Construction Engineering Services
Envelope Commissioning & Quality Assurance: The Dinerstein Companies’ Aspire Post Oak, Houston, Texas
THE PROPERTY
Criterium Engineers is delighted to be part of a futuristic, LEED-certified, high-rise construction development in Houston’s iconic Uptown District called Aspire Post Oak, located at the junction of Post Oak Boulevard and San Felipe Street.
THE PROJECT
The brand new development is being built by The Dinerstein Companies (TDC), one of the nation’s largest developers of multi-family and student housing communities.
TDC engaged with Criterium to provide Building Envelope Consulting/Waterproofing, Third Party Quality Assurance and Risk Management Services for the 39-story mixed-use structure with residential, parking and retail units. Aspire Post Oak is projected to open in mid-2021.
Quality Assurance: Port Imperial, West New York, New Jersey
THE PROPERTY
A 13-story, 700,000 sq. ft., 278-unit condominium development.
THE CHALLENGES
This high-end development’s location, on the Hudson River directly across from Manhattan, gives it spectacular views of the city. The location and luxury features attracted affluent buyers with high quality standards, making a reliable quality assurance review essential for the building’s owner, K. Hovnanian, who required the construction company, Sordoni Construction to retain Criterium Engineers for that purpose. We conducted more than 100 separate inspections during the construction process, performing extensive water testing, monitoring construction quality, evaluating consistency with the design specifications, and making sure the documentation confirmed that all “open” issues we identified had been resolved.
THE TAKEAWAYS
Criterium Engineers is known and respected for the professionalism and objectivity of its Quality Assurance reviews, which we provide for building owners, investors and contractors. Our QA reports provide the assurance owners and investors want that a contractor has met construction quality standards, and the documentation contractors need to verify that.
Quality Assurance: The Oaks at Cranbury, South Brunswick, New Jersey
THE PROPERTY
A new townhouse development consisting of 188 units of varying sizes.
THE CHALLENGES
The Oaks is a townhome community developed by K. Hovnanian Homes, a nationally known home builder. While all Criterium Engineers quality assurance projects are different, QA inspections for this one focused on both the exterior envelope and the fire-rated assemblies. The pace of construction for this project required our field inspectors to be on site daily, sometimes performing multiple inspections each day.
THE TAKEAWAYS
Through our network of affiliated engineers and engineering companies, Criterium Engineers can provide the full range of consulting engineering services wherever and whenever clients need them, along with first-hand knowledge of market conditions and local code compliance issues. This explains why K. Hovnanian, one of the nation’s ten largest builders of multi-family properties nationwide, has made Criterium Engineers its preferred provider of Quality Assurance services.
Quality Assurance: Stanford University Faculty Housing
THE PROPERTY
This new residential development, located near and on the university’s Palo Alto campus, includes a multi-story building with 108 units, 45 single-family homes and 4 town homes, providing housing for Stanford faculty members and staff.
THE CHALLENGE
Sares Regis, the contractor, retained Criterium Engineers to provide quality assurance services for this complex construction project. A six-sided envelope, multiple balconies and decks and a number of individual structural assemblies were just some of the challenges. We conducted quality assurance inspections throughout the construction process focusing on every aspect of the buildings, from the foundations to the roofs. We also prepared mock-ups of the window assemblies to test their watertightness (pre-installation) and to train construction workers on the correct installation techniques.
THE TAKEAWAYS
Criterium Engineers views education as an essential component of our Quality Assurance services. Pre-construction training to demonstrate proper installation techniques, included when needed in our Quality Assurance reviews, reduces the risk of post-construction structural problems.
Envelope Commissioning: Phoenix Sky Harbor Terminal (T3)
THE PROPERTY
One of the airport’s three terminals.
THE CHALLENGE
The design for this extensive renovation included glazed curtain walls, sun shades, sloped glazed skylights and composite wall panels, among other architecturally interesting and structurally challenging features. Criterium Engineers worked closely with the airport, the City of Phoenix, the contractor and the architect, conducting multiple site visits throughout the multi-phased project to check that design specifications were followed and installations were done correctly.
THE TAKEAWAYS
In any commissioning project, buildings are only part of the challenge. The ability to work collaboratively and effectively with building owners, architects, contractors and (as in this project) local officials is critical. It is the combination of engineering expertise, building knowledge and people skills that sets Criterium Engineers apart from its competitors.
Photo Credit: City of Phoenix Aviation Department
Envelope Commissioning: Fort Benning Martin Army Community Hospital
THE PROPERTY
A 750,000 sq. foot, eight-story hospital constructed on this Georgia army base.
THE CHALLENGE
The building was designed to incorporate the energy-efficiencies and sustainable construction methods required to be rated highly under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. The areas of vegetation on the green roof made the roofing assembly both unique and uniquely complicated, requiring, among other measures, infrared and vector mapping to identify moisture intrusion. We worked closely with the architect and the contractor (Turner Construction) to modify the design to make sure that all the exterior transitions from one material to another were waterproofed, watertested, and watertight.
THE TAKEAWAYS
This project drew on Criterium Engineers’ extensive knowledge of building materials and construction techniques, as well as our ability to solve complex structural problems. Criterium is one of the few consulting engineering companies in the country with engineers qualified to work on buildings seeking LEED certification.