Last Saturday, Ramon Gilsanz, Founding Partner, joined a NIST/GEER team to survey the area surrounding the epicentral region. Here’s the report from GEER, Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance:
Last Saturday, Ramon Gilsanz, Founding Partner, joined a NIST/GEER team to survey the area surrounding the epicentral region. Here’s the report from GEER, Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance:
GMS Partner Jessica Mandrick presented on “ASCE 7 Flood Loads – Changes in ASCE 7-22 Supplement 2” at SEAoNY’s annual conference on Thursday, February 8th.
10 members of the GMS Team attended this year’s conference on “Past, Present, and Future of Building Codes,” attending Jessica’s presentation as well as others on topics such as “Design Steel Your Way,” “Geotechnical Peer Review,” and “Reinforcing Steel Specifications from 1910 to Today.”
The Leo D. Mahoney Arena at Fairfield University, a GMS project completed with Centerbrook Architects, opened its doors in November 2022. Our structural engineering and BIM teams, including Gary Steficek, Eugene Kim, John Hinchcliffe, Phoebe Wang, Rui Zhang, and Petr Vancura, assisted in creating this 85,000-sf convocation center that received an Honorable Mention at this year’s SEAoNY SEE Awards.
GMS is thrilled that Casimir Bognacki, PE, FACI has joined our firm as a Principal! (Some of you met him a few weeks ago when he taught the ACI Grade 1 Concrete Inspector class here in the office.)
Left side Image: Back row: Mark Beltramello, Sebastian Delgado, Sara McMonagle, May Thu Nwe Nwe, Isabel Lorenzo, and Ramon Gilsanz; Seated: Dan Eschenasy, Phoebe Wang, and Adrianna Early. Right side Image: Ana Gallego and Eugene Kim.
Congratulations to several members of our GMS staff who have volunteered and been selected to serve as part of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 7-28 committees!
The GMS Team has published another article in Structure Magazine! This latest contribution, authored by Hannah Garfield, PE, and May Thu Nwe Nwe, PhD, elaborates on the benefits of modeling kits as teaching tools for students.
Congratulations to both GMS Building Envelope and Structural teams for receiving project awards last week!
The March issue of Structure Magazine features an article by GMS Principal Forensic Engineer Dan Eschenasy entitled “Underlying Causes of Exterior Sign Accidents.”
This coming Thursday will be a big day for GMS!
Jose Mendoza, AIA will be speaking at The Architect’s Newspaper’s Façade+ Conference of 2023 on March 30, 2023. The event will go on for two days, with the symposium being held on March 30th from 8 A.M. to 7 P.M. at the Metropolitan Pavilion located in 125 West 18th Street, New York, NY. The second day will consist of workshops that will be held on March 31st at the New York Law School located at 185 West Broadway, New York, NY. You can register to attend the event here.
Principal Forensic Engineer Dan Eschenasy was invited to present at ASCE – Metropolitan Section’s 9th Annual RA Lecture on Thursday, March 30, 2023 from 6 P.M to 7 P.M EST. Dan will discuss building code requirements for Foundation Design and outline his views on the need for a published standard of care for geotechnical engineering, and the risks posed by the delegated design. You can register to attend the online webinar here.
On March 3, 2023, Jonathan Hernandez and Mark Beltramello served as presenters at APT Northeast’s 2023 Annual Meeting & Symposium at the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, MA!
During their presentation, Jonathan and Mark discussed the structural restoration and renovation of terracotta materials, which included the implications and challenges that they have encountered in the terracotta buildings that have been restored, renovated, and repurposed. As they explained, the buildings containing terracotta arches and flat terracotta arch slabs utilize terra cotta as a load-bearing structural material. Also discussed was the history of these floor slab systems, and how much they’ve changed over time since being developed in 1871.
A few of their more recent case studies that were covered during their presentation included Manhattan Eye, Ear, & Throat Hospital (MEETH), 2 Bryant Park, the Flatiron Building, and 230 Park Avenue South, all of which contain flat terracotta arches.
You can read the full program here.
Yesterday GMS Partner Jessica Mandrick was named one of ENR New York’s 20 Top Young Professionals. She was cited as “An advocate for sustainable structures in a changing environment.”
This article for STRUCTURE Magazine’s November 2022 issue outlines the collaboration between the GMS team of Partners Karl Rubenacker and Jessica Mandrick, along with Project Engineer Lizhong Wang, and the building owner, Jack Resnick and Sons.
Work at Two Bryant Park, formerly known as 1100 Avenue of the Americas, is wrapping up after undergoing a complete transformation. This 15-story office building located on Sixth Avenue between West 42nd and 43rd Streets, directly across from Bryant Park and adjacent to the Grace Building, offers exceptional views and amenities to its tenants. With floor-to-ceiling windows, this newly reflective façade is complimented by the structures and green space around it. In addition to having views of Bryant Park, the building has convenient access to subways, Penn Station, Grand Central Terminal, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
GMS’ project at Irving Plaza has been awarded the 2021 New York Interior/Tenant Improvement Award of Merit.
GMS is a finalist for the American Institute of Steel Construction’s (AISC) 2022 IDEAS2 Awards in the “less than $15 million” bracket.
In 2020, the construction of the York Studios Michaelangelo Campus was completed in the Bronx, NY. This was a unique project for GMS’ New Jersey office, who provided structural engineering services for this new 165,000 sf, two-story television/film production studio.
Congratulations to our own Phoebe Wang, GMS structural engineer, for publishing an article within AISC’s Engineering Journal, Second Quarter 2021, Volume 58, No. 2.
On Friday, November 6, 2020, GMS Associate Partner Jessica Mandrick, joined several prominent structural engineers to present ASCE 7, Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures at the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) Structural Engineering Summit. NCSEA in partnership with its Member Organizations supports practicing structural engineers to be highly qualified professionals and successful leaders.
817 Broadway and Fotografiska are among this year’s Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award winners from the New York Landmarks Conservancy.
