Thornton Tomasetti, the international engineering firm with practices in building structure, building skin and building performance, was the structural engineer for three New York-based projects receiving top honors from New York Construction magazine.

Thornton Tomasetti, Inc., the international engineering design, investigation and analysis firm, will be a key participant at “Innovative Integrate: Building Better Together,” an AIA New York Chapter-sponsored exhibition, showcasing finalists of the Chapter’s “Open Call for Innovative Curtain-Wall Design.”

Thornton Tomasetti, the international engineering firm, received three IDEAS² National Certificates of Recognition from the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) for its structural design of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y., New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. and the Viva ELVIS Theater at ARIA Resort in Las Vegas, N.V.

“Changing the Way We Deliver Stadiums,” is the cover story about our work on the Washington, D.C. Nationals Ballpark, Yankee Stadium, and the New Meadowlands Stadium.

Building Information Modeling has become as ubiquitous as the idea of “green.” Given the economic recession that has cooled the area’s building boom, BIM has become the industry’s next great hope.

Stadium and arena projects worth nearly $3 billion are currently under construction in the New York City metropolitan area, and another $1 billion is under consideration.

Yankee Stadium is the kind of stoic, self-conscious monument to history that befits the most successful franchise in American sports.

The main lesson learned by the construction manager who recently completed a pioneering four-year, BIM-enabled project to build a replacement ballpark for the New York Yankees is “the more trades modeling, the merrier,” says James Barrett, manager of virtual design and construction for Turner Construction Co., the CM at-risk.

When the most storied franchise in sports decides to replace the most historic ballpark in baseball, challenges would be expected at every level—political, budget and schedule, fan expectation, and historical reverence. To meet these challenges, the New York Yankees and developer Tishman Speyer assembled an all-star design team. The result is a new Yankee Stadium that respects its rich history, while achieving a facility with cutting-edge design and fan amenities.

Contractors have heard a lot of lofty claims about building information modeling in recent years: millions of dollars in savings, months of schedule gains and greater quality control. Now, as the technology gains broader acceptance in the contracting world, many of those promises are turning out to be real payoffs.

“Ruth’s New Digs,” (starting on page 28) covers our work as structural engineer on Yankee Stadium in New York.