The Downtown Design Partnership (DDP), the STV/AECOM joint venture, in association with world-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava and Parsons Transportation Group, received top honors from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) New York and New Jersey chapters for the team’s role supporting the World Trade Center Transportation Hub in Lower Manhattan, on behalf of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ).
ACEC NY presented the DDP and the PANYNJ with its 2017 Empire Award, recognizing the Hub as the top project designed and built in New York State. Similarly, ACEC NJ honored the project team with the Grand Honor Award – Large Project at the chapter’s 2017 Engineering Excellence Awards.
The Hub will now compete at ACEC’s national Engineering Excellence Awards competition, held on April 25 in Washington, D.C. The project has already received a prestigious Grand Award, making it a finalist for the 2017 Grand Conceptor Award as the top engineering project in the country.
“From day one, the DDP and the Port Authority worked hand-in-hand with commitment, drive and passion, and at a tremendous sacrifice to make the Hub a reality,” said Dominick M. Servedio, P.E., STV’s executive chairman and project executive. “Personally, playing a part in the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan was the highlight of my career. To be recognized in this fashion by ACEC is a fitting capstone for all of us.”
The DDP was contracted by the PANYNJ as the architect- and engineer-of-record for the Hub, which opened to the public in 2016. The Hub serves as a centerpiece for the 16-acre redevelopment of Lower Manhattan in the aftermath of September 11, housing Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) service, while also connecting to 12 different Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Transit (NYC Transit) subway lines. Additionally, the Hub’s distinctive design – evoking a bird taking flight and symbolizing peach and hope – has already made this commuter gateway a New York City landmark.
The project team worked with dozens of stakeholders in realizing one of the most publicly scrutinized projects in the world. A distinct feature of the facility’s unique design is its wing-shaped shell consisting of hundreds of tons of steel and glass. The shell surrounds the main transit hall, the Oculus, which is comparable in size to Grand Central Terminal’s main pedestrian area.
A significant design challenge was the accommodation of an active subway tunnel which had been badly damaged by the attacks on September 11. To connect the PATH station to NYC Transit services, a new, in-ground bridge was designed and constructed to carry the subway across a major pedestrian concourse. An underpinning methodology developed by the project team ensured that service was maintained throughout construction.
Another challenge came in 2008, when then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced his commitment to have the National September 11 Memorial and plaza substantially completed in honor of the 10-year anniversary ofSeptember 11. Because part of the Hub’s roof supported the memorial plaza, the original design was revised so that the station could be built from the top down. The DDP also worked closely with the PANYNJ to revise a number of other design elements for both cost and constructability considerations.
The completion of the Hub, in concert with the numerous other significant projects that have opened in Lower Manhattan in recent years have helped demonstrate how this historic neighborhood is once again serving as New York City’s economic engine.
About STV: Founded more than 100 years ago, STV is a leader in providing architectural, engineering, planning, environmental and construction management services for transportation systems, infrastructure, buildings, energy and other facilities. STV was named Engineering News-Record New York magazine’s Designer of the Year in 2015. The firm is ranked 40th in Engineering News-Record’s Top 500 Design Firms survey and 9th in its Transportation category. STV is 100 percent employee-owned. For more information, visit our website at www.stvinc.com or follow @STVGroup on Twitter.
