Aquablue

  • Two 31-story towers which sit atop an eight-story podium and recreation deck
  • DeSimone developed an innovative structural solution to address the openings through the shear walls by designing 18 in deep structural steel coupling beams
  • Project measures 900,000 sf
  • Boutique hotel and residential apartments
  • Hotel portion is a 30-key hotel with four 2-story guest room buildings
  • Main building contains a reception area, restaurants, ballroom, kitchen, back of house, and loading dock
  • 8,000 sf spa and fitness center between the buildings with a connecting roof structure
  • The total area of these buildings is 35,000 gsf
  • An eight-story (plus rooftop terraces) residential building
  • Features a mix of 26 residential units in this building with a total gross area including balconies and roofs of approximately 259,000 sf
  • Balconies facing the marina scale as a 18-foot cantilever from the column centerline
  • Facade is articulated with flattened ovals whose ends create a privacy barrier with the adjacent unit
  • Depression formed at the abutment of two flattened ovals provides space for a private pool
  • An eight-story (plus rooftop terraces) residential building
  • Features a mix of 26 residential units with a total gross area including balconies and roofs of approximately 204,000 sf
  • Two to four residences per floor
  • Balconies facing the marina scale as a 19 ft cantilever
  • A one-story recording studio in the heart of the exclusive Albany Marina Residences community
  • Building diameter is approximately 98 feet
  • An undulating, tiered facade is reminiscent of both the ocean and an audio waveform
  • Serrated edge segments of the building envelope translate into a vertical mullion in the perimeter glazing system
  • Project consists of multiple buildings located on a sloped terrain, consisting of approximately five different types of two-story residential units with private swimming pools, an arrival pavilion with heavy timber framing, a three-story resort core building, tree-house treatment rooms, a pool bar, prefabricated buildings and two types of garage buildings
  • Buildings are supported on spread footings
  • A variety of structural framing systems were implemented: steel, concrete and wood materials are used to achieve the architectural design and use of the buildings
  • Expansion of the 5-star Half Moon Resort in Jamaica
  • Twelve different types of low-rise structures comprise a total of 11,137 sf of amenity and hospitality areas
  • Due to the project’s location in a high seismic and hurricane zone, selected lateral systems are comprised of timber and steel frames combined with cast-in-place walls
  • Project consists of an eight-story residential building at the Albany Resort on the southwest shore of New Providence Island in The Bahamas
  • A prominent feature of the building is deep balconies with pools on the south side overlooking the marina and a recording studio
  • Ground level is a ground supported slab similar to the Honeycomb Residences
  • Two rooftop terraces
  • Building is supported on auger-cast piles

Awards

  • Concrete Industry Board (CIB) – Award of Merit – Out of Area
  • Two sites on the island were developed: the marina and a site further north on the east shore
  • The Yacht Club serves as the main house overlooking the marina, featuring guest services and a restaurant
  • Guests accommodations’ include pre-fabricated timber villas ranging from two to four bedrooms with a view of the Exuma Islands
  • All structures are being designed to Miami-Dade County standards for hurricane resistance
  • An ten-story residential building
  • Features deep balconies with pools overlooking the marina
  • There are a mix of units in this building including 2 ground level villas, 5 two-story duplex units, 10 single-floor units, 2 grand units, an east and west penthouse, and finally a sky villa for an approximate total of 170,000 gsf
  • There is a rooftop terrace for the sky villa and a full-size pool on the roof
  • There is a large trapezoidal-shaped “breezeway” spanning across a utility easement
  • The span is 50 ft perpendicular to the end supports and 100 ft across the front face of the building

Photographs courtesy of OOAK Architects.

