LERA named finalist in Sunnyside Yards Competition with project partners daab design and Buro Happold

New York, NY The winners of the 2021 Metals in Construction Design Challenge competition have been revealed. The competition asked design teams to create a new affordable-housing development at Sunnyside Yard in Queens.

LERA Consulting Structural Engineers (LERA), along with architecture firm daab design from London and project partners Buro Happold were named as Finalists for their “Loop ‘N’ Link” design. The submission was conceived as a series of serpentine, curving housing blocks that envelop residents in an array of diverse public spaces where people can share a sense of togetherness.

Sunnyside Yards sits atop 180 acres of proposed development over the Amtrak, MTA and LIRR shared railway yard and depot between Queens Blvd. and Honeywell St. The publicly-owned transport site has been earmarked for 12,000 new affordable dwellings along with parkland and several schools, health centers, libraries and children’s facilities.

The presence of the railroad yard, the rhythm of the tracks, and the need to span them efficiently with a repetitive structure, formed the fundamental guiding principles that informed the structural proposal, both at street level and above. The project’s proposed structural systems succeed by being straightforward, repetitive, and economical, while enabling ?exibility in the architecture above, each of which is essential to making the development of Sunnyside Yards a reality.

LERA Consulting Structural Engineers (LERA) is an M/WBE structural engineering firm providing services to architects, owners, contractors, and developers. Since their founding in 1923, they have designed numerous landmark projects across the world, and established a strong reputation for design and technical excellence. LERA’s services include complete structural designs, feasibility studies, peer reviews, value engineering, blast analysis and design, forensic consulting, and special inspections. Headquartered in New York City, LERA also operates offices in Mumbai, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul and has completed projects in over 50 countries.