Borough of Manhattan Community College Fiterman Hall

The original Fiterman Hall building was damaged in the attacks of 9/11. Once the building was finally demolished in 2009, it was time to build a new building in its place. The foundation construction of the Fiterman Hall project was unique because it incorporated many elements of the existing foundation in place, including the existing foundation walls. After demolishing portions of the existing mat foundations, Laquila installed large diameter rock socketed caissons through their subcontractor, Underpinning & Foundation Skanska, but only after Laquila redesigned and reconfigured the existing shoring that was in place to support the existing foundation walls from collapse. With the caisson construction completed, Laquila installed new concrete caisson caps and a new slab. The final step was to demolish the upper portion of the existing foundation wall, replace it with a new cap beam around the entire perimeter, and finally to remove the foundation bracing system once the first floor was in place. This project was brought in ahead of schedule and within the tight constraints of the owner’s budget.