The Time Warner Center in New York City was one of five finalists for the 2005 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award (OCEA) recently presented by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
The other finalists were the AirTrain JFK Light Rail System in Jamaica, New York; the Mubarak Pumping Station in Toshka, Egpyt; and the Olivenhain Dam and Reservoir in San Diego County, California.
Established in 1960, the OCEA program recognizes projects on the basis of their contribution to the well-being of people and communities, resourcefulness in planning and design challenges, and innovations in materials and techniques. Previous winners include the relocation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and the World Trade Center Towers.
The massive Time Warner Center contains approximately 2.1 million square feet within its 54 floors. Extending 748 feet above Columbus Circle, the Center consists of seven stacked buildings—each independently owned and designed—and has everything from residential and hotel floors to offices and retail space, with restaurants, a theatre, studios, CNN broadcasting facilities, classroom facilities, and parking.
The lateral system is independent of the supporting columns, allowing the columns to adapt to the specific requirements of each building. Designers created concrete cores located under the two towers that pierce the podium base on which they sit, extending up from the ground to the transfer trusses located at the top of the podium.
