While past renovation and restoration work on Liberty Island received more fanfare—particularly the tedious rebuilding of Lady Liberty’s copper skin in the mid- 1980s—the latest update arguably has had a greater impact on the three million people that visit the monument each year. What started out as a straightforward fire and life safety upgrade to bring the entire site up to code turned into a much grander mission for the Building Team: to improve the overall experience for visitors.
The scope of the project included the insertion of two enclosed exit staircases and an emergency evacuation elevator in the statue’s pedestal to replace outdated infrastructure, construction of two exit stairs from the terreplein at the base of the pedestal, and upgrades to all visitor facilities.
At each step of the project, the team factored visitor experience into its design solutions. The new pedestal staircases, for instance, were configured to offer more intimate views of the structure’s massive concrete walls and riveted steel members.
STATUE OF LIBERTY NATIONAL MONUMENT
New York, N.Y.Building TeamSubmitting firm: Mills + Schnoering Architects (architect)Owner: National Park ServiceStructural engineer: Keast & HoodMEP engineer: Joseph R. Loring & AssociatesConstruction manager: Atkins North AmericaGeneral contractor: Joseph A. Natoli ConstructionGeneral InformationSize: 52,790 sfConstruction time: October 2011 to October 2012Delivery method: Design-bid-build
The team utilized laser scanning and BIM modeling to determine the optimal arrangement of the winding staircases and elevator shaft within the confined space. Their goal: to get as close as possible to the historic elements while still meeting fire/life safety and program requirements. In one section of the facility, for example, the bottom of an Eiffel steel beam forms the ceiling of the enclosed staircase, allowing patrons to reach up and touch the beam and its fasteners. High-efficiency lighting was used throughout to highlight the historic fabric and elements.
Complicating the project were the logistics of material and equipment delivery. Everything required for the project, including the labor force, had to be shipped by boat from Jersey City, N.J., and screened by the U.S. Park Police on every trip. All deliveries had to be scheduled in advance to ensure that USPP personnel and K9 teams were available. Stabilizing admixtures had to be added to the concrete to delay the curing process during the 35-minute barge ride. Once on Liberty Island, materials and equipment were moved by crane to four access points around the pedestal and carefully maneuvered inside the structure through the standard-size doors.
“Between working in the confined, historically sensitive spaces and managing the logistics of getting everything to the island, the team deserves this award,” said judge Daniel L. Doyle, PE, LEED AP O+M, President of Grumman/Butkus Associates (www.grummanbutkus.com).
Related Stories
| Oct 13, 2010
Bookworms in Silver Spring getting new library
The residents of Silver Spring, Md., will soon have a new 112,000-sf library. The project is aiming for LEED Silver certification.
| Oct 13, 2010
County building aims for the sun, shade
The 187,032-sf East County Hall of Justice in Dublin, Calif., will be oriented to take advantage of daylighting, with exterior sunshades preventing unwanted heat gain and glare. The building is targeting LEED Silver. Strong horizontal massing helps both buildings better match their low-rise and residential neighbors.
| Oct 12, 2010
Holton Career and Resource Center, Durham, N.C.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Special Recognition. Early in the current decade, violence within the community of Northeast Central Durham, N.C., escalated to the point where school safety officers at Holton Junior High School feared for their own safety. The school eventually closed and the property sat vacant for five years.
| Oct 12, 2010
Guardian Building, Detroit, Mich.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Special Recognition. The relocation and consolidation of hundreds of employees from seven departments of Wayne County, Mich., into the historic Guardian Building in downtown Detroit is a refreshing tale of smart government planning and clever financial management that will benefit taxpayers in the economically distressed region for years to come.
| Oct 12, 2010
Richmond CenterStage, Richmond, Va.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Bronze Award. The Richmond CenterStage opened in 1928 in the Virginia capital as a grand movie palace named Loew’s Theatre. It was reinvented in 1983 as a performing arts center known as Carpenter Theatre and hobbled along until 2004, when the crumbling venue was mercifully shuttered.
| Oct 12, 2010
University of Toledo, Memorial Field House
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Memorial Field House, once the lovely Collegiate Gothic (ca. 1933) centerpiece (along with neighboring University Hall) of the University of Toledo campus, took its share of abuse after a new athletic arena made it redundant, in 1976. The ultimate insult occurred when the ROTC used it as a paintball venue.
| Oct 12, 2010
Owen Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Officials at Michigan State University’s East Lansing Campus were concerned that Owen Hall, a mid-20th-century residence facility, was no longer attracting much interest from its target audience, graduate and international students.
| Oct 12, 2010
Gartner Auditorium, Cleveland Museum of Art
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Gartner Auditorium was originally designed by Marcel Breuer and completed, in 1971, as part of his Education Wing at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Despite that lofty provenance, the Gartner was never a perfect music venue.
| Oct 12, 2010
Cell and Genome Sciences Building, Farmington, Conn.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Administrators at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington didn’t think much of the 1970s building they planned to turn into the school’s Cell and Genome Sciences Building. It’s not that the former toxicology research facility was in such terrible shape, but the 117,800-sf structure had almost no windows and its interior was dark and chopped up.
| Oct 12, 2010
The Watch Factory, Waltham, Mass.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards — Gold Award. When the Boston Watch Company opened its factory in 1854 on the banks of the Charles River in Waltham, Mass., the area was far enough away from the dust, dirt, and grime of Boston to safely assemble delicate watch parts.