Our work at 817 Broadway included the redevelopment of a 14-story newly landmarked building just south of Union Square, measuring approximately 140,000 sf including one subgrade level. The redevelopment included an upgraded lobby, restored exterior, common roof deck, new windows, and a retail curtain wall on the ground floors. GMS provided structural engineering and special inspection services for the replacement of the retail storefronts and punched windows on all sides of the building, new lobby and freight entrance, new/upgraded elevators, and a newly accessible roof terrace.
Owner: Taconic Investment Partners
Architect: Studios Architecture
Façade Restoration: Loci Architects
Fotografiska and Owner RFR Realty redeveloped the historic building at 281 Park Avenue South, formerly known as the Church Mission House. An extensive probe program was coordinated with the Client’s Contractor to investigate the existing conditions and the framing connections in order to convert the office floors to retail/gallery use. The six-story, 45,000 sf building was originally built circa 1900 and is landmarked.
GMS also served as the structural engineer for tenant fit-out for the Swedish organization, Fotografiska International, a photography museum with a café, bookstore, restaurant, and event space.
Architect: Cetra Ruddy
Eugene Kim, GMS Associate Partner, was inducted as the President-Elect for the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY) for 2020-2021. The ceremony occurred during SEAoNY’s Annual Meeting, held virtually on September 22, 2020.
The Woolworth Tower Residences won this year’s Excellence in Structural Engineering award from the Structural Engineers Association of New York in the category of Forensic Analysis / Renovation / Retrofit / Rehabilitation of Structures.
The Cantilevered Work Platform at 730 Fifth Avenue won this year’s Excellence in Structural Engineering award from the Structural Engineers Association of New York in the category of Other Structures.
The competing factors governing structural design and dimensioning of reinforced concrete slabs create opportunities for optimizing the cost and performance of reinforced concrete flat-plate slabs. Using a slab prototype from an existing building, this study compares designs using different strengths of reinforcing bars and concrete.
Download ArticleGMS is excited to begin the next phase of the renovations at Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History, as they undergo a $200 million renovation starting now!
Centerbrook Architects, Reich + Petch exhibit designers of Toronto, arup providing mep services and Turner Construction round out the team. When work is completed in 2023, the museum will feature 50 percent more gallery space and new lighting, audio-visual and casework systems. The Peabody will have 15,000 square feet of new galleries across three floors, so visitors will be able to view objects from the collections that have never been exhibited before. Display systems will be designed to make it easy to rotate content and provide new exhibits. Our structural engineering includes the design of the building addition as well as the design of new displays and vitrines.
The GMS team includes Gary Steficek, Jessica Mandrick, Alissa Oelsner, Zoe Champion, Christian Vargas, Lizhong Wang and Miryam Varona Rogel. Image courtesy of Centerbrook Architects and Planners.
For more information, https://www.newhavenbiz.com/article/midnight-at-the-museum-yales-peabody-goes-dark-this-spring-for-a-three-year-200-million
GMS was honored with a Concrete Industry Board Special Merit Award for Structural Design for the Virgin Hotel project and an Award of Merit – Mixed-Use for Tangram.
Our team is very proud of how each project is turning out.
The Awards Dinner at Marina del Rey, in the Bronx was a fun night of celebration with our industry colleagues and friends.
Congratulations to everyone involved!
Congratulations to our Associate Partner, Jessica Mandrick, on being named one of five 2019 Emerging Leaders by the CTBUH New York Future Leaders Committee.
GMS is proud to have such a committed professional on our team and this award is well-deserved. Jessica started at GMS in 2007 as an engineer and has worked on a broad range of projects. Within our office she advocates for broader internal education programs, wider exposure to different project types and encourages participation in professional organizations. “It is important that engineers see hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes as more than just loads, and consider their societal impact. Engineers are well educated to take a seat at the table in the larger conversation on disaster preparedness, risk tolerance, and infrastructure investment.”
We congratulate Jessica and know this is just one of many honors she will receive throughout her professional life. And we thank her for her contributions to our industry.
The award will be presented during the CTBUH NY Regional Conference Reception on Friday, November 1, 2019 at The Penn Club in New York City.
Last Tuesday, September 24 SEAoNY celebrated their Annual Meeting of 2019.
Fairfield University and Centerbrook Architects and Planners have shared new images of the #Stags new Convocation Center. Have a first look here https://fairfieldstags.com/feature/ConvocationCenter
This new 85,000 sf facility will include a 3,500 seat multi-use space for basketball, volleyball or university events and concerts. The seating can be reconfigured to allow two practice courts, or infilled to create an event or dining space. The venue includes a state-of-the-art broadcast and media center, as well as spaces devoted to the student athletes. The GMS team includes: Gary Steficek, Eugene Kim, John Hinchcliffe, Nam Hee Kim, Khaoula Msaaf, Nicolas Gomez, Phoebe Wang, Kristina Zarrella, Juan Escobar, Arkadi Goldin, Irina Goldin and Miryam Varona.
Image courtesy of Centerbrook Architects and Planners
We are proud to announce that our founding Partner, Ramon Gilsanz has received the Concrete Industry Foundation’s Humanitarian Fellow Medal Award for 2019. This award celebrates esteemed members of the industry “for dedication to the industry, community, and society (resulting) in outstanding benefit to future generations”.
GMS Partner Karl Rubenacker attended the International Code Council’s Committee Action Hearings in Albuquerque, May 4 and 5 on behalf of the NCSEA existing buildings code advisory committee. These hearings offered code officials, architects, builders, engineers, and other design professionals the opportunity to provide input on proposed code changes to the Group B International Codes® for 2021.
April 24 through 27, 2019 GMS Partners Ramon Gilsanz and Karl Rubenacker, as well as Associate Partners Eugene Kim, Jennifer Lan and Jessica Mandrick will travel to Orlando, Florida to attend this year’s ASCE/SEI Structures Congress.
Jessica will be moderating Innovation in Software and Technology for Structural Engineering (Session 508025), Thursday April 25 at 9.30 AM. Ramon will present on Optimal Design of Reinforced Concrete Structures (496799), Friday April 26 at 1.30 PM. Jennifer will present on Findings from the ATC Mexico City Earthquake Reconnaissance (507867), Friday April 26 at 1.30pm (with Ramon as co-presenter) and Ramon and Karl will present different chapters of the ASCE/SEI Design Guide Alternative Load Path Analysis Guidelines for Disproportionate Collapse (504616), Saturday April 27 at 11am.
