March 30, 2017
DeSimone Consulting Engineers, a leading structural engineering firm with offices worldwide including Miami, has played a vital role in the completion of major developments attributed to Miami’s emergence as a world leader in architecture and design. Without innovative, technology-driven engineering, many of the city’s largest, tallest, and most striking projects would not be possible or economically feasible.
DeSimone has designed numerous major South Florida projects, including Richard Meier’s Surf Club; the Faena Art District by OMA/Rem Koolhaas and Foster + Partners; Bjarke Ingels Group’s Grove at Grand Bay; Arquitectonica Oceana Bal Harbour, One Thousand Museum Tower by the late Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid, and Moshe Cosicher’s Panorama Tower, now the tallest building in Florida at 868 feet.
Rendering of One Thousand Museum Tower – Zaha Hadid Architects
“The structural engineering team often develops the new methods and technologies that enable architects’ designs to be realized,” said Stephen DeSimone, President/Chief Executive of DeSimone Consulting Engineers. “Without those innovations, many of the notable structures going up in South Florida today wouldn’t be possible. This will become more prevalent as buildings grow taller and the build sites become smaller in this high-wind climate.”
The fluid latticework façade of Zaha Hadid’s 1000 Museum tower was made possible by DeSimone’s concept to integrate the exterior components as structural elements of the building, enabling minimal interior columns and sweeping floor spans. With the help of DeSimone, 1000 Museum is poised to become a definitive achievement of ingenuity and design in the Miami skyline.
Rendering of Grove at Grand Bay – Bjarke Ingels Group
The completion of Bjarke Ingels’ Grove at Grand Bay, a pair of twisting towers, provides another example of the important role of structural engineering. DeSimone was tasked with making the first truly twisting towers in the US feasible in structural design, as well as financial and environmental impact. DeSimone’s award-winning contributions played an essential role in advancing the project and in positioning the development to achieve the first LEED Gold certification for a residential building in Miami-Dade County.
Faena Forum – OMA Architects (Photo by Iwan Baan)
The newly opened Faena Forum, designed by OMA/Rem Koolhaas, required advanced structural engineering to accomplish the most remarkable elements of the Miami Beach development. These include a 65-foot domed ceiling, an intricate concrete façade, and the replication of an existing historic structure. The highly articulated Forum façade consists of a seamlessly integrated structural web that supports the truncated cylinder housing the main event space.