The New York Historical Wins CIB Corbetta Award

The reimagining of The New York Historical has won the 2026 Roger H. Corbetta Low-Rise Award from the Concrete Industry Board of New York.

As a key contributor to realizing the vision for revitalizing this important cultural institution, the DeSimone team delivered creative and innovative structural engineering solutions, including the design of a 70-foot steel truss that supports expansive, column-free gallery spaces, complex modifications within the library stacks tower, and the introduction of a new, 34-foot steel transfer beam to connect existing spaces with the new wing’s spaces for education and research.

Within the existing 15-story library stacks tower, DeSimone introduced a transfer structure at the fifth floor and replaced the first-floor slab at a higher elevation to align with the new wing. The team also removed the second-, third-, and fourth-floor slabs to create a dramatic open gallery volume. Existing columns, spaced only four to five feet apart, were supported by multiple layers of new steel framing before being selectively cut and their loads transferred into the new structural system, creating expansive, open gallery space while preserving the now 11-story building above.

New York City’s first museum, the landmarked building—originally built in 1908—recently reopened along with the new 71,000 SF Tang Wing.

The DeSimone project team was led by Principal James Bonanno, PE, and Project Manager Irene Lin, PE.

The award will be presented at the Annual Roger H. Corbetta Awards on October 28, 2026. Find more information here.

Architect: RAMSA, GC: Turner Construction Company, MEP: Altieri, Civil/Env: AKRF, Lighting: Renfro Design Group, Acoustical: Cerami, Jaffe Holden, Landscape Arch: Nelson Byrd Woltz, Owners Rep: Zubatