As the hearing over whether to raze the unfinished Harmon Hotel plodded through its third day, Perini Building Co. injected a surprise by unveiling a temporary $2 million fix to keep it standing in the event of a serious earthquake.
Perini, general contractor on the $8.5 billion CityCenter that includes the Harmon, has long insisted that it could and would fix any structural defects but previously had not laid out specifics.
Steve Schiller, president of the engineering firm John A. Martin & Associates of Nevada, outlined from the witness stand the $2 million patch that would take six-to-eight weeks to complete. The firm, hired by Perini for the case, essentially calls for constructing eight columns, bookended metal plates, from the base of the fourth floor to the subterranean foundation as a way to absorb any seismic shocks and transfer them harmlessly to the ground.
The repair was not proposed as a permanent solution to the building's flaws, but as a way to keep it stable through a larger trial over CityCenter's construction next year.
By contrast, CityCenter half-owner and developer MGM Resorts International determined last year that the Harmon would collapse in a strong quake and can't be fixed in an economical way. It favors implosion at a cost of $30 million.
Click here to read more. BD+C
Related Stories
| Aug 15, 2016
Top 50 Sports Facility Architecture Firms
Populous, HKS, and HOK top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest sports facility sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 15, 2016
MILITARY GIANTS: Cross-laminated timber construction gets a salute from the Army
By privatizing the construction, renovation, operation, maintenance, and ownership of its hotels the Army expects to cut a 20-year timetable for repairs and replacement of its lodging down to eight years.
| Aug 15, 2016
Top 30 Military Architecture Firms
HDR, Clark Nexsen, and Guernsey top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest military sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 12, 2016
SCIENCE + TECHNOLOGY GIANTS: Incubator model is reimagining research and lab design
Interdisciplinary interaction is a common theme among many new science and technology offices.
| Aug 12, 2016
Top 40 Science + Technology Architecture Firms
Perkins+Will, HDR, and HOK top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest science + technology sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 12, 2016
OFFICE GIANTS: Technology is giving office workers the chance to play musical chairs
Technology is redefining how offices function and is particularly salient in the growing trend of "hoteling" and "hot seating" or "free addressing."
| Aug 12, 2016
Top 100 Office Architecture Firms
Gensler, HOK, and Perkins+Will top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest office sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 11, 2016
RETAIL GIANTS: Retailers and developers mix it up to stay relevant with shoppers
Retail is becoming closely aligned with entertainment, and malls that can be repositioned as lifestyle centers will have enhanced value.
| Aug 10, 2016
Top 90 Retail Architecture Firms
Gensler, GreenbergFarrow, and MG2 top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest retail sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 10, 2016
DATA CENTER GIANTS: Information overload is pushing the limits of mission-critical facilities
Streamlined design and delivery approaches for individual business enterprises and co-location facilities are being born out of the necessity to bring new capacity online as quickly as possible.