Carving a space for the Lycee Francais de New York proved more difficult than obtaining truffles for a dollar.

It began as a simple desire of the 1,000-student K-12 private school to house all of its students under one roof in a modern building and provide them with a gym, cafeteria and auditorium.

Currently spread out in six separate buildings, the Lycee Francais decided to build a new facility five years ago, said Ada Hogan, assistant director of development for Lycee Francais de New York.

In December 2000, the Lycee brought in Albanese Development Corp., the project's Garden City, N.Y.-based developer, to build a new 136,000-sq.-ft. facility, a block-through from 75th to 76th streets between York Avenue and the FDR Drive.

Getting Started
Construction on the project began in February 2002, and the building will begin to be occupied by September with phased move-ins starting in July. Getting it completed so quickly meant a tight schedule.

In order to get a running start on the project, F.J. Sciame Construction Co. Inc., the project's New York-based construction manager, let out early bid packages for the foundation and superstructure, said Marc Heiman, vice president and project manager of the company.

"It had an enormous benefit [the early bid packages]. It was almost design-build," because some construction documents were not completed before the bids were let out, Heiman added.

However, the progress was slowed by the excavation, which had to cut through 30 ft. of Manhattan's famous bedrock.

"Just the rock removal was difficult," said Kara Olen, project engineer for Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, the project's New York-based geotechnical engineer. "The bottom elevation is 12 ft. below the river elevation so there was water infiltration where we expected."

The excavation also ran up against the foundations of the surrounding buildings.

"One building had a rubble foundation so we were concerned about that," Olen said. "We did some structural stabilization by bolting the rock below and strapping supports into the floor slabs."

In addition, the Lycee's foundation, which consists of a spread and stripped footing bearing on the rock and subgrade, had to bear the load from the surrounding buildings. "The building is squeezed by the surrounding buildings and the foundation walls had to be designed to withstand the foundations," said Yefiam Gurevich, project manager for The Cantor Seinuk Group, the project's New York-based structural engineer.

Gurevich said that an intricate system of drainage, pumps and waterproofing was built to remove the water table and water from the side of the building.

Making Time
Given all that, the excavation and foundation took longer than expected, Heiman said. To make up for lost time, Sciame reanalyzed the critical path and reshuffled some of the trades and resequenced them.

"This job was originally a tight schedule to begin with and we had to find the most cost-effective way to make up time other than overtime," Heiman added. Minor spot overtime was used as well as premiums to accelerate certain items.

The excavation paved the way for two gymnasiums and an auditorium to be built below ground, which meant challenges regarding column-free spaces. To create the large open space, massive concrete girders were cast-in-place 30 ft. above the floor to carry the load of the building over the below-grade spaces.

"The girders are about 65 to 70 ft. long by 4 ft. wide by 8 ft. deep," Gurevich said. "You don't see those kinds of girders, even on higher buildings." He added that it is unusual that they would be built out of structural concrete.

Rising from the base will be a concrete column and slab frame for the two towers. Gurevich said the average span between the columns was 23 ft. and the floor slab thickness averaged 9 in. Except on the first floor, where the slab will be 12 in., Heiman said the first-floor thickness was built to support vehicular traffic because there will be a driveway through the building that will enable buses to drop off and pick up students.

Pouring the first-floor slab and the concrete girders took six weeks, Heiman said. "We weren't on a two-day cycle, but as we passed the first-floor slab, we were on a two- to three-day cycle," said Jack Becker, executive vice president of Albanese Development Corp.

The construction team also had to deal with an existing private school across the street on 75th Street and a Consolidated Edison facility at 75th and the FDR. To ensure the safety of the children, flagmen were posted near the school, and the crane had to be placed in the middle of the building to allow unimpeded access to the ConEd facility, said Heiman.

European Touches
Enclosing the building will be a new material that has been used in Europe for more than 40 years but is only now being used in the United States. A channel glass system will be used on the north tower to maximize daylight.

"It was selected because it is a beautiful material," said Susie Rodriguez, partner and partner-in-charge on the project for Polshek Partnership Architects, the project's New York-based architect. "There is a large white brick building on 76th Street that acts as a light scoop and reflects light back into the (new) building."

Another benefit of the channel glass is that it is a recycled material. It also provided a clear span from slab to slab rather than being interrupted, Rodriguez said.

Still, the glass had to undergo extensive testing to ensure structural stability.

Classrooms have been placed on the perimeter of both towers to maximize natural light.

Other architectural flourishes include the use of precast on the south façade to make connections to the historic limestone buildings and a central courtyard that will be placed on the roof of the second floor. Hogan said that some classrooms would open to the courtyard, which will allow freedom for the children.

Classrooms will have a coloring scheme that reflects the ages of the children, Hogan said. For the kindergarten through fifth grade, which will be housed in the north tower, pastels will be used.

In the south tower, home to the middle school and the high school, more subdued tones will be used.

French doors will be installed to highlight the school's French heritage.