Desimone Engineers and Zaha Hadid Architecture – “One Thousand Museum”

Desimone Engineers and Zaha Hadid Architecture

“One Thousand Museum”

Miami is one of the top touristic destinations in the US because of its tropical weather and views that don’t disappoint. Design experts like Zaha Hadid Architects and Desimone Consulting Engineers have made this city an architectural museum. However, calling this magical city your home gives you a much different perspective. I would say living in Miami is a very special experience. I like to say we live in paradise with a hint of Picante. Not only do I find this description accurate because of Miami’s sassy weather; but it is also relevant because Spanglish is the unofficial language of the three-o-five.

What do I mean by calling Miami spicy? Let me give you a little preview of our day-to-day. You are able to enjoy the ideal, bliss-like climate all year long (Caliente!?); while also expecting drastic and aggressive changes in weather during the day (Ay, Caramba!) ☀️. You can enjoy the fresh breeze by the ocean while dipping your feet in the warm sand any day of the week (Que Rico!), and also experience the adrenaline kick when driving during our famous hostile storms (Ay, Dios Mio!). Also, these storms somehow seem to always happen during rush hour. Let me put it this way if Miami were a person, she would definitely be a Sagittarius; fun but wild.

Building Moments

Miami’s transformation is constant, fast, and to some extent unexpected. Without a doubt, the architectural diversity compliments the vibrant energy that the city irradiates. Consequently, after describing the crazy weather conditions we face, I can assume that any structural engineer who is reading this may understand why the team at Desimone had their work cut out for them when calculating the One Thousand Museum here in Miami. Being the engineer on record for this 62-story was no walk-in-the-park considering all the variables that had to be accounted for. Thankfully, engineering and architecture professionals, such as Zaha Hadid Architects and Desimone Engineering Consultants, are qualified to create spectacular but secure designs. Because of them, we are able to enjoy our amazing city while being safe from these radical circumstances. (Phew!)

Even though the city’s architectural scene is like no other, my favorite part about living in Miami is you are able to meet people from all over the globe. Every day you learn and share all kinds of behaviors from different cultures of the world. With this in mind, if we are able to enjoy this gathering of cultures Miami generously gives us, why not try to share this with the world from a designer’s perspective? Eastern Engineering Group is building moments between engineering and architectural professionals by launching our new initiative for students called “What’s the Scope?”.

For our first virtual interview, we were honored to speak with Luis Ramirez, P.E. in New York from Desimone Consulting Engineers, and Chris Lepine in London from Zaha Hadid Architects about their amazing project, the One Thousand Museum.

Learn more about this first interview as we speak about the experience we had with the students, the facts we learned about this architectural landmark, and some background information about these amazing design firms!

My Experience With the Students

 

As we said before, for this first interview, our Spring 2020 interns selected the One Thousand Museum as the structure they wanted to structurally analyze. Shannon Stever, currently pursuing her B.S in Civil Engineering and M.S in Civil Engineering specializing in Structural Engineering. And Nicholas Vega currently pursuing his B.S in Civil Engineering, both attending Florida International University. Shannon and Nicholas demonstrated a high level of professionalism and integrity during their time with us. They were very enthusiastic about learning new things, as well as very patient with the process. It was such a pleasure for us to be able to work with them and learn through their curious eyes.

 

Shannon and Nicho were the first two students to be a part of our “What’s the Scope?” initiative. Therefore, this was as new for them as it was new for us. Part of the process of getting ready for the interviews is for the students to individually come up with the questions and then we review them as a group. This allows students to analyze the structure with the knowledge they currently learn in school.

 

This being said, I was amazed by the incredible questions they had come up with! The way they were able to apply what they know in theory to a real-life project was absolutely brilliant. They knew exactly what they were curious about, and they found the correct terms to learn the reason behind the approach chosen by these professionals. This is one of the many reasons we love our experiences with students, and why we like them to express all their ideas. To hear their questions and learn the answers given by the design professionals, listen to the audio above, or watch the video below!

The One Thousand Museum

The One Thousand Museum has become one of the most spectacular, iconic towers in the city. This beautiful building contributes to the magic views of our beloved city.

With this in mind, we were able to peek into the creative minds behind this structure. This 62-story high rise located in Downtown Miami is the first building in the country to use fiberglass reinforced concrete, giving shape to the wavy exoskeleton of its structure. Making the cladding the very structure of a building of this magnitude was a world first. This technique allowed fewer interior columns, giving the designs more useful spaces. The residences in this luxurious tower are composed of 70 half-floor units, 8 full-floors units, 4 townhouse units, and 1 penthouse. Not to mention the very exclusive helipad at the top of this fancy skyscraper. How cool, right? No wonder this is the place the Beckhams chose as their Miami home!

One of its objectives, according to project director Chris Lepine, was to achieve visual dynamism or visual complexity with simple rules. Check out the interview below, where Desimone Engineers and Zaha Hadid Architects answer all of our technical and design questions about this structure.

It is amazing to witness how an abstract idea can give rise to a work that is materialized and sensitive to some of our five senses. Its creators turn everything they envision into gold as if they were King Midas. Nevertheless, it is mind-blowing the amount of coordination and hard work that goes into these construction projects. The way professionals work as a team and run huge operations for construction projects is very impressive and we believe is relevant for students to learn about this aspect of their future jobs.

What’s the Scope? One Thousand Museum

 

Desimone Consulting Engineers and Zaha Hadid Architects

It would be impossible to talk about this work without mentioning the Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid. She is one of the leading advocates of contemporary architecture worldwide. She graduated from the Society of Architecture in London in 1977. In 1979 she founded her own architectural studio in the English capital, where she would spend most of her life. Designers usually associate her style with deconstructionism, which is an architectural trend that emerged at the end of the 1980s. She was the first woman to receive the Pritzker Prize.

On the other hand, Desimone Engineers was founded in New York City in 1969. They have designed over 10,000 projects in 44 states and 54 countries. Therefore, this accomplished firm has locations worldwide and is consistently on the list of Engineering News Record’s Top 500 Design Firms. Thanks to this dream team, we are able to enjoy the sight of this tremendous architectural gem.

What’s the Scope? An Initiative for Students

As professionals, we owe it to the successors of these design disciplines to share our knowledge. Architecture and engineering students are constantly looking for internships so they can apply the theory they learn in school. Thus, we decided to build this initiative to bring professionals together and discuss the innovative solutions they came up with for these projects. We would like to thank Chris and Luis for giving us such an insightful interview. They had amazing things to say about this project; and they did not hold back when it came to explaining the process to the students.

This was a very unique experience for our network of students; they were excited to hear real-world challenges they may encounter during their professional lives. However, it is an even better experience for me to get to know each and every one of these interns at a deeper level. The more I learn about their big dreams and the more I witness their dedication, my love, and admiration for them grows exponentially. We would like to invite civil engineering and architecture students to reach out to us to become a part of this movement. Make sure you follow our Instagram account to see all of our updates! We will give you specific instructions to follow in order to apply for one of the interviews. You could have the opportunity to talk to professionals of recognized firms such as Desimone and Zaha Hadid! How cool is that?

 

If you are a student and you would like to be a part of our rotational internship for Structural Engineering; email your resume to monique@easterneg.com.

 

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