Shoring
MoMA Building
EDC’s Frame Shoring Solutions Support an Aviation Comeback at JFK
Project Overview
Every shape, motif, and object in the TWA Hotel evokes a mid-century modern design style.
This design direction was chosen to connect seamlessly with the iconic TWA Terminal, originally designed in the late 1950s by Eero Saarinen.
The revamped terminal now serves as a stunning lobby for the hotel, preserving the spirit of the original Trans World Airlines building while introducing a modern hospitality experience at JFK Airport.
The hotel is JFK’s first on-site hotel and was scheduled to open in May 2019.
EDC's Role
EDC was chosen as the frame shoring supplier for building the hotel behind the famous TWA Terminal.
When the project broke ground in 2016, EDC provided frame shoring solutions to support construction activities behind the landmark terminal structure.
EDC’s work helped support the construction team as they built around a highly recognizable aviation landmark, where coordination, temporary support, and field execution were critical to the project’s success.
Notable Features
- JFK’s first on-site hotel
- Built behind the iconic TWA Terminal
- Terminal originally designed by Eero Saarinen in the late 1950s
- Mid-century modern design throughout the hotel ✓ Project broke ground in 2016
- Mid-century modern design throughout the hotel ✓ Project broke ground in 2016
- Hotel scheduled to open in May 2019
- Project broke ground in 2016
Design / Structural Elements
- Frame shoring solutions for hotel construction
- Two-wing hotel located behind the gull-wing-shaped terminal
- Six-story low-rise hotel structure
- Curved hotel wings designed to complement the original terminal
- Access from the lobby through two original flight tubes
- Construction support behind a landmark aviation structure
Project Gallery
53W53 Tower: Sharing Space and Aesthetic Principles with MoMA
At a height of 1,050-feet (320 meters), 53W53 is the seventh highest structure in New York City. With its tapering apexes, 53W53 has been described as a “modern pyramid.”
In design, 53W53 is well-suited to be a neighbor of the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown Manhattan. It shares three of its lower stories with the museum and is also referred to as “the MoMA tower.”
EDC was chosen to provide forming and shoring solutions for the residential skyscraper, providing its formwork, frame shoring, and post shore equipment. The habitable floors were completed in mid-2018, with the final triangular peak installed in December 2018.
A Reinforced Concrete Exoskeleton
The building’s exoskeleton – vertical columns, inclined braces, and horizontal beams – was originally intended to be built of steel. Upon discovering that this would limit the number of the building’s stories, the solution was to use a reinforced concrete system. EDC’s forming and shoring solutions were indispensable, this being the first time that a diagrid of this size and complexity has been made of concrete.
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Construction project photographs by Giles Ashford.