The SEAoNY Structural Engineering Excellence (SEE) Awards Program, formerly EiSE, recognizes the innovative and complex projects completed by structural engineering firms located in the New York City area.  The SEAoNY SEE Awards Program is modeled after the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) SEE Awards.  The winning projects themselves can be located anywhere in the world but must demonstrate:

• Creativity of complex design
• Innovative use of materials and techniques
• Sustainability of design in social, economic, or environmental considerations 

SEAoNY SEE Award winners are selected from four major categories: 

New Buildings

New building projects will be submitted under a single category. Three awards will be given in this category. Projects may include any type of building that is occupied or used by people including parking garages, airport control towers, industrial buildings, and other similar structures.

Forensic Analysis / Renovation / Retrofit / Rehabilitation of Structures

This category includes forensic analysis, structural renovations, seismic retrofits, adaptive reuse, rehabilitation of existing buildings or bridges, and similar projects. One award will be given in this category.

Other Structures

This category includes all non-building structures, such as towers, monuments, sculptures, art installations, pavilions, and similar projects. Bridges and other transportation structures may also be submitted such as vehicle and pedestrian bridges, highway structures, pipe or utility support spans, and similar structures. Projects may be of any span length or overall size. One award will be given in this category.

Engineer’s Choice Award

All finalists considered for awards will be entered for the Engineers’ Choice Award. An electronic poll open to the international structural engineering community is conducted to select the winner will be opened to the public.

Young Engineer of the Year Award 

This award highlights an engineer under the age of 36 who represents top rising engineer in the structural engineering industry that gives back to their industry and communities. The emphasis of this award is to recognize a Young Engineer that is providing a benefit to the industry, firms, and communities.

New Buildings

283 Greene Avenue (Frame 283) - Murray Engineering, PC 

283 Greene Avenue (Frame 283) in Brooklyn, New York, is a pioneering example of sustainable urban living. As the first cross laminated timber (CLT) building in New York City, it showcases innovation and sustainability in residential design. The five-story mixed-use building utilizes CLT for its structure with Nudura ICF exterior walls. Overcoming challenges such as fire safety regulations, the project team employed cutting-edge engineering techniques. Frame 283 embraces CLT for its environmental benefits, including carbon sequestration and improved indoor air quality. The building is Passive House certified and features eco-friendly technologies. Its efficient constructability and seamless integration into the urban environment further highlight its excellence in design and sustainability.

Arizona State University, Rob and Melani Walton Center for Planetary Health - Buro Happold

The new interdisciplinary science and technology research center, the Rob and Melani Walton Center for Planetary Health, was opened at Arizona State University in April 2022. The building wraps around a central open-air courtyard and features several beautifully exposed structures including three cantilever concrete staircases and a floating steel canopy. Central to the structural design was an ambition to reduce its embodied carbon footprint. The building was the first in Arizona to use a voided slab system (also known as ‘BubbleDeck’) and also implemented a performance specification for a 40% reduction in portland cement using locally sourced fly ash.

New York University, John A. Paulson Center- Severud Associates Consulting Engineers PC

NYU’s John A. Paulson Center combines performing arts spaces, housing, and athletic facilities within one building. The five-story, steel-framed podium features a 350-seat proscenium theater and other venues acoustically isolated from noise and vibration. Steel trusses span over two below-grade levels and provide space for basketball courts and a swimming pool. The cellars were designed as a waterproofed “bathtub” and are supported by drilled caissons. An 18-story faculty housing tower and 13-story dormitory block are framed with steel and the Girder-Slab system, which reduced erection time, dead load, and structural depth. The building is expected to achieve LEED Gold certification.

Forensic Analysis/ Renovation/ Retrofit & Rehabilitation of Structures

TSX Broadway and Palace Theater Redevelopment- Severud Associates Consulting Engineers 

TSX Broadway was created by shifting and reassembling portions of an existing structure—including the historic Palace Theater—and combining them with new elements to produce a revitalized entertainment, retail, and hotel complex at the center of Times Square in New York City. The landmarked theater, built in 1910, was lifted an astonishing 31 feet into the air to allow street-level commercial space to be added and a second cellar excavated. The 16-story podium is topped by massive post-tensioned concrete girders that transfer a 32-story hotel tower over the theater. TSX Broadway’s multiple LED screens brighten its Times Square location.

Other Structures

Port Lands Bridges- schlaich bergermann partner with Entuitive

This family of three bridge types (each paired for six total) are key infrastructure components of Toronto’s waterfront revitalization. The aesthetically unified bridges provide the new Port Lands neighborhood with light rail, vehicular, cycle and pedestrian connections, creating a critical link. Designed as hybrid shell-arch bridge structures, they are essentially curved tied arches with a planar deck connected by hangers. Innovative fabrication techniques combined with state-of-the-art engineering allowed for maximized material efficiency and reduction of costs. With four of the six now in place, the bridges have become emblematic of Toronto’s evolution, with unique and compelling structural forms.

Young Engineers of the Year Award

Katherine Rivera

Candice Ogando

Engineer's Choice Award

Sacred Footprint by Timur Si-Qin- Silman, a TYLin Company

Commissioned by Meta Open Arts, Sacred Footprint by artist Timur Si-Qin is suspended in the four-story main atrium of Meta’s New York City headquarters. The two-ton, 50-foot-tall arboreal assembly of cast stainless steel and aluminum is a reference to the mythical Tree of Life. Hung from two main cables, the seemingly levitating sculpture is composed of 86 unique 3D printed castings. The individual castings are connected through 30 double helix links that freely rotate, forming a free-form chain. Since each piece moves, finding the natural resting location of the tree was not an easy task.