On Wednesday April 24, Ramon and Karl will meet with the ASCE Standards Committee on Disproportionate Collapse Mitigation and Jessica will chair the SEI Board Young Professional Committee meeting.
Drop us a line if you will be attending, we would love to have a chance to catch up with you while we are there!
Click here to learn more about the Congress http://www.eventscribe.com/2019/STCONG19/ Or follow on Twitter #Structures19
GMS Partners Joseph Basel, PE and Gary Steficek, PE will travel to Shenzhen, China later this week, for the CTBUH 2019 Tall + Urban Innovation Conference.
Basel will present on The Future of Tall Building Renovation, and Steficek will chair the Jury for the 2019 CTBUH Renovation Awards.
Join GMS Senior Structural Engineer Hannah Garfield, PE, along with architects from Gensler and builders from Structure Tone for a panel discussion at the March Chapter Meeting 3/13 of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) Metro NY Chapter. Architectural Metal and Glass: A Powerful Combination will explore a recent project featuring a glass and metal guardrail for a multinational consulting firm’s offices in Midtown Manhattan.
For more information https://lnkd.in/dQ8cNsj
ICYMI, or were not able to make it to the Chicago Architecture Center last month, GMS’s Ken Oen, P.E. (second from right) participated on a panel (from the left) with CTBUH‘s Antony Wood, Mark Anderson, of the John Buck Company, and Benjy Ward, of Gensler shown here with Lynn Osmond of the CAC (center). http://www.ctbuh.org/Events/CTBUHRelatedEvents/CACBuildingTallLecture/tabid/8117/language/en-US/Default.aspx
Please join GMS’s Associate Partner Ken Oen, P.E. at the presentation and discussion, “Too Big To Fail: Revitalizing Our Iconic Skyscrapers” at the Chicago Architecture Center on November 29, 2018. More information here: https://www.architecture.org/programs-events/detail/too-big-to-fail-revitalizing-our-iconic-skyscrapers/
The Judges in the 2019 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition have selected 529 Broadway for an ACEC New York Gold Award in the category of Structural Systems.
The Judges in the 2019 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition have selected Moise Safra Center for an ACEC New York Gold Award in the category of Structural Systems.
Since the mid-1990s, GMS has been pleased to work with Centerbrook Architects and Planners on a host of ingenious and extraordinary projects. Over the years, our 25 collaborations have included academic and cultural institutions, athletic facilities and sports arenas, places of worship, and private residences. Today, our teamwork continues at Yale University’s Peabody Museum and Greenwich Country Day School.
GMS understands tall buildings. Our engineers and architects are experts in not just the skyscraper’s “bones” (the structure), but its “skin” (the envelope) as well.
On October 22nd, Achim Hermes will travel to the annual Middle East Conference of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) in Dubai to participate in a panel discussion about “skinning tomorrow’s skyscrapers.”
GMS excels at designing structures to support and house unique shopping environments. From new, ground-up construction to renovation; from white-boxing to full-scale fit-out, we work with a vast array of materials – including architectural concrete, exposed steel, heavy timber, structural glass, plastics and polymers – in order to solve complex interior design challenges.
Eaton Hotels is pioneering an ‘interdisciplinary hotel experience’, providing innovative spaces and ‘provocative’ content, food and programming, in an effort to bring social change to the hospitality industry. GMS served as structural engineer for this new brand to establish their first property in the US at 1201 K Street NW in Washington, D.C.
This property is composed of a nine story tower constructed in 1962 with integrated below-grade parking garage and a five story building constructed in 1942. The design involved reinforcement of the upper levels and removal of an existing rooftop pool to accommodate additional suites at the upper level and a new rooftop bar. The building is also equipped with upgraded infrastructure and a new façade.
Originally a printing press in the 1940’s and then a bus station in the 1960’s, it was more recently a Sheraton Four Points hotel. In addition to the 209 hotel rooms, the 175,000 sf property also houses a radio station, a 50 person theater, a coffee shop, restaurant, an indoor/outdoor rooftop bar, a co-working space and a wellness center.
GMS provided structural engineering services for the core and shell of a new building of approximately 162,000 sf over 10 stories, plus a full cellar. The building includes a new car showroom with service / repair area at street level, a used-car showroom above, and parking garage below. The upper levels and the roof are designed for residential occupancy. The project is adjacent to the subway line running along Northern Boulevard, so approval of the MTA was required to obtain construction permits.
The landmarked and much-loved facade at Pastis was preserved and transformed into a 4 1/2- story modern structure. Stories were added and the cellar was excavated to add an additional 60,000 square feet of space for retail and office use.
This new temple and community center incorporates a pool in the sub-cellar, a wellness center, synagogue lobby and café at the ground level, an auditorium, with balcony, classrooms, offices, a double-story high gymnasium, a banquet room and rooftop play area as well as necessary ancillary spaces. The building is approximately 170 feet tall and encompasses approximately 65,000 gsf.
Gap Inc. has opened its largest site in the world, a 70,000-square-foot location that houses side-by-side Gap and Old Navy flagships in Manhattan’s Times Square. It’s estimated that roughly 450,000 people pass through the area each day, or more than 50 million people per year. Built simultaneously, the two stores occupy most of the massive space that formerly housed the Toys “R” Us flagship, a previous GMS project, which closed at the end of 2015.
For structural steel connections, there are three different ways to show the details on the Structural Engineer’s drawings as defined by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Manual of Code of Standard Practice for Steel Buildings and Bridges. This Code provides a “framework for a common understanding of the acceptable standards when contracting for structural steel.”
Joe Mugford presented lessons learned from the column transfers designed by GMS for 75 Rockefeller Plaza at the 52nd annual convention of the Structural Engineers Association of Arizona (SEAoA). The top-to-bottom overhaul of this landmark, built in 1947 includes new double-height glazing and upgraded entry. A reconfigured lobby required the transfer of four existing building columns.
