French teaching village becomes project de rigueur for McGowan.

Expanding its services beyond Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, North Bergen, NJ-based McGowan Builders served Alliance Francaise as general contractor for its recently completed new facility in Miami, Fl.

Named Alliance Francaise Village, the 16,000 s/f center is the new home for the non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote the French language and culture through the operation of a language school and cultural activities.

The project encompassed renovation and conversion of an old print house and an adjacent structure, totaling 11,000 s/f, and ground-up construction of a 5,000 s/f addition. The new center houses 14 classrooms; a reception area/lobby atrium; a library; a bookstore; two large multi-purpose and event spaces; offices; meeting rooms; and a retail component with six tenants, including a French cafe and a travel agency.

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In addition to McGowan Builders, the team included architect and interior designer HOK Miami, structural engineer Bliss & Nyitray, Inc., owner's rep Europtima, MEP engineer SDM Consulting Engineers, and A/V consultant Technosystems, Inc.

Several Northeast suppliers also participated in the project, including Henryville, PA-based NJ Boom & Erectors as steel erectors and fabricators of the addition's steel roof structure, and Nicholas J. Bouras, Inc., based in Summit, NJ, as fabricators of the truss roof and metal decking.

According to Aidan McConville, Mc Gowan Builders' vice president and head of the firm's Coral Gables, Florida office, "The project's logistical and technical challenges included coordination of labor teams and suppliers based outside of Florida; a fast-track schedule; limited site access; and very restrictive street and sidewalk closure permits."

The structural work encompassed installation of new roof support steel structures on all buildings, concrete foundations and masonry walls for the addition, and reinforcement of pre-existing concrete tie-beams and columns in the one-story building.

Paul Zilio, partner at Bliss & Nyitray, Inc., describes the pre-existing conditions: "The perimeter columns and tie beams in the one-story print house structure, erected in 1946, had significantly deteriorated and had to be reinforced."

Bliss & Nyitray devised a procedure that reinforced the tie beams and columns.

The construction crews stripped the deteriorated concrete, poured new two-foot deep concrete column bases, and installed new re-bar cages attached to the old beams and columns with 16-inch long dowels inserted into holes in old concrete elements and secured with Hilti HIT 500 Adhesive Epoxy grout. The crews then poured 4,000psi regular weight structural concrete around the re-bar cages.

The new columns and tie beams comprise a complete, new, concrete structural support system for the building that now serves as an event and multi-use facility.

The roof support system above the one-story building features open web trusses and bottom chord bracing, which fillet weld connections. The chord bracing prevents buckling of the trusses due to wind uplift. This design accommodates the Florida Building Code's specific requirements for the Miami-Dade and Broward counties, which are located in a High-Velocity Hurricane Zone.

Despite increased structural requirements, Bliss & Nyitray was able to develop the truss and bracing system utilizing standard, pre-designed elements manufactured by Nicholas J. Bouras, Inc. Taking advantage of pre-designed structural elements significantly lowered the construction cost by avoiding manufacture of a custom structural system.

McConville recalls the logistical challenges of erecting the steel: "Access to the site was very limited and its small size prohibited storage of steel elements. To address this situation, we closely controlled the timing of all steel deliveries.

As the tractor trailers, traveling either from NJ Boom & Erector's plant in Pennsylvania or from Bouras' plant in New Jersey, pulled in front of the site, the steel was immediately lifted by a 40-ton hydraulic boom and installed by the crews."

The entire project--both the pre-existing and new structures--was required to meet the Florida Building Code and special requirements for High-Velocity Hurricane Zones. In addition to structural elements, all exterior enclosure components and systems have product approvals from Miami-Dade County, which were issued based on special testing requirements.

Tim Blair, Vice President of Architecture, and Yann Weymouth, Director of Design for HOK's Miami office developed the project's design.

Blair describes the process: "The challenge was to economically rehabilitate two old industrial structures in order to accommodate new uses, while creating an exciting, fresh image for the center. This has been accomplished by housing the entry between two bold towers, red and blue, transected by the strong diagonal slope of the new white metal roof."

According to HOK Associate Marie Mihalik, "Maximizing the use of natural light was very important in the interior design concept.

"The existing clerestory windows in the classrooms were replaced with impact windows of the same configuration. The interior glass walls and doors of the classrooms and offices allow views and light from the corridors. The two-story storefront of the entrance lobby also allows natural light into the cafe and reception areas."

The interiors presented the construction team with several challenges. "The interiors feature not only Alliance Francaise facilities, but also retail outlets for commercial tenants.

"Construction of these spaces required coordination of an increased number of vendors and accommodating varying functional needs of individual tenants, while maintaining the overall project budget," recalls McConville.

The zinc countertop of the cafe counter is a reference to use of zinc as a traditional French bar-top material. Many of the spaces feature zinc cabinetry and shelving.

The custom-designed reception desk features zinc cladding and a bamboo veneer, which was also used on doors and other millwork.

Alliance Francaise occupied the new center in November and the official opening is scheduled for January 30.