Adaptive Reuse Case Study: Hudson Commons

The greenest building is the one that is already built,” says Carl Elefante, FAIA. We agree. Hudson Commons was a drab, eight-story warehouse at the 34th Street Gateway to Hudson Yards. Repositioning the building as a state-of-the-art office tower is unique in its vision, complexity, and synthesis of old and new from both architectural and engineering perspectives. This presentation will focus on the addition of a 17-story steel tower within the existing cast-in-place structure. We will identify the strategies used to address structural design challenges associated with retrofitting and strengthening of gravity systems (slabs, columns, and foundation elements), as well as structural design challenges associated with retrofitting and strengthening lateral systems (shear walls and foundation mats). We will explain the methodology developed for controlled, staged, shoring-free demolition and its benefits over a traditional approach.  This session is worth 1 AIA HSW.