150 Charles Street has won this year’s AIA Housing Award in the category of Multifamily Housing. These awards, presented by the AIA Housing and Community Development Knowledge Community, emphasize the importance of good housing as a necessity of life, a sanctuary for the human spirit, and a valuable national resource. Overlooking the Hudson River, this building’s design emphasizes direct access to nature while also providing a high quality indoor environmental.
The European men’s fashion line Suitsupply will open its first Boston storefront at the address later this month, and will also operate a ground floor restaurant, Café Susu, at the location. It will be the brand’s 100th store, and the first time that the company has experimented with a cafe. Susu’s customers will have a view of the tailors as they do their alterations.
At GMS, we view active involvement in professional societies as a key way to develop and retain bright young talent. We are proud to have seven employees participating in various ASCE/SEI 7-22 and ASCE/SEI 24-20 committees and subcommittees for the latest code cycles.
Several of our engineers traveled to Fort Worth, TX, to attend the 2018 Structures Congress, where engineers are inspired, connect with leaders in the profession, and learn from experts. The congress is organized annually by the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
At this year’s NASCC Steel Conference, organized by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) in Baltimore, the Applied Technology Council (ATC) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) presented modeling techniques, quality assurance techniques, challenges and engineering decisions involved in the recent blind prediction contest held to advance knowledge on design and modelling of deep wide-flange columns.
700 consulting engineers and clients attended the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York’s (ACEC New York) 51st annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala in New York. The ACEC Engineering Excellence awards recognize the skills and innovation of New York’s consulting engineering firms.
Jennifer Lan was a panelist on an EERI Technical Case Studies Webinar, during which speakers who conducted reconnaissance following the September 19, 2017 Puebla-Morelos earthquake presented geotechnical and structural case studies. Jennifer’s presentation described the reconnaissance methodology and provided an in-depth analysis of building performance, using two buildings that were damaged during the earthquake as case studies.
Ramon Gilsanz presented at the Structural Engineering Talks in Austin, TX. This event hosts speakers with atypical, non-technical presentations that are lively, philosophical, inspirational, thought-provoking, and/or make engineers re-think the approach to structural engineering.
Ramon Gilsanz, Cathy Huang and Joshua Peng attended committee meetings at this year’s American Concrete Institute (ACI) Concrete Convention and Exposition in Salt Lake City, UT. The convention provides the industry with a professional environment where individuals from across the globe come together to share new ideas and discover innovative ways to use concrete.
Ramon Gilsanz, Jennifer Lan, and Eugene Kim attended several committee meetings in Denver, CO, to help develop building design standards for the upcoming 2022 edition of ASCE/SEI 7 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures. Standard ASCE/SEI 7 is an integral part of building codes in the United States and is adopted by reference into the International Building Code, the International Existing Building Code, the International Residential Code, and the NFPA 5000 Building Construction and Safety Code.
Best wishes for a happy holiday season and a healthy, prosperous New Year!
— from all of us at GMS
Flatiron Reflection by Future Expansion is the 2017 winning design for the Flatiron Holiday Design Competition, a collaboration of the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership and the Van Alen Institute. GMS is proud to work with Future Expansion and The New Motor, to deliver this holiday gift to our neighbors. Special thanks to GMS team members Cathy Huang, Amanda Eldridge, Isaac Epstein, Dana Saba and Bryan Torres. Photography courtesy of ©Noah Kalina
Please visit Flatiron Plaza at East 23rd Street & Broadway, New York, now until January 1, 2018.
75 Rockefeller Plaza received an Honorable Mention in the 2017 Reconstruction Awards. One of the longest-running reconstruction project awards programs (34 years), BD+C’s Reconstruction Awards honor the nation’s best historic preservation, adaptive reuse, renovation, and reconstruction projects, based on overall design, engineering, and construction project quality.
The Judges in the 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition have selected the 75 Rockefeller Plaza for an ACEC New York Platinum Award in the category of Structural Systems.
The Judges in the 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition have selected the Southern Connecticut State University’s Academic Science and Laboratory Building for an ACEC New York Gold Award in the category of Structural Systems.
On Friday, the members of the ATC reconnaissance team reviewed their individual observations. Specific buildings were also identified for ongoing monitoring.<!–more–>
Having reached out to local engineers, building owners and residents, the team received helpful information about the earthquake itself, as well as the consequent building performance. Some residents invited our team members into their apartments to see the damage in person. The 9/19/17 earthquake caused structural damage — damage to buildings — precipitating 44 collapses. Many buildings also experienced non-structural structural damage (i.e. the shaking of contents within the buildings), or damage caused by geotechnical failure.
On this day, Laura Hernandez also assisted University at Buffalo Professor, Andreas Stavridis, with the instrumented inspection and measurement of a damaged building. Prof. Stavridis, member of the ATC team, conducted instrumented investigations of one building each day throughout this reconnaissance trip.
On Thursday Laura’s team continued its route around the southern neighborhoods. They continuously saw buildings with nonstructural masonry infill walls that seemed to have acted as lateral resisting elements, evident by the in-plane damage.
On Wednesday, the ATC reconnaissance team sub-groups were rearranged. Ramon and Jennifer’s group visited the Condesa neighborhood in the northern part of the city. Here the team assessed two buildings, one of which suffered some damage, and the other nearly none. Another group, including Laura Hernandez, focused on the southern area of Mexico City where they saw several structures with distinct damage
GMS engineers and the other members of the Applied Technology Council (ATC) reconnaissance team arrived in Mexico City and coordinated their plan of action to study the effects of the 9/19/2017 earthquake on building structures. The first morning, they met at the WSP office to organize the reconnaissance for that day. In order to maximize the use of the researchers’ time, the team was divided into three smaller groups. Each went to a different section in the city to evaluate damage.
GMS engineers departed for Mexico City on Monday to be joined by remaining members of the Applied Technology Council (ATC) reconnaissance team reviewing the aftermath of the 9/19/2017 earthquake. The goal of this reconnaissance mission is to perform detailed assessments of reinforced concrete structures with all levels of damage. The reconnaissance will focus on identifying the likely cause of collapse in concrete buildings that performed poorly, and the likely cause of good performance in non-collapsed buildings in the immediate vicinity.
