Shoring, Specialty Shoring Systems
56 leonard
EDC's Specialty Shoring Systems Send the Jenga Building Skyward
Project Overview
56 Leonard Street in Tribeca, Lower Manhattan is known worldwide as the "Jenga Building" because of its dramatic cantilevered balconies and offset floors each floor staggered from the one below, creating a visually striking stepped silhouette rising 57 stories above the Manhattan skyline. EDC began work as a structural shoring systems contractor in 2008. The project was paused and resumed in 2012, completing its construction in 2017.
EDC's Role
EDC served as the structural shoring systems contractor throughout the project's multi-phase construction timeline. Our team engineered and installed precision shoring systems to support the complex staggered floor plate geometry — including the building's dramatically cantilevered balcony structures and offset floor-to-floor transitions that define the tower's iconic appearance. EDC's work spanned both the initial 2008 phase and the resumed construction from 2012 through the tower's completion.
Notable Features
- 75-foot indoor swimming pool
- Back-up generator on the 9th and 10th floors
- Massive exposed concrete spiral staircase
- Ceiling heights ranging from 11 feet to 19 feet
- Complex staggered balconies and offset floor design
- 57 stories of residential tower
Design / Structural Elements
- Cantilevered balcony shoring systems supporting offset floor plates
- Multi-level shoring to manage varying ceiling heights throughout
- Precision shoring layout required for staggered structural grid
- Coordinated re-shoring strategy during project resumption in 2012
EDC’s Specialty Shoring Systems Send the Jenga Building Skyward The 56 Leonard Street building in the Tribeca neighborhood of Lower Manhattan stands out – and not just because it’s the tallest in the neighborhood. The building earned the nickname of “the Jenga building” because of its cantilevered balconies and upper story offset floors.
EDC began work as a structural shoring systems contractor on this project in 2008. Due to the recession, the project was tabled until 2012, and it was completed in 2017. The Jenga building is the 18th tallest in New York City.
Notable Features of 56 Leonard Street
The building boasts a 75-foot indoor pool and a back-up generator on the 9th and 10th floors. For this portion of the project, EDC’s concrete shoring equipment was especially crucial.
Other interesting aspects of this project include:
Massive, exposed concrete spiral staircase joining the 9th and 10th-floor resident amenities Ceiling heights that range from 11 feet up to 19 feet Design Elements The staggered floors and balconies of the Jenga building were a popular topic when the project was originally proposed, and the building is a popular landmark. The proposed design had some naysayers who claimed the building was impossible because of logistical problems associated with the cantilevered balconies and offset stories.
Besides being unique in a city full of sleek, smooth skyscrapers, the Jenga building design has a practical function of providing more balcony privacy to residents. The balconies on each floor are in a different position than the previous floor, and no balcony looks up at another balcony, there being at least two floors between balconies.
Finished photo taken by Iwan Baan.