UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings

The state-of-the-art innovation and technology experience center is designed to provide visitors a new way to interact with current and emerging building technologies. The first-floor atrium features products, integrated systems, and interactive displays from UTC brands such as Carrier, Otis, Automated Logic, Chubb, Edwards, Kidde, and Lenel.

The north and south towers of the building serve as a high-tech, modern workspace for UTC employees, including engineering and product development, as well as members of the Otis Americas regional headquarters team and the global corporate headquarters team for UTC Climate, Controls & Security.

The central atrium connecting the towers is a fully open space where visitors can see all five floors simultaneously through a multi-story, glazed facade. This created a challenge for construction as the east and west column lines would not have the lateral bracing typically provided at each floor, leaving the 5-story columns unbraced to support a green roof assembly space. The Walter P Moore team developed specially shaped and reinforced columns to support the roof and required hurricane-force wind loads while also meeting the design aesthetic.

Another complication on the project was presented by the owner’s desire to house the primary showcase area on the second floor of the atrium and the north tower. This area carries extremely heavy loads while also providing open spaces on the first floor below. The solution required a unique post-tensioning system within the second-floor structure capable of spanning 56’ while bearing a load usually borne by spans of half that length.