Mexico is one of the world’s most seismically active regions, sitting atop several intersecting tectonic plates. On September 19, 2017, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit the Greater Mexico City area killing 370 people and collapsing 40 buildings. The quake occurred on the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, which killed around 10,000 people. The 1985 quake was commemorated, and a national earthquake drill was held, at 11 a.m. local time, just two hours before the 2017 earthquake. Twelve days earlier, the even larger 2017 Chiapas earthquake struck 400 miles away, off the coast of the state of Chiapas.
In support of ongoing U.S. Government-funded research and development projects in earthquake engineering, the Applied Technology Council (ATC) Endowment Fund is sponsoring a team of experts to investigate the performance of buildings in Mexico City following the event.
GMS provided structural engineering services for this 440,000 SF interior renovation and re-stack of 9 floors in the McGraw-Hill Building at 1221 Avenue of the Americas. Project included structural modifications and reinforcement for a monumental stairway, health club, full service kitchen and dining area, UPS and data center, as well as roof dunnage and shaft openings for new HVAC equipment.
This new 6-story commercial building in the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District replaces a two-story taxpayer building. The new steel framed structure, designed by BKSK Architects, features a terra cotta rain screen and glass curtain wall facade system that transitions along the building perimeter from punched windows representative of an earlier masonry era, to a more open open frame emblematic of SoHo’s later cast-iron era. The entire 52,000 square foot building is leased by Nike. According to the New York Times, “design fans should soon be recognizing it as one of the most exciting and intelligent structures to be built for decades, anywhere.”
The Woolworth building will be the first “Building of the Day” celebrating this year’s Archtober. Archtober (ärk’tōbər) is New York City’s Architecture and Design Month, the annual festival of architecture tours, lectures, films, and exhibitions taking place during October.
There are approximately 50,000 buildings on the 22.8 square mile island of Manhattan and the majority of construction occurs in densely built areas only a few feet from occupied buildings. When your neighbor builds or renovates, there may be residual effects on your property.
Jonathan Hernandez, GMS Partner, was inducted as the President-Elect for the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY) for 2017-2018. The ceremony occurred during SEAoNY’s Annual Meeting, held at the Center For Architecture in New York on September 14, 2017.<!–more–>
The purpose of SEAoNY is to advance the art of structural engineering in New York by improving the flow of ideas and building the community of colleagues. SEAoNY also reaches out to other professionals, outside the engineering community, who work in related fields with common interests. The association sponsors workshops, panel discussions, lectures and seminars with the aim of addressing topics of interest and concern to structural engineers. SEAoNY is a member organization of the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA). Jonathan is also a member of the NCSEA Board of Directors.
In buildings, Mass Concrete is frequently used for mat foundations, blast resistant walls, transfer girders or deep beams. However, there are no hard and fast rules to determine if your concrete element qualifies.
GMS engineers and inspectors refreshed their knowledge of welding and bolting inspection procedures at a seminar led by Albert Wong, senior inspector at GMS. The lecture covered types of bolts, welds, connections, and failures, as well as inspection requirements for maintaining quality control of construction.
For over a decade, GMS has served as the Woolworth Building’s structural engineer. Presently, the upper portion of this landmark (30th Floor-60th Floor) is being converted to residential apartments designed by Thierry Despont.
Construction is underway at Tangram Plaza (formerly known as Two Fulton Square) in downtown Flushing, Queens. The 1.2 million square foot mixed-use complex consist of four towers that sit atop a common podium.
The largest of its stores globally, Adidas’ new North American flagship at 565 Fifth Avenue in New York City spans four floors, including a lower level, and occupies approximately 45,000 sf. The overall design was conceived with the theme of sports and high school stadiums. In particular, the entry tunnel, reminiscent of a stadium entry, is made up almost entirely of glass with some stainless steel hardware and connectors; this load bearing glass structure at street level includes a glass ceiling and glass walls. The previous storefront was replaced with new glass panels spanning over 16 feet, supported only at the base and the head.
In our last issue, we showed you the exterior of 529 Broadway, the new building at Broadway and Spring Street in NYC’s Soho neighborhood, designed by BKSK Architects. Now we want to show you the interior fit-out, Nike’s new five story 55,000 square foot retail experience, with accessory office space and a roof terrace, designed by Nike with TPG Architecture.
One of this year’s merit awards for Architecture has been given to SculptureCenter, an arts facility located in a former trolley repair shop in Long Island City. The new addition and renovation were completed in October 2014.
Several of our engineers ventured to Denver, CO, to present their papers, studies and projects at this year’s Structures Congress. The congress is organized annually by the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Every year, the American Institute of Architects partners with the American Library Association/Library Leadership and Management Association to honor the best in library architecture and design across the nation. The AIA/ALA Library Building Award is the only award that recognizes entire library structures and all aspects of their design. One of this year’s eight awards was bestowed upon Stapleton Library for its reconstruction and new addition.
Monroe College celebrated the topping out of the West Hall dormitory on March 21, 2014.
As the New York Times points out, in the Financial District, there is a pedestrian bridge to nowhere …for the moment, at least. The footbridge over Trinity Place between Rector and Thames Streets used to connect Trinity Church to the parish house, which was demolished last August.
The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute’s (EERI) mission is to reduce earthquake risk by advancing the science and practice of earthquake engineering; improving understanding of the impact of earthquakes on the physical, social, economic, political, and cultural environment; and advocating comprehensive and realistic measures for reducing the harmful effects of earthquakes.
This new 6-story commercial building in the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District replaces a two-story taxpayer building. The new steel framed structure, designed by BKSK Architects, features a terra cotta rain screen and glass curtain wall facade system that transitions along the building perimeter from punched windows representative of an earlier masonry era, to a more open open frame emblematic of SoHo’s later cast-iron era. The entire 52,000 square foot building is leased by Nike. Photo above ©Chris Payne/Esto
75 Rockefeller Plaza is a landmarked 34-story steel moment frame building constructed in 1947 for Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company. It is situated in the heart of Rockefeller Center on 51st Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in Midtown Manhattan. It totals 623,000 square feet, with typical floor size ranging from 14,000 – 30,000 square feet.
