USA Buildings
the ‘piston effect’ of the trains for natural ventilation.
For the stations, they are avoiding full air conditioning
and opting for a tempered air system, as well as
using the steam from the power generation plant for
heating.
Heat recovery is to be fitted to the waste steam
condensate system to heat the domestic hot water; and
occupancy sensors are being fitted to reduce lighting
loads. These are initiatives that might be considered
little more than common sense, but the design team is
also looking at more radical ideas like inclined elevators
to reduce power consumption.
President Obama’s multibillion-dollar stimulus
package is good news for this project, as the
administration is looking for quick wins – which
means that big infrastructure projects that are already
under way can expect support. Ironically, parts of the
new subway project date back to the 1970s, but the
city effectively went bust and could not finish the job,
with New York subway travellers suffering ever since.
But today’s team is picking up where its predecessors
Ground Zero, the site of the > The huge East Side Access project, initiated by the were forced to down tools, and are taking advantage of
former World Trade Center, is Metropolitan Transportation Authority, aims to tackle already excavated sections.
a hive of building activity this. New tunnels are being bored through the rock “Often there’s a downside to the way such projects
beneath Manhattan to connect the busiest commuter are financed, which means they tend to lurch forward
railway in the US – the Long Island Rail Road that and then stop while the city tries to raise more money,”
carries 300,000 passengers in and out of the city each says Elperin. “This time we must make sure the
day – to a new terminal underneath Grand Central. project is completed and we are fortunate that the new
The iconic building will soon be the cherry on top of a leadership sees major infrastructure projects as a top
76 acre subterranean cake. priority.”
This is a monumental undertaking and will cost Across town, AECOM’s engineers are also working
between $8bn and $9bn. Tunnelling teams are on the first real extension to the New York subway in
currently smashing their way through the rock 120ft 50 years – the Second Avenue Subway project. On
beneath the bustling streets of Manhattan and are trying completion, this will have delivered 8.5 miles of new
to do all of this in the most sustainable way possible. line running from Harlem to Lower Manhattan, as
It has to be one of the most challenging engineering well as 16 new stations. The aim is to cut travelling
projects on the planet and is being spearheaded by one times and improve comfort for commuters by easing
of the country’s best known engineering firms. In fact, congestion on the heavily used Lexington Line, as well
AECOM has been entrusted with a series of transport as to improve access to the main transit system for
challenges for New York. people living in East Manhattan.
“We are diversified, which is serving us well in It is another vast undertaking, and there are signs
the current economic situation,” says AECOM vice- all around the city of the work going on below. This
president Tom Dickmann. “And we are in the fortunate project, too, has its roots in the past, having been first
position of being able to turn down projects if we don’t mooted in 1929. When completed, it is expected to
like the look of the risk.” carry more than half a million people a day, which will >
Yet New York’s urban rail network is high on
the agenda. “This is pretty tricky – on a number of
fronts,” explains Elton Elperin, the AECOM associate
vice-president leading the East Side Access team with
masterful understatement. “We have to work through
existing streets, buildings and working train lines.”
The Second Despite the restrictions and the problems of working
Avenue Subway
so far underground, the team is determined to apply
sustainable disciplines. For example, it is only installing
is expected to
Energy Star-rated equipment; air-side and water-side
carry over half economisers are being fitted as standard; and variable
a million people
speed fans are working alongside chillers with primary
and secondary pumping.
a day
They are making as much use as possible of existing
– Chris Bennett infrastructure to minimise excavation and will exploit The elaborate exterior of Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan
32 CIBSE Journal March 2009 www.cibsejournal.com
CIBSEmar09 pp30-32.34 usabuildings.indd 32 5/3/09 13:44:06
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