Three Thornton Tomasetti projects win AISC IDEAS2 Awards

New York — Thornton Tomasetti, the international engineering firm, announced that three of its projects — Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) in California; Florida Polytechnic University’s Innovation, Science and Technology Building in Lakeland; and Pomona College Studio Art Hall in Claremont, Calif. — have each received an American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) 2015 IDEAS2 Award for Excellence in Steel-Frame Building Design.

The AISC IDEAS2 Awards honor innovative design in engineering and architecture with structural steel and place an emphasis on coordination, collaboration and teamwork. A panel of design and construction industry professionals judges the entries in three categories based on construction cost. The 12 winning projects were chosen from nearly 100 submissions from firms throughout the U.S. The awards were presented to the project teams on March 25 at the North American Steel Construction Conference in Nashville, Tenn.

Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Facility — National Award, Projects More Than $75 Million

Photo: Thornton Tomasetti

· Thornton Tomasetti provided structural design and enclosure design services for Phase I of ARTIC, an all-steel, 67,000 SF terminal building featuring a grand hall, ticketing center and retail spaces that provides a gateway for Metrolink commuter rail, Amtrak, high-speed rail, bus and roadway transportation.

· The terminal design features a steel pipe grid shell structure clad with ETFE cushions. The grid shell encloses an integral steel-framed, three-story interior building, which also connects to a pedestrian bridge spanning the rail lines.

· The transit center is a project of the City of Anaheim and Orange County Transit Authority. Along with Thornton Tomasetti, the ARTIC team included HOK, architect; Parsons Brinkerhoff, project manager and civil engineer; and Clark Construction, general contractor.

Florida Polytechnic University Innovation, Science and Technology Building — National Award, Projects $15 Million – $75 Million

Photo: Jeane H. Vincent

· Thornton Tomasetti was the structural engineer for the 160,000-square-foot academic building that offers spaces for interdisciplinary classrooms, laboratories, offices, meeting rooms and a large amphitheater. The project opened in 2014.

· The two-story teaching facility features a prominent glass and steel cupola with an operable louver system, and a continuous pergola defined by 84 arched aluminum “leaves” that shade the upper-level terraces and ground-level arcades.

· The structure’s concrete foundation is reinforced with stone columns and the building frame is supported by a series of cast-in-place, exposed concrete portal frames. A cast-in-place concrete ring beam supports the vaulted steel cupola and its louver system.

· The design architect was Santiago Calatrava and Alfonso Architects was architect of record.

Pomona College, Studio Art Hall — Merit Award, Projects $15 Million – $75 Million

· The Studio Art Hall is a two-story, 35,000-square-foot building that includes classrooms, gallery offices and lecture halls, and studio space for painting, drawing, sculpture, digital arts, photography and video.

· Thornton Tomasetti implemented a lateral system consisting of concentrically braced frames with concrete floor slabs on the second floor. Cantilevered beams span between nine and 17 feet from the roof to allow an open courtyard while providing shading and natural light into the building.

· The hall is aiming for LEED Gold certification, and features photovoltaic panels and solar hot water heaters.

· The building is a project of Pomona College. Along with Thornton Tomasetti, the project team included wHY Architecture + Design, architect, and Hamilton Construction, general contractor.