In October 2016, Gensler relocated over 600 employees to 1700 Broadway between 53rd and 54th Streets in New York’s Theater District. Their new space includes the second through sixth floors, providing a total of 120,000 square feet of office area. This new workplace is designed around Gensler’s workplace research, and incorporates an abundance of amenities, conference rooms and specialized meeting areas.
The 16th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering, organized by the International Association of Earthquake Engineering took place from 9th January to the 13th January 2017 in Santiago, Chile. The conference covered engineering seismology, tsunamis, geotechnical earthquake engineering, design of new structures, assessment and retrofitting of existing structures, infrastructure and lifeline systems, preparedness and emergency management of large earthquakes, as well as social and economic aspects, and urban risk assessment.
The Judges in the 2016 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition have selected American Physical Society for a 2017 ACEC New York Diamond Award in the category of Structural Systems.
The Judges in the 2016 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition have selected Porcelanosa for a 2017 ACEC New York Platinum Award in the category of Structural Systems.
“Tales of Our Time” brings together a diverse group of younger artists to offer a broader view of the next wave in Chinese contemporary art. The artists examine conditions in contemporary China through approaches that often blur the distinction between fact and fiction. Employing media from ink painting to animatronics, they conceive of China more as a concept than as an identity, eschewing easy associations and symbols.
On October 18, 2016, Ramon Gilsanz of GMS presented to the members of the Structural Engineers Association of New York (SEAoNY) about global trends in earthquake design and resilience.
The lecture looked at common features of buildings in a variety of regions across the world which are prone to earthquakes. Such features include weak ground stories, considerations for adding new floors, alterations and enlargement of existing buildings and the potential for soil failures like liquefaction and lateral spreading. Using his experience from earthquake reconnaissance trips to Chile, Virginia, Greece, Taiwan and Ecuador, Mr. Gilsanz then discussed the impact of resilience in structures, specifically how to apply lessons from other cultures to improve the built environment here in New York City. He concluded with a review of the NYC Building Code provisions for resilience.
On the evening of April 16th, 2016, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck northern Ecuador, offshore from its west coast. The event drew the attention of the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association, due to the several hundred casualties, tens of thousands homeless, and destruction along the west coast, with evidence of severe ground motions and geotechnical failures.
Jessica Mandrick presented at the SEAOC Technical Session on the recent Taiwan Meinong earthquake.
Jessica Mandrick, SE presented fifth in the Session titled Learning from the 2014 South Napa and 2016 Tainan Earthquakes during the 2016 Annual Conference of the Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC), October 12-15 in Ka’anapali Beach, Maui. The focus of this session was to highlight the lessons learned during the GMS and USGS reconnaissance trip to Tainan, which took place in February 2016 in collaboration with EERI, ATC, and NCREE. The team visited the city of Tainan and its vicinity to survey, study, and document damage and site-related observations from the recent 6.4 Meinong Earthquake. The focus of the paper/presentation included observed design and construction issues as well as the societal response to the earthquake.
A dramatic retail newcomer of cubic proportions has come to Midtown Manhattan’s 42nd Street commercial corridor.
Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) in New Haven, CT, has greatly expanded their science programming with the opening of the 103,608 square foot Academic Science and Laboratory Science Building in August 2015.
Porcelanosa won this year’s Excellence in Structural Engineering award from the Structural Engineers Association of New York in the category of Forensic Analysis / Renovation / Retrofit / Rehabilitation of Structures.
GMS collaborated with Gensler on a concept design of a new system for New York City construction sheds. This design was one of four winning entries in a competition organized by the New York Building Congress.
From 4/17 to 4/27, the International Code Council (ICC) convened the 2016 Committee Action Hearings in Louisville, KY to review the International Building Code (IBC), and other International Codes. On behalf of the Structural Engineers Association of New York, Karl Rubenacker, co-chair of SEAoNY’s Codes and Standards Committee and partner at GMS, presented 7 proposals for revisions to structural design provisions (chapter 16) of the 2015 IBC. If adopted, these proposals would be incorporated into the 2018 IBC. Proposals included revisions to regulations regarding construction documents, load combinations, live loads, special inspections, as well as an entire new section on structural peer review.
On Saturday, April 16, 2016 a massive magnitude-7.8 earthquake rocked Muisne, Ecuador, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). GMS’s Ramon Gilsanz and Virginia Diaz traveled to Ecuador to help in relief efforts, assist other rescuers and collect data on the performance of structures during the event. The reconnaissance trip was coordinated by Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association (GEER), sponsored by the National Science Foundation, with additional support from the Applied Technology Council (ATC).
Earlier this week, Gary Steficek, founding partner of Gilsanz Murray Steficek, spoke at the 6th annual IUAV International Conference on Tall Buildings in Milan. The program was divided into two sessions, one on new technologies and a second on new uses for existing tall buildings. His presentation, “Reinventing Woolworth: Adaptive Reuse of an Historic Skyscraper,” was part of the Existing Structures Session.
The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) has awarded the American Physical Society’s headquarters expansion project this year’s IDEAS² Award for projects less than $15 million. This program recognizes projects where structural steel has been utilized in an innovative manner.
The new Virgin Hotel New York broke ground last fall and construction is on track for opening in 2018. This 39-story, tower will occupy the full block between 29th and 30th Streets along the west side of Broadway in NoMad (north of Madison Square), Manhattan, halfway between Herald Square and Madison Square in the Flatiron district.
Ramon Gilsanz, Phil Murray, Jonathan Hernandez, Jessica Mandrick, Sanaz Saadat, Joshua Peng, Mark Beltramello and John Hinchcliffe attended the 2016 Geotechnical and Structural Engineering Congress in Phoenix, Arizona. This unique Congress was a joint endeavor of two sectors within the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the Geotechnical Institute (G-I) and Structural Engineering Institute (SEI).
