Striking exterior. Complex bones.
Jorge M. Perez Art Museum
Miami, Florida
“The voided slab approach economically stretched the limits of concrete construction on this project. The resulting long spans enabled the large spaces envisioned by the architect, for example, a 45’ x 100’ open gallery. The use of voided slabs was key to meeting the challenge of controlling the self-weight of the concrete structure. This approach held the structure’s weight within the limits of the auger pile foundation.”
The Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), completed in the fall of 2013, is located dramatically on Biscayne Bay and anchors the 29-acre Museum Park provided by the City of Miami.
This unique facility, totaling 200,000 square feet of space (120,000 square feet interior and 80,000 square feet exterior) holds works of art never before seen in this city. Much of the ingenuity used in the architectural concrete design by Herzog and de Meuron will be seen and “felt” with the placement of multiple exposed concrete finishes of the walls and ceilings. The new facility also includes a state-of-the-art educational complex that serves as a valued resource for the entire community.
The structural solution provided by Arup USA accommodates a variety of spaces, some containing very large cantilevers and open areas, and does so with minimal columns. This is accomplished using up-turned beams contained within the walls of staggered boxes that in turn, support the floor from above. Hence, from below, the ceiling has no visible means of support in these locations.
Situated on subsoil conditions that required auger piles, the design mandated the reduction of loads while maintaining the architect’s design requirements. After multiple alternatives were investigated the use of voided slabs with a variety of void modules was selected. This choice reduces the weight of the slabs by approximately 3.9 million pounds, which in turn allows for larger spans with fewer columns. The result is unobstructed views from the open-air structure. To accommodate the various slab thicknesses required for the different spans, a total of six different void sizes were utilized, including both Slim-Line and Eco-Line void modules.
The design objective to have soffits without beams and fixtures protruding downward is accomplished with void slabs that contain extensive formed recesses called ‘rebates’. These were cast in the exposed gallery ceilings @ 2’-6” o.c. to accept mechanical and electrical systems. The ‘rebates’ occur in most of the ceilings and are 3” wide by either 4” or 6” deep and run the length of the deck. In some cases, the void modules are positioned between the recesses and in others, they run over the top. The voided slab decks cover approximately 105,000 square feet. The concrete displaced reduced by 80 the number of mixing trucks required to service the project and decreased carbon emissions by 164 tons.
Removing Weight While Increasing Spans — Engineers at Arup USA found this void system, used in a variety of slab thicknesses and configurations on the project, to be an efficient solution to several design challenges.
Wide Open Spaces — The open-air structure is a stunning work of art itself, featuring hanging gardens, plazas, shaded verandas, and an arrangement of suspended cantilevered gallery rooms covered by an overall low- and high-roof structure.
ARCHITECT:
Herzog and de Meuron
ENGINEER:
Arup USA
BUILDERS:
John Moriarty & Associates
Baker Concrete/RSI
Titon Builders, Inc.
SCOPE:
Slab Surface: 105,000 sq. ft.
Max. Span: 50 feet
Slab Depth: 12 -28 in.
A Strong Environmental Statement — The concrete displaced reduced by 80 the number of mixing trucks required to service the project and decreased carbon emissions by 164 tons. Image courtesy of Arup USA.