by Brianna Crandall — April 9, 2014—A team of flood protection, construction, engineering and architecture partners have created an innovative flood prevention system for a major New York office building that could set the pace for more effective flood management for the whole area.
Directly following Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, construction management and general contracting company Plaza Construction was asked to start working on the development of a flood prevention solution for 55 Water Street, one of New York City’s largest office structures at 54 stories and 3.8 million square feet, located in the financial district. Hurricane Sandy is said to be the second-costliest storm in U.S. history, with damages to New York City estimated at $50 billion due to storm surges flooding streets, tunnels and subway lines, and power outages in and around the city.
Plaza Construction and a team of experts consisting of EKO Flood USA, architect HLW International, and engineer Thornton Tomasetti, along with New Water Street Corporation, the owner/operator of 55 Water Street, managed the planning, design and permitting stages to produce what the partners say is the first permitted flood protection system for 55 Water Street. EKO Flood USA has been designing removable barrier flood control systems since 1988 with over 100 systems in place in Europe and the United States—all with a 100-percent success rate against flooding, reports Plaza Construction.
The new flood barrier protection system installed at 55 Water Street is designed to protect against an eight-foot flood line, higher than 7-1/2 foot flood line recommended by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to protect against storm surges for the next hundred years. 55 Water Street was designed by renowned architect Emory Roth, and the flood barrier protection system had to fit with the aesthetics of the building. Basically, it had to be “invisible” to the occupants and visitors of the building, notes Plaza.
Designed to protect the entire building from flooding, the joint project is a “fast and easy” solution in a modular “setup, take-down and store” removable-barrier flood protection system. For efficient preparedness, the 55 Water Street building management reportedly plans to conduct drills on erecting and breaking down the system on an annual basis.
The new flood barrier system is based on a removable post-and-panel flood protection system that easily adapts to the requirements of a particular building site, says Plaza. The system is stored in the sub-level of the building and will require 30 men eight hours to assemble into place. It is engineered to completely protect the entire building against an eight-foot water line, preventing water from entering the building and seeping into the lower levels.
“The advanced design of the EKO system is new to the tri-state region, as we were presenting a unique concept for storm protection,” said Yu-chi Yang, the project architect at HLW International. “The final design resulted in a very comprehensive set of guidelines for reviewing similar proposals in the future.”
According to the Aine Brazil, vice chairman at Thornton Tomasetti, “The integration of the flood barrier system with the existing foundation wall was one key to the economic and practical feasibility, minimizing new foundations in the sidewalk, and providing the necessary continuity of the flood-proofed bathtub as an extension of the existing 60-foot-deep basement.”
Located in downtown Manhattan, 55 Water Street is a virtual city unto itself, designed to provide a “fail-safe” operating environment. An advanced technological infrastructure includes multiple redundancies in every major operating system from heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC); electric; and telecom to life safety and security. Tenants can also reportedly avail themselves of sufficient excess power to operate without interruption for multiple days should an emergency situation arise. It is the second-largest privately owned office building in the country, and is situated on 3.7 acres and boasts multiple open spaces created to enhance the quality of life in Lower Manhattan.