After a 22-year absence, upscale retailer, Barneys, is making a comeback in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. This stair is just one part of a four-story renovation project by Barneys in Chelsea. Watch a time-lapse of the construction process.
The US Resiliency Council has launched the USRC Earthquake Building Rating System. The Rating System assigns one to five stars for three performance measures—Safety, Damage (repair cost) and Recovery (time to regain basic function). This first-of-its-kind performance rating is based on decades of earthquake engineering research and observations of earthquake damage. GMS staff members Ramon Gilsanz, Karl Rubenacker, Joseph Mugford and Jennifer Lan have been certified as USRC raters. Ramon and Karl are also certified as USRC reviewers.
The New York Design Awards celebrate creativity, courage and innovation in design from the perspective of both creator and commissioner. The awards provide a distinctive opportunity for all sectors of the industry to participate across an extensive range of categories and achieve marketplace recognition. GMS projects received Gold Awards in various categories.
The Judges in the 2016 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition have selected The Cubes for a 2016 ACEC New York Gold Award in the category of Structural Systems.
The Judges in the 2016 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition have selected 150 Charles Street for a 2016 ACEC New York Gold Award in the category of Structural Systems.
To complement this year’s conference in New York of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the CTBUH Journal has published a case study of the redevelopment work that GMS is undertaking with Alchemy Properties and SLCE Architects at the Woolworth Building.
Microsoft has unveiled its new flagship store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue between 53rd and 54rth Streets, the high-end retail destination for both tourists and locals.
Three GMS staff members have been elected to various offices in the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations, the Structural Engineers Association of New York, and Structure Magazine.
SculptureCenter and the carousel enclosure at the Staten Island Zoo will be featured in this year’s Archtober. Archtober (ärk’tōbər) is New York City’s Architecture and Design Month, the fifth annual month-long festival of architecture activities, programs and exhibitions taking place during the month of October. Through special tours, lectures and exhibitions, Archtober raises awareness of the important role of design in our city and to build a lasting civic and international recognition of the richness of New York’s built environment.
On Saturday 10/17 and Sunday 10/18, the Annual Open House New York Weekend will unlock the doors of New York’s most important buildings, offering an extraordinary opportunity to experience the city and meet the people who design, build, and preserve New York. From historical to contemporary, residential to industrial, hundreds of sites across the five boroughs are open to visit, with tours, talks, performances, and other special events taking place over the course of OHNY Weekend. Through the unparalleled access that it enables, OHNY Weekend deepens our understanding of the importance of architecture and urban design to foster a more vibrant civic life, and helps catalyze a citywide conversation about how to build a better New York.
Each year, NCSEA awards the Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards. This program annually highlights some of the best examples of structural engineering ingenuity throughout the world. “The Cubes” received this year’s award for New Buildings $10-$30 million.
Fast-paced construction within a dense urban environment like New York City has several distinctive rationales, approaches, constraints, and requirements for careful coordination.
GMS provided the structural design and structural special inspections and also provided architectural assistance in developing façade/building envelope design details for the 16 story multi-use project. The enclosure is designed as a metal and glass curtain wall beginning above the existing 4-story warehouse. The building aims for LEED gold certification.
“High Rise by the High Line” has been published in Concrete International. This article presents a case study of of Avalon West Chelsea, a new 588,000 SF, “L-shaped” multi-family residential development located in the prime Chelsea Arts District of Manhattan, New York.
Every year the ASCE Metropolitan Section Structures Group hosts a four evening Seminar that focuses on the most interesting construction projects and structural engineering topics.
GMS staff gave several presentations at this year’s seminar.
120 West 42nd Street has been selected as a finalist in this years Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards organized by the Structural Engineers Association of New York.
On April 30th, the SculptureCenter and Tavern on the Green will be awarded the 25th Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards.The Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards are the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s highest honors for outstanding preservation. The Conservancy has been a leader in preserving, restoring, and reusing New York City’s wonderful architectural legacy for over 40 years.
The luxury residential development at 150 Charles Street in Manhattan’s West Village is nearing completion. 98 condominium units with estimated asking prices ranging from $4-$40 million (or approximately $7,000 per square foot) comprise the 300,000 square-foot building, situated on an acre lot. The project incorporates the structure of the existing 4-story Whitehall warehouse for the lower podium floors. Above, two towers are joined by a middle volume and cascade down to the Hudson River, allowing for spectacular views.
QLIC, the residential development at Queens Plaza North between 23rd and 24th Streets in Long Island City, is almost finished. The 21-story tower holds 421 rental units, double-height retail at grade and parking below grade. The building’s 28,000 SF of amenity space includes a rooftop pool, cabanas, a roof deck with an open-air theater and barbecue, a landscaped courtyard with a fire pit, media lounge, game room, fitness center, and other amenities on an occupied terrace.
Envisioned as a hub where students, faculty, researchers, and civic organizations can work creatively and collaboratively towards common goals in educational advancement, the Herb Alpert Educational Village will be anchored by New Roads School, a culturally and economically diverse, independent, non-profit, pre-K-12 college preparatory school located in Santa Monica, CA.
SculptureCenter is featured in this month’s issue of Architect magazine.
The New World Center indeed creates a new world of music and light, and is right at home in South Beach. The 100,641-sq.-ft facility is the new state-of-the-art home of Miami’s New World Symphony and was constructed as part of the City Center Redevelopment Project in a public/private partnership with Miami Dade County and the City of Miami Beach.
The Staten Island Zoo carousel, one component of a much larger redesign of the Children’s Zoo, has been selected by Interior Design Magazine as a finalist in the Outdoor category of the 2015 Best of Year Awards.
Louis Vuitton’s store at 1 East 57th Street has a brand new look. The Fifth Avenue entrance lobby of this flagship location has been expanded, and features a new canopy along with full-height showcase windows. The previous “wonder wall” has been reclad with stone clad aluminum honeycomb panel assemblies with integral light pockets and display vitrines.
The School of Dental Medicine at SUNY Stony Brook has received a Commendation for Healthcare in the 2014 AIA/LIC Archi Awards. This 2,900 SF steel frame and metal deck addition to Sullivan Hall includes a 36-seat training facility and x-ray room. Structural work also incorporated a new canopy and glass entrance storefront.
