David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center
TYLin provided structural engineering services for the restoration and adaptive reuse of a 1908 greenhouse whose original design was loosely inspired by the Orangerie at the Palace of Versailles.
The structure’s conversion to an art studio and theater required the removal of several rows of interior columns to create clear sightlines, reconfiguration and reinforcement of roof framing impacted by the removed columns, reinforcement of existing exterior columns, and new pile-supported foundations and grade beams (tie beams) to accommodate new loads. Additional work included wall penetrations to accommodate programming and MEP needs, a terrace and trellis, and a pavilion addition. The project uses features such as on-site solar panels and a stormwater garden to meet its sustainability goals.
This work followed TYLin’s completion of an existing conditions report, which found the structure to be in essentially stable condition. As part of this scope, engineers conducted probe observations and coordinated non-destructive evaluation of the site to assess the cause of local subsidence at one corner of the building.
Project Highlights:
- One striking structural feature is the building’s colonnade, whose 12 pairs of steel columns run the length of the open interior.
- This building is LEED Platinum certified. It is the highest scoring LEED v4 BD+C New Construction in New York State and tied for the third highest scoring LEED v4 BD+C in the country (at the time of certification).
Image credit: David Sundberg/Esto