500 Folsom Wins 2021 CTBUH Geotechnical Engineering Award of Excellence
by: Nicole VeenstraLangan’s submission for 500 Folsom was named an Award of Excellence Winner and the Audience Winner for the Geotechnical Engineering Award during the 18th Annual CTBUH Awards Program. Lori Simpson, PE, GE, Senior Principal at Langan, and Scott Walker, PE, GE, Senior Associate, represented the project at the 2021 Tall + Urban Innovation Conference.
Located in San Francisco, the mixed-use project replaced Embarcadero Freeway infrastructure that was damaged by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The 42-story tower occupies the entire site, offering market-rate and affordable housing units and six levels of underground parking. Prior to constructing the 440-foot tower with one of San Francisco’s deepest planned excavations at 68 feet, Langan addressed geotechnical and seismic challenges: high seismicity, difficult soil conditions, liquefaction potential, variable bedrock strength and depth, shallow groundwater, and pre-existing deep foundations from the former freeway. We also provided site/civil engineering, construction observation, and streetscape lighting design.