The Judges in the 2015 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition have selected Avalon West Chelsea for a 2015 ACEC New York Platinum Award in the category of Structural Systems.
The Judges in the 2015 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition have selected 837 Washington for a 2015 ACEC New York Gold Award in the category of Structural Systems.
As current leaders in structural engineering approach the end of their careers, it is increasingly important that young professionals take active measures to step into leadership roles. Leadership transition plays a vital role in the profession, but always brings with it challenges that differ from those of past generations. This article highlights select challenges identified by the ASCE Structural Engineering Institute’s Young Professionals Committee.
Situated across the street from the High Line Park, 837 Washington Street is a six-story office and retail development designed by Morris Adjmi Architects and built by Sciame Construction for Thor Equities and Taconic Investment Partners. Gilsanz Murray Steficek (GMS), which served as structural design engineer, was intensely involved in the construction phase and provided special inspection services including steel erection and structural safety. The building is a new torquing tower that rises out of an existing two-story Art Moderne style brick warehouse built in 1938, which was once part of the Gansevoort Market.
The New York Public Library commissioned this addition to the branch library for Stapleton, Staten Island. The existing 4,500 square foot 1907 Carrere and Hastings Carnegie Library was renovated with a new 8,000 square foot building located alongside.
The residential development at Queens Plaza North between 23rd and 24th Street in Long Island City has topped out. GMS is providing structural engineering and building envelope services for this new, 319,000 sf, twenty-one story high residential building.
Several award-winning GMS projects are being spotlighted this year on Archtober’s “Building of the Day” tours, including Stapleton Library, Tavern on the Green and Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at JFK.
GMS provided structural engineering services for the office renovations on the Ground, Second, Third, Fourth and Basement levels at 110 East 25th Street. This included structural design for two new mechanical mezzanines, framing design for new glass skylights through the sloped roof at the rear of the ground floor, framing design to close off an existing stairwell opening, and framing design for miscellaneous slab openings and floor penetrations. GMS also reviewed the support and design for the new metal framed ground floor public seating area.
Over the past few months, GMS has participated in reconnaissance after the sequence of Magnitude M5.2 and M5.7 earthquakes that occurred in the Ionian Island of Cephalonia earlier this year. The Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance Association has released the report of its findings.
Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) has opened its biggest store to date, in Manhattan’s 589 Fifth Avenue at 48th Street, an existing 1950s vintage office building that was re-clad with an aluminum and glass curtain wall around 1990. GMS served as structural engineer for the 57,000 sf retail store (the size of a football field).
The Whitney Museum of American Art is exhibiting a retrospective of Jeff Koon’s work.
Situated across the street from the High Line in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, 837 Washington Street is a six-story office & retail development designed by Morris Adjmi Architects for Thor Equities & Taconic Investment Partners and built by Sciame. Gilsanz Murray Steficek served as structural design engineer.
The Greater New York Construction User Council presented the Cubes at 120 West 42nd Street the 2014 Outstanding Project Award for commercial building.
For over a decade, GMS has served as the Woolworth Building‘s structural engineer. Presently, the upper portion of this landmark (30th Floor-60th Floor) is being converted to residential apartments
Nine months after the city awarded a contract for the stabilization and partial rehabilitation of the decrepit Hinchliffe Stadium to a New York City company, engineers have nearly finished a work plan that includes reversing deterioration of the stadium’s exterior.
More than 175 people celebrated the restoration of this landmark at the 26th annual Chairman’s Award luncheon.
Jessica Mandrick presents a case study of the New York City Rescue Mission along with several other buildings.
In response to the expanding exposure of buildings to abnormal events, Karl Rubenacker uses a 30 story high-rise office building as a case study to present practical methods and verification procedures by which structural engineers can incorporate disproportionate collapse resistance into their buildings as part of an overall multi-hazard design process.
The American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Housing and Custom Residential Knowledge Community, in conjunction with the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), recognized Sierra Bonita Housing in the category of Housing Accessibility (the Alan J. Rothman Award).
The New York City landmark – Tavern on the Green re-opened for dinner on April 24 and will open for lunch and brunch in mid-May! GMS helped the new restaurateurs by engineering modifications to the historic structure for the tenants, separate from the work performed by the NYC DDC to restore the building core and shell.
On March 10, 2014 the Hotel at 218 West 35th Street topped-out! The 38-story building is a concrete flat plate construction built on a mat foundation.
Interior Design Magazine Announces 2013 Best of Year Finalists & Winners
http://boyawards.interiordesign.net/finalists/
Leopard Enclosure at the Staten Island Zoo includes a mesh roof supported by five shotcrete-covered steel “tree” columns and tied down to seven perimeter columns. The mesh is tied down at the perimeter to the ground and to a low wall.
A new two-story single-family residence constructed with architecturally exposed concrete shear walls and slabs, steel framing and steel and glass window walls.
GMS provided structural engineering services and special inspections for the architectural fit-out of approximately 185,000 rentable square feet over eight floors at 622 Third Avenue. The project includes several stairs and floor openings to connect various floors including a four-story “art shaft”.
Glendale’s classical repertory company A Noise Within commissioned a 33,000 sf three-story theater built within the footprint of a partially demolished Stuart Pharmaceutical Company, the landmark designed by Edward Durell Stone.
The new Academic and Laboratory Science Building will host teaching and research labs for physics, earth science, environmental science, molecular biology and chemistry.
Jane’s Carousel has come a long way in its 90-plus years of existence.
GMS is proud to have helped Gutai’s Artists, as well as the Curators and the Fabrication Department of the Guggenheim Museum to present Gutai – Splendid Playground.
This is a detailed forensic investigation report on the Windsor Building fire that took place in Madrid, Spain in 2005. This paper was co-authored by Ramon Gilsanz alongside Arturo Montalva of Hinman Consulting Engineers and Vincent Pons i Frigola, Vincent Pons i Grau, and Oscar Herrera of the Technical Office of Forensic Engineering in Spain.
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