On April 15, a group of undergraduate civil engineering students from GW Engineering, accompanied by Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Sameh Badie, visited the Four Seasons Private Residences construction site in Georgetown. Arranged by TYLin Silman and the Walsh Group, Washington, D.C., this visit allowed students to apply classroom concepts in a real-world setting and deepen their understanding of reinforced concrete structures.
The group met with Chris Ruiz, Principal; Margaret Cowie, Associate; Andrew Garrison, Senior Project Engineer; Nicole Rung, Project Engineer; Honor O’Malley, Engineer and GW alumnus, B.Sc. ‘23; and Megan Few, Assistant Superintendent. The project team gave a 40-minute presentation on the project, followed by a guided tour of the site.
The Four Seasons Private Residences project replaces the West Heating Plant, originally constructed in 1948 to produce steam for more than 100 federal government buildings. The completed development will include 270,000 gross square feet, featuring a nine-story private residence building and a two-story parking garage. Some unique features of the project include post-tensioned floor slabs, restoration of the west wall of the original heating plant, and reinforcement of the north and east retaining walls that protect the site from flooding.
“The construction site visit showed the students the connection between what they design on paper and how it is constructed. Also, it gave them a broader understanding of the constraints that may be imposed on their design due to some construction issues,” said Badie.