Arthaus and Foxwoods HighFlyer Zipline Win 2021 DVASE Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards

Philadelphia, PA – The Harman Group (THG) is proud to announce that Arthaus and HighFlyerZipline Foxwoods Resort Casino received top honors at the 2021 Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards given by the Delaware Valley Association of Structural Engineers (DVASE). The winners were announced on May 12, where two dramatically different THG projects won Outstanding Project awards for their respective categories, showcasing The Harman Group’s versatile structural engineering expertise.

Arthaus, a luxury residential tower located at the corner of Broad and Spruce Streets in Center City, Philadelphia, was the winner in the Outstanding Project Award in the over $100 million category. Arthaus is a 47-story, 400,000–square-foot, residential tower that includes 108 condominiums, ground floor retail, curated amenities, and above-ground parking for 140 cars. The structural system used on the project consists of cast-in-place reinforced concrete columns, shear walls, and floor slabs. The central tower and core are supported on a deep concrete mat foundation and the low rise areas of the project are supported on shallow foundations, a mix of individual and combined footings. A limited number of perimeter columns are supported on deep drilled piers to avoid any impact on an adjacent historic church. Additionally, the tower has a tall thin profile and features a supplemental damping system, a “tuned liquid damper”, to assure occupant comfort. The Harman Group provided structural engineering and parking consulting services.

HighFlyer Zipline, a 3,750 foot-long zipline thrill ridelocated at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, was the winner in the Outstanding Project Award in the over $1 million category. Thrill seekers can experience speeds approaching 60 miles per hour as they fly over the trees surrounding the resort, landing at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center. The Highflyer Zipline is the only zipline in North America that lets you fly from the top of a 33-story hotel tower. The Harman Group designed the original structure of the Fox Tower in 2006, so designing the zipline was a natural fit. The design process required an evaluation of the zipline forces on the existing tower structure. The Harman Group also designed the connections of the zipline system to the shear wall core of the tower, as well as the foundation support system at the landing site. The foundation is a combination of reinforced spread footings and a mat foundation tied to the earth with rock anchors.