The new 50,000 ft² museum and screening facility on Liberty Island used precast concrete for everything but the foundation, and this approach delivered multiple benefits. “Going with a prefabricated solution meant less time on site, and it accelerated installation,” said Bob Pabst, vice president of sales for High Concrete Group. “Assembling a building enclosure from multiple materials on site would have taken a lot longer, with more field labor and more waste generated.”
The precast concrete materials also brought significant sustainable benefits. The high thermal mass of the concrete panels helps maintain interior temperatures and minimizes the effects of outdoor temperature swings; additionally, special connection details minimize thermal bridging between interior and exterior building components. “Sustainability was key to this design, and precast concrete was there to meet that need,” said Dan Piselli, director of sustainability and senior associate at FXCollaborative Architects.
The museum also features a sustainable “green” roof, adding to both the earthy design aesthetic and the project’s sustainability goals. “The solid walls are allegorical to the exposed rock dragged up from the earth,” Piselli says. “It also reflects the fact that this structure was built to stand the test of time.”
Read the entire case study “Statue of Liberty Museum and Statue of Liberty Secondary Screening Facility” on the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI)’s website.