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2014 Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards

New Buildings Under $5 Million

Outstanding Project Award

Atlanta Botanical Gardens Visitor Center
Uzun+Case

The Hardin Visitor Center is a dramatic, transparent structure providing a beautiful new arrival experience for visitors to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Strategically designed to integrate with the natural surroundings, concrete walls and framed second level allow the building to be tucked into a hillside with garden terraces, while the exposed structural steel roof provides the perfect architectural expression for the open, light-filled entry for garden visitors. Serving as a functional and symbolic gateway to the gardens beyond, the Visitor Center provides a comfortable, spacious setting, featuring a Garden Gift Shop and conference and classroom spaces.
 
 
Merit Award

3330 Peachtree Road
Uzun+Case


Merit Award





Adamsville Regional Health Center


Uzun+Case




















New Buildings $5 MILLION - $25 million


Outstanding Project Award




Sykes Chapel and Center for Faith and Values


Walter P Moore



The Sykes Chapel and Center for Faith and Values features a 56-foot tall open nave and pipe organ. To resist hurricane winds, steel buttresses brace the exposed glulam arches. The arch tops are truncated for a skylight, so a kinked HSS is moment connected to the top of the glulam and pinned to complete the arch. In the long direction, no x-bracing is allowed, and roof diaphragms are discontinuous. The roof diaphragm loads are delivered through drag struts to braced frames hidden in the fins at each end of the curved roof.




Merit Award






Atlanta Metropolitan College Academic Science Building


Uzun+Case




Merit Award






NOAA National Weather Center


PES Structural Engineers








New Buildings Over $25 MILLION


Outstanding Project Award




Target Field


Walter P Moore



Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins, has revitalized the west end of downtown as a baseball destination and transportation hub. Engineering creativity overcame the complexities of a tight site including poor soil, three active rail lines, interstates, underground culverts, and parking garages. While construction conscious structural design ensured efficient use of materials and labor through BIM coordination to navigate existing conditions as well as erection staging. Target Field features an open-air design with one of the largest canopies in all of baseball and has achieved LEED Silver Certification as the “greenest ballpark in America.”






Merit Award








Georgia Aquarium Dolphin Expansion


Uzun+Case




Merit Award




National Center for Civil and Human Rights


Walter P Moore




















FORENSIC/RENOVATION/RETROFIT/REHABILITATION STRUCTURES (Under $25 Million)


Outstanding Project Award




Georgia Tech Hinman Building Renovation


Uzun+Case



The 1939 historic Georgia Tech Hinman Research Building was the first engineering research facility at Georgia Tech. A major restoration and adaptive reuse project which transformed the building into a design studio for the Georgia Tech College of Architecture was completed in 2010, for which Uzun+Case Engineers was the structural engineer. Program requirements for the College of Architecture necessitated the addition of 3000 square feet of space within the existing building shell while preserving its historic character. These issues were artfully resolved by hanging a thin floor structure from the building’s existing bridge crane beams and addressing vibrations.






Merit Award




Monastery of the Holy Spirit - Historic Barn
Stability Engineering






Merit Award




Trinity Episcopal Church


Wiss, Janney, Elstner & Associates
























FORENSIC/RENOVATION/RETROFIT/REHABILITATION STRUCTURES (Over $25 Million)


Outstanding Project Award




Georgia Tech McCamish Pavilion


KSi/Structural Engineers



The McCamish Pavilion project is the renovation of an arena originally constructed in 1956. The original structure included a 50’ tall, 270’ diameter structural steel Schwedler dome over a cast-in-place concrete bowl. Georgia Tech’s goal for the renovation was to improve the fan experience and bring the facility in compliance with current building codes. To meet these project goals a new octagonal seating bowl for better sightlines, a new upper deck seating area utilizing innovative materials and design and construction techniques, a new concourse addition, and a discrete lateral force resisting system were added to the facility and numerous miscellaneous repairs to address existing design and construction deficiencies were performed.


 


 
 Merit Award








Benjamin E. Mays High School Renovation
Uzun+Case






Merit Award




Hartsfield-Jackson Concourse E Tunnel Extension


Stanley D. Lindsey & Associates






Other STRUCTURES


Outstanding Project Award




Emory Midtown ICU & Bridge Expansion


Uzun+Case



Uzun+Case Engineers was the structural engineer for the Emory University Hospital Midtown Intensive Care Unit Renovation and Bridge Expansion in Atlanta, Georgia. The expansion included a bridge that connects the Intensive Care Unit in the Peachtree Building to the CT Surgical Suite in the MOT Building. The project came with a number of design constraints that created a very challenging structural situation. Uzun+Case Engineers created a design without columns as an example of how engineers can adapt to a very constraining site and, through design and creative thought, produce an elegant solution that addresses these constraints and satisfies architectural aesthetics.




Merit Award






Adjacent Possible


Uzun+Case






Merit Award




SE Atlanta Green Infrastructure Initiative Storage Vault


Heath & Lineback Engineers
















Individual Achievement Award




Andrew Gravino, PE



The 2014 Individual Achievement Award is presented to Andrew J. Gravino PE for his significant contributions to our profession over the course of his career.


After leaving high school, Andy served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II flying B-24 bombers. When released from the military he attended Georgia Tech on the G.I. Bill of Rights education program, receiving a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree in 1951.


After graduation Andy worked with the VanWinkle Construction Company handling logistics and serving as a relief superintendent. Then a stint with Lockheed’s buildings department. He then worked with the John J. Harte Company, rising to the position of Chief Structural Engineer.


In 1959 he teamed with Bob Prybylowski to form the structural engineering firm Prybylowski & Gravino which became a premier structural/civil firm in Atlanta. Prybylowski handled the civil work and Andy led the structural section. The firm designed many structures both in Atlanta and in other parts of the country. Significant among them are the Fulton County Stadium, the Omni Arena, the Omni Complex, the Coca Cola complex, and Colony Square, all in Atlanta, In other parts of the country the Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, the University of Kentucky football stadium and the Albany, GA arena. Other important structures are the Coastal States building in Atlanta and the Delta Hanger at Hartsville-Jackson International Airport, whose roof spans 600 feet. Upon the death of Prybylowski, P & G closed in 1986, but Andy continued to work with Jordan, Jones & Goulding designing water and sewage plants with large containment vessels.


Andy’s professional and civic activities include president of the Society of Military Engineers, Chairman of the Catholic Arch Diocese Building Commission, and President of Georgia chapter of the American Consulting Engineers Council (now know as the American Council of Engineering Companies). He also served on the Urban Design Commission for the City of Atlanta, appointed by then mayor Maynard Jackson. Through his professional activities he was instrumental in opening dialog among the structural engineers of Atlanta.


“Andy Gravino was a tremendous inspiration and mentor to many Atlanta engineers (including myself), several currently in practice. Andy set a high standard for engineering ethics and practical, yet creative solutions.”


- Lawrence D. McDowell, PE Senior Principal, Uzun+Case


 
















eSe Awards Jury


The selection of award recipients is made by a distinguished Awards Jury, consisting of leaders in the design, construction and academic communities in Georgia. 


            

               




Paul Shelton, PE




Paul Shelton is the senior structural engineer for the Design Review Group in the Construction Division of the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission. Paul is a 1979 graduate of Georgia Tech with a degree in civil engineering.  Prior to joining GSFIC in 2004, he was employed by Heery International, Inc. for 23 years and has extensive experience in all conventional methods of building design and construction. His is the primary  author of G.S.F.I.C.’s Special Inspections Guidelines and helped develop  G.S.F.I.C.’s process for “Basic Pre-Qualification” of firms providing special inspections, material testing, geotechnical and/or related services. He was a member of DCA’s 2009 Chapter 17 “Structural Tests and Special Inspections” Task Force. He is a registered professional engineer in Georgia and a member A.I.S.C., A.C.I. and the Structural Engineers Association of Georgia.






Craig Bennett, PE




Craig Bennett is a structural engineer with undergraduate degrees in both civil engineering and architecture, and a graduate degree in structural engineering.  His experience includes design of new structures of all sizes, including several early years in the design of high-rise hotels and office buildings. Mr. Bennett’s particular strength is in the structural evaluation, repair, rehabilitation, and restoration of existing structures, with a specialization in historic preservation.  His work regularly involves assessment of the causes of structural distress or failure and the design of rehabilitative measures, generally in a historic context. Mr. Bennett is a former faculty member in the College of Architecture and the School of Civil Engineering at Georgia Tech.  He is currently adjunct faculty in the College of Charleston/Clemson graduate program in Historic Preservation, is past-president of the Board of Trustees of the Charleston Museum and recently finished his ten year service on the City of Charleston’s Board of Architectural Review, the last six years as chairman.


               

            

            
            

               




Jerome M. Cooper, FAIA


Jerry Cooper founded the architecture and design firm Cooper Carry in 1960, and today serves as Chairman of the Board. As a nationally recognized design firm, Cooper Carry, which has received the AIA Atlanta Silver Medal for Design Excellence, works in six key disciplines: architecture, graphics, interiors, landscapes, urban planning and sustainable design. In 1956, he received a Fulbright Fellowship to Rome, Italy and was a Visiting Artist at the American Academy in Rome, Italy in 1997.He is a former member of the National Board of Directors of the American Institute of Architects and a former Trustee of the National Building Museum. He has received numerous awards, including the Rothschild 
Medal, the highest award granted by the AIA Georgia Chapter, and the  AIA Atlanta Chapter’s Ivan Allen Award in recognition of his service to the community. Mr. Cooper graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture in 1955.





Dr. David Scott


Dr. David Scott is an Associate Professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  Prior to joining Georgia Tech, he served as a Research Civil Engineer for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.  His research focus is structural design and the use of novel materials in new construction and repair applications.  Dr. Scott is a recipient of the Best Basic Research Paper Award from the ASCE Journal of Composites for Construction,  the Dow Chemical Award for Excellence in Composites Research, and a Commendation for Technical Excellence from the U.S. Army. 





Ben Rabun, PE


Ben is a 1990 graduate of the Southern Polytechnic State University and a Registered Georgia Professional Engineer.  He has over 24 years with the Georgia Department of Transportation that are divided among design and operations. During his career he has served as State Bridge Inspection Engineer, Bridge Maintenance Engineer, Assistant to the Chief Engineer and is currently the State Bridge and Structures Engineer, with responsibility for design, inspection, maintenance and the bridge asset management program.  He is a member of the  AASHTO Sub-Committee on Bridges and serves on Technical committees: T-9 Bridge Preservation and T-18 Bridge Management, Evaluation, and 
Rehabilitation.  He and his wife Kitty have two children in college, Katie and Benjamin. They all proudly call Senoia home.




               

            

            




2014 ESE Awards Committee


    

  • Adrian Persaud, Chair
    • 

  • Lauren McCormick
    • 

  • Stephanie Glien
    • 

  • Ricky Clousing
    • 

  • John Bennett
    •