We are pleased to share that residential tower 55 Willoughby, which anchors the corner of Willoughby Street in Downtown Brooklyn, was recently featured in an article for ForConstructionPros. The article praised the structural engineering of the property. 55 Willoughby, which will be delivered in January 2026, was developed in by Davis and Lonicera Partners. Project Engineer Bryan C. McKeon of DeSimone Consulting Engineering shared that 55 Willoughby’s success stemmed from a truly collaborative and hands-on approach, with the team staying deeply involved beyond design—actively coordinating on-site, refining solutions, and optimizing for both cost and schedule. This partnership included: Colberg Architecture, DeSimone Consulting Engineering and Noble Construction Group, LLC, as well as the many subcontractors on the project. The result of this approach resulted in the building’s truly impressive cantilevered effect, which makes a striking statement on the Brooklyn skyline. Link to Article: https://lnkd.in/drYaVFAU #StructuralEngineering #ConcreteConstruction #PostTensioning #EngineeringInnovation #BrooklynConstruction #CIBAwards
In their latest issue, ForConstructionPros took a deep dive into the structural engineering behind the award-winning 55 Willoughby residential tower, anchoring the corner of Willoughby street in Downtown Brooklyn. When a building demands that 31 of its 46 stories “float” above an adjacent building, creative engineering takes the lead. Our structural engineers, led by managing principal Mark Plechaty, PE, and associate principal Pratik Shah, P.E., LEED AP, designed four massive, post-tensioned concrete transfer beams, each a full story deep, that cantilever 18 feet over the neighboring structure. These beams support and balance the majority of the tower above, bypassing the need for trusses, which helped maximize a variety of floor layouts. Project engineer Bryan McKeon explained in the article that 55 Willoughby’s success can be attributed to a truly collaborative process, noting how the team stayed engaged well beyond the design phase, actively visiting the site, coordinating with trades, and fine-tuning solutions. This hands-on, holistic approach enabled them to optimize designs for cost and schedule while delivering innovative solutions to complex challenges. In an interview, Pratik and Bryan shared how the transfer beams post-tensioning was conducted in a staged stressing sequence, where the PT bars were stressed every five floors of construction as the tower rose. Deflections were monitored at each phase, surveying the structure and adjusting the stressing as needed to keep the floors level and avoid sagging. This careful process was crucial to ensuring proper curtain wall alignment and achieving a final tip deflection of just 1/8 inch. Our work on 55 Willoughby earned the 2025 Roger H. Corbetta Awards Grand Award from the Concrete Industry Board Of NYC. Read the article at the link here: https://ow.ly/si0T50X4Zw6 to learn more about how the DeSimone team achieved the bold vision for 55 Willoughby. You can also find the article in the American Concrete Institute’s newsletter here: https://ow.ly/si0T50X4Zw6 #StructuralEngineering #ConcreteConstruction #PostTensioning #EngineeringInnovation #BrooklynConstruction #DeSimone #DeSimoneConstultingEngineering #CantileverDesign #CIBAwards