator, dunnage, interior circulation stairs, awnings, lobby mezzanine, and skylight infills. From storefront renovations on the ground floor, to third and fourth floor program conversions, to new structural designs for rooftop units and construction scaffolding, EDG worked across the entire project team of engineers, architects, specialty consultants, and contractors.

Phased, Fast-Tracked Success

MercyMahattan is a large-scale phased effort over two years to create an immersive higher education experience for the Mercy College community. Working swiftly in accordance with the project’s fast-track schedule, EDG’s in-depth knowledge of Herald Square, responsive communication, and technical structural engineering expertise enabled success for the many moving parts of the project.

Client Type, Unbuilt, Work Type

Unearthed The Rock 3D Printing

Unearthed – The Rock

A New Natural

Where traditional “natural” design is limited to “green-washing” or mass-produced stone units, “Unearthed” embraces a wholly new technique to bridging organic and built environments. Playing with material formula, aesthetic, and transition from land to the building, “Unearthed” is a refreshing break from modern-day street frontages. Adaptive 3D printing of rock formations seamlessly mimic its surrounds – or what was once there.

“Unearthed” blends inspiration from natural elements, integrated architecture-engineering constructability, and facade innovation. Architects, engineers, and material scientists work together to create the impossible. Using the latest software and construction technologies, “Unearthed” facades leverage ground-breaking 3D print process advancements in a familiar form.

Constructing an “Unearthed” building includes analyzing setbacks in support of zoning and building codes, detailed structural studies with metal support anchors and tiebacks in foam fill, and 3D printed covers. At its heart, the project is a new form of discovery – a multi-disciplinary departure from standard notions of nature and site design.

With man and machine working in unison, “Unearthed” creates an organic aesthetic that heralds a new wave of biomorphism. Outcroppings and superstructures “carved” from rock formations balance raw utility with an interpretation that is novel, yet at once familiar. Literally unearthed on the site, the building references the very land on which it was discovered.