The Pacific Design Center’s Red Building is the final building in the triad of towers designed by Cesar Pelli. Its design is comprised of two curved and sloping towers, the west tower at 5 floors and the east tower at 8, that connect by a common lobby. Above the general lobby sits the “Palm Court” terrace which is the slice between each tower, connecting each of the two double-height lobbies that correspond to each tower. 400,000 square feet of office space sits on top of 7 levels of parking. Each floor offers column-free, continuous-windowed spaces The Red Building is clad in transparent and fritted glass, held to its frames by silicone. Vidaris provided consulting throughout design development, contract document, bidding, performance and visual mockup, and shop drawing review phases, as well as monitored the site during its construction.   Photo Credit: Pavel Bendov Photography

Located next door to Grand Central Terminal, this 67-story, Class-A office tower will be an iconic addition to midtown Manhattan. Set to open in 2021, this terra cotta and glass tower will be over 1500 feet tall and is designed to have 4 tapering blocks that interlock and end at different heights. The tower also features a retail podium at its base. Vidaris is providing both building envelope and sustainability services, including CFD modeling of the atriums and energy code progress inspections. The sustainability team is coordinating for a WELL Core & Shell Gold rating in addition to both LEED v3 Platinum and LEED v4 Gold certifications. Commissioning is being performed by LPI, an affiliate company of Vidaris.

101 Seaport is part of the new 23-acre development happening in Boston’s Seaport Square. 101 Seaport is a Class A office building that will be the Boston headquarters for PricewaterhouseCoopers. It utilizes a triple-glazing, cable-net curtainwall alongside the structural steel and concrete core. Vidaris has performed periodic shop and job-site monitoring of the fabrication of the exterior wall. Vidaris has also performed site monitoring for the roofing/waterproofing work in progress, as well as foundation waterproofing consulting.

7 World Trade Center has been a fresh image representing new growth in downtown Manhattan. This 52-story tower is a model of simple form and functional representation, but moves beyond these precedents through contemporary building enhancements that have created a new model for life safety and sustainable design. It was the first building in New York City at the time to receive a U.S. Green Building Council Gold Certified rating. As one of the first buildings to be completed near the World Trade Center site after September 11, and as the building envelope consultants, Vidaris worked closely with architect Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) to ensure that this building was not only sustainable, but safe. Vidaris monitored the blast mitigation for the glass and cable net wall testing. The curtainwall employs a low-iron glass with a reflective glass cladding and blue stainless steel trim, designed to reflect and transmit light which produced a highly variable façade. The highly luminous façade includes glass panels that overlap the building’s floor plates and a spandrel system that reflects light from behind the panels, creating light. The storefront or lobby utilized a blast mitigated cable net curtainwall system. Vidaris was also retained by Silverstein to provide Flood Mitigation Consulting Services at existing ground floor pedestrian and overhead doors, and basement level spaces. Our consulting services consist of: shop drawing review and coordination; anchorage details; mock-up reviews; inspections; design of cellar level strategies including floodproof doors and structural hardening and waterproofing of existing walls; and, peer review of flood mitigation strategies for the ConEd Substation.   Photo Credit: Pavel Bendov Photography

World Trade Center Tower 3, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbor + Partners and Adamson Associates, is the third tallest building on the site, standing at 1,240 feet, and holds commercial offices with trading space and a retail podium, and a connection to the WTC Transportation Hub. At the ground level, a triple-height cable-net facade reinforces the transparency of the lobby entrance. The facade is column free with a curtain wall glass facade allowing for panoramic tower views and views of the September 11 Memorial. There are multiple roof set backs. Vidaris is providing comprehensive building envelope consulting and monitoring services that include work throughout all phases of design and construction. Vidaris is collaborating with the design team in the formulation and development of performance criteria as well as contract document preparation and review. Vidaris was also instrumental in the development and specification and selection of building exterior materials which included a high performance thermally-broken window wall system incorporating low-e glass. Construction administration services includes shop drawing review, witnessing of laboratory and field testing and monitoring of installation for conformance to design objectives as well as code requirements. In addition to envelope consulting, Vidaris has also provided energy modeling services to earn LEED Optimize Energy points and comply with Executive Order 111. Studies included energy efficiency measures that could be implemented by both the tenants and the building owner, and optimization of the 1.2MW cogeneration plant.   Photo Credit: Pavel Bendov Photography

World Trade Center (WTC) Tower 4 is part of the World Trade Center redevelopment project taking place in lower Manhattan. The building will consist of an estimated 56 floors of office space and five floors of retail and access to the PATH entrance. The building will be clad in a floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall. Vidaris assisted the client in evaluation of several innovative glass compositions to help achieve the architect’s elegant design. Vidaris played a key role in the design assist process that spanned many months working along side the client, architect, project engineers and the curtain wall vendor. Construction administration services provided by Vidaris include shop drawing review, witnessing of laboratory and field mock-ups and site/shop monitoring to ensure conformance with construction documents. Vidaris developed the overall green/LEED thrust for One World Trade Center; this direction was subsequently used for the three other Silverstein towers of the World Trade Center complex. For Tower 4, Vidaris performed a three-dimensional heat-flow analysis of the building envelope, in an area where the steel structure penetrates the glass enclosure. This analysis was intended to highlight means of reducing the potential for moisture condensation. Vidaris had an early involvement with the World Trade Center buildings. We provided green/sustainable consulting to the Beyer Blinder Belle team who developed the first master plan of the area, following the Port Authority plan for a dense construction plan that was eventually not followed. Adrian Tuluca was on the committee that provided commentary on the LMDC World Trade Center Sustainable Guidelines.   Photo Credit: Pavel Bendov Photography

50 + 60 Binney Street are part of the Alexandria Center at Kendall Square, a 2.6 million sqft rentable science and technology campus, which includes a two-acre master-planned green community space. 50 Binney Street was designed to accommodate innovative technology and life science usage with retail at ground level. 60 Binney has flexible floorplates for offices, and a private underground parking with car-share service.

Vidaris professionals have provided LEED consulting from the beginning of the design. Sustainable features include, among others:
•Exceeding the MA Energy Code by 20%
•Stormwater collection
•Filter system for nonpotable water uses
•10% of construction materials were targeted to be regionally sourced
•Wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council will be used for over 50% (by cost) all new wood used on the project
•Coordination with tenants for sustainability

The existing Lighthouse Point Complex, St. George, Staten Island is the site of a unique mixed-use waterfront development at the base of the Staten Island Ferry. The project as planned includes retail shops, restaurants, a 164-room hotel and approximately 96 residential units housed in historic buildings along a waterfront esplanade. The site is the home of the Former U.S. District Lighthouse Depot. The former depot is comprised of many buildings and an historic perimeter wall.

For the investigation and assessment, Vidaris examined buildings 5, 6, 7, 8, the Vaults and the brick perimeter wall. The buildings were built between 1845 and 1918. Building 7 or the Old Administration Building is designated an individual landmark, buildings 5, 6, 7, 8 and exterior wall of the vaults are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The remainder of the site (including the perimeter wall) has been determined eligible for, but has not been listed on, the National Register. The buildings were principally used in the past as warehouses, an administration building, a lamp shop and barracks. The buildings are currently vacant and plans are underway to convert the spaces to commercial use.

For the restoration of Building 8 and new construction of Starwood Hotel & Resorts Westin Hotel, Vidaris is providing consulting and monitoring services. The hotel will be 190,000 sf, 12 stories and have 175 rooms, and will connect to existing Building 8.

Industry City is an innovation ecosystem that is embracing a new kind of working environment. Located on the waterfront in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, the development spans a total of 35 acres. The repurposed classical New York Industrial architecture buildings boast amenities, including abundant natural light, sustainable materials, 13-foot ceilings, flexible layouts and more.

Vidaris provided due diligence, FISP (formerly Local Law 11/98) inspections, facade restoration and window replacement consulting on a number of the buildings located in Industry City. The Restoration team collaborated with the Code team on DOB requirements in order to satisfy clients desires to develop a collaborative and innovative development.

Time constraints for Industry City include scheduling a window replacement in an occupied building, based on lease agreements, tenant commitments, and weather limitations.

Located in the East Rail Yards (ERY) section of Hudson Yards, a 17 million square foot development, this project includes six office floors, 217 hotel rooms, 135 residential condominiums, with retail on three floors.

Along with 35 Hudson Yards, Vidaris serves as the LEED/energy consultant for 10 Hudson Yards (LEED Platinum), 55 Hudson Yards, 30 Hudson Yards, 15 Hudson Yards, the Shed and the Retail Podium -- all LEED Gold. Vidaris also provides the LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) consulting for the entire Hudson Yards site. Vidaris has also performed a site-wide study of the energy efficiency of the 13 MW cogeneration plant.

Vidaris assisted in optimizing the energy efficiency of the design through analysis of several measures, notably:
•glazing with lower solar heat gain coefficient and lower U- factor, spectrally-selective for increased light transmittance
•efficient spandrel panels, with optimization for cost- effective installation
•measurement & verification system
•heat wheel and also heat recovery for swimming pool
•VAV systems in areas that are usually serviced by constant volume systems (assembly areas, conference rooms)
•high efficiency chillers and boilers
•hot water and chilled water from the campus cogen plant, serving part of the building

Vidaris also conducted THERM analysis to evaluate condensation potential of specific design features, with specific recommendations to avoid it.

Vidaris’ LEED consulting has included offering an evaluation of the potential for pursuing LEED Platinum for the building, and documentation support of such measures as:
•35,000 gallon stormwater retention tank, with filtration.
•Weighted heat island compliance calculations, allowing for most effective terrace and high roof material selection
•Tenant guidelines for the office, restaurant and retail spaces
•Low-water use fixtures for multiple occupancy types for at least 20% water savings compliance
Vidaris’ consulting has been cost-shared by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.