Site Visits with Silman

One of the many benefits of having a practicing structural engineer teach our structures class, in the City of New York, in the dense built environment that it is, is site visits. Most faculty at AAP NYC have taken a special interest in enhancing our experience of the city, and when it comes to site visits, we are all geared up. Hard hats: check, safety goggles: check, XXL neon vests: check and check!

Scott Hughes, principal at Silman Engineering, and amicable faculty member for our Building Technologies class, introduced us to the young construction manager who has been in charge at the New York Jewish Theological Seminary since it broke ground last year. From the day to day scheduling and problem-solving, to the precise planning of the order of construction logistics, he was able to walk us through the planning of the project. As we made the trek up and beyond Columbia University, we immediately realized that we were in a unique part of the city where grade changes were noticeable and dramatic. The building is designed by  Todd Williams + Billie Tsien, who are also well known for winning the Obama Foundation Library.

In its latest built form, the building continues to maintain its role of cultural and religious prominence. Construction schedules work around the Sabbath as people are still living in the dorms. What became immediately apparent (from what our minds could make of the plans on the white board) is that the construction schedule was especially challenging.

We were really there to get a sense of the realities and repercussions of our designs. As may be true with all projects in NYC, and as is evident with the renovation and new expansion of the Jewish Theological Seminary, building in the city is rarely straightforward. The complexities of dense building permits, preservation laws, and working around buildings that are only compliant with century-old codes, made it apparent how difficult even the most elegant architectural designs can become as they make their way through construction. From foundation strength and limitations of the island of Manhattan like grade changes and rock striations, to basically every other kind of logistical hoop that one jumps through, projects can easily become quite complex.

The relationship between Scott and the construction manager was a lesson in professional practice, and it became clear to us just how important it is to maintain a good partnership when working together for the benefit of the client. Given that it was our first site visit as a class, with some of us understanding more of what was happening on site than others, we were especially enthused talking about concrete construction with our self-important hard hats. Nothing was more glaringly obvious by the end of the day than the fact that perhaps it’s best to just stick with steel-framed construction.