  • A 397,000 sf hotel/spa/casino on an eight-acre oceanfront property in Isla Verde
  • Consists of two separate structures: a five-story, 900-car parking garage, and a ten-story tower, which contains 400 guest rooms, a 24,000 sf conference center, a 12,000 sf spa, four restaurants, as well as the casino_s 20,000 sf gaming facilities
  • An efficient shallow foundation system was used on this project
  • Consists of two, 6-story reinforced flat-plate concrete buildings
  • The seismic lateral system consists of cast-in-place shear walls in the short direction and moment frames in the long direction, with reinforced masonry used for the exterior walls
  • Parking is provided below the occupied levels on a grade-supported slab
  • Also includes a timber frame one-story restaurant and reception building, which was constructed above the cast-in-place cistern structure
  • The two buildings overlook their own landscaped pool areas and the beach
  • The expansion elevates the famous Ocean Club to five-star standards
  • 50 new guestrooms contained in five two-story buildings are built overlooking the Northwest Providence Channel
  • Cast-in-place framing supports the light gage metal-framed roofs
  • A new 10,000 sf arrival building adjoins the complex’s existing guestroom building
  • Auger cast piles support a cast-in-place floor system
  • The superstructure utilizes steel and rough timber framing
  • Masonry bearing walls supporting structural steel and light gage metal joists provide the infill structure
  • A new Ocean Bar & Grill structure straddles the oceanfront sand dune
  • The expansion also includes: a new tennis center, health club, pool pavilions, as well as a new 30,000 sf Golf Clubhouse
  • Provides 1,600 guestrooms
  • Three distinct hotel buildings are on the site
  • Two buildings are renovated and one is demolished and replaced with a new 700-room, serpentine shaped guestroom building
  • A signature arrival building of approximately fifty-thousand square feet welcomes guests to the hotel complex
  • Reef Village is the product of a renovation and alteration of the old Grand Bahama Beach Hotel
  • The old Lucayan Beach Hotel is now the convention center hotel with the existing casino converted into ballroom space
  • Numerous site buildings and structures are provided including four site restaurants and bars, a 40-foot tall sugar mill with a giant spiral water slide
  • Also provided is an elevated aqueduct, a complex shaped building designed to entertain children, a central services building, landscape maintenance and security buildings
  • Located on a private beach in Anguilla
  • A new 435,000 sf luxury resort and residential community containing a hotel, condominiums, private villas, a spa, and back-of-house facilities
  • The hotel is a four-story 152,000 sf structure containing 76 units
  • The condominium building creates 35 units in 43,000 sf of space
  • Contains beach front residences, villas and townhouses
  • Also included are restaurants, lounges, spa amenities, meeting rooms, a fitness center, and beach pavilions
  • The structures utilizes concrete slabs, CMU walls, and concrete roofs, and is designed to be hurricane resistant
  • DeSimone has been involved in all three phases of the Atlantis project
  • Phase I involves a $125 million design and upgrade to the resort’s existing support structures
  • Phase II expansion adds a new 50,000 sf casino and a 24-story, 1200-room hotel
  • The hotel component is the tallest structure in the Caribbean
  • The expansion adds another three-million-gallon open-air aquarium to the resort grounds
  • Combined with Phase I, the outdoor aquarium habitat is the largest in the world
  • Phase III adds a new 600-key condo hotel, a timeshare resort Harbourside at Atlantis, and a 250,000 sf convention center featuring the largest ballroom in the Caribbean
  • The project also expands the water park and added an open-air 55,000 sf Marina Village
  • Awards:
    NASC – Gold Award 2000 (Atlantis II)
    CIB Roger H. Corbetta Awards – Award of Merit 1999 (Atlantis Resort)
  • Located in Christiansted on the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands
  • Brings a modern cardiac treatment facility to the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center
  • Utilizes a structural steel frame combined with a lightweight Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) panelized exterior wall system to accommodate the region’s seismic Zone 4 rating
  • Contains 25,000 sf of space
  • A five-story, 300-room hotel
  • Hotel rooms are a modular concept and feature a plug-in concept with all the wires and plumbing ready to be connected at the chases
  • Roof has a pool and amenities for the hotel guests
  • Located on the southwestern end of New Providence in the Bahamas
  • An eight-story, 170,000 sf oceanfront residential building
  • Adds to the existing Albany Marina Residences
  • Includes a lobby, 14,000 sf parking, and 8,000 sf retail on the first floor

Awards

  • Concrete Industry Board (CIB) Awards – Award of Merit, Out of Area
  • Engineering News Record (ENR) Global Best Project Awards – Award of Merit