Statue Of Liberty Museum Recognized With PCI Design Award

The 50,000 square foot museum and screening facility on Liberty Island was PCI's 2020 co-winner of the Special Awards: Sustainable Design category.

In January 2020, the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute announced its 2020 PCI Design Awards. Judges awarded 25 projects and five honorable mentions for design excellence in building and transportation categories. One of the projects chosen for this recognition is the Statue of Liberty Museum and Statue of Liberty Secondary Screening Facility in New York City.

Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty Museum in New York City opened in May 2019 (Photo: PCI)

The new 50,000 square foot museum and screening facility on Liberty Island was PCI’s 2020 co-winner of the Special Awards: Sustainable Design category. The PCI-Certified Precast Concrete Producer on the project is High Concrete Group of Denver, PA. (The other winning project in this category is the Marc Basnight Bridge/Replacement of Herbert C. Bonner Bridge in Dare County, NC, with the PCI-Certified Precast Concrete Produce being Coastal Precast Systems of Chesapeake, VA.)

Opened in May 2019, the Statue of Liberty Museum, as the PCI states in the Project Overview: “needed to be durable enough to sustain that level of traffic, and to handle the increasingly destructive storms and waves that periodically batter the East Coast. Precast concrete could meet both of these goals, providing a durable and flexible material that could accommodate complex designs while delivering a sustainable, low-maintenance structure that will last for generations.

The decision to use precast concrete for this project was originally made for logistical reasons, says Dan Piselli, director of sustainability and senior associate at FXCollaborative Architects. “This building is on an island in the middle of New York Harbor, so the process of getting anything onto the site is complicated.””

Facility Executive also covered the Statue of Liberty Museum project here in May 2019.

About PCI Design Awards

The PCI Design Awards, now in its 57th year, showcase the creative and innovative use of precast and prestressed concrete in a variety of applications. A panel of industry experts that includes precast concrete producers, engineers, and architects judges all nominees. The buildings and transportation categories are judged on aesthetic, structural, and use versatility; site, energy and operational efficiency, and risk reduction; and resiliency, such as structure durability, multi-hazard protection, and life safety and health. PCI also selects several projects for special awards that are judged on similar criteria to the building and transportation projects, as well as additional requirements, including industry advancement, sustainable design, technology, and designs using all-precast concrete solutions. These awards include the Harry H. Edwards Industry Advancement Award, The All-Precast Concrete Solution Award, Building Information Modeling (BIM), and the Sustainable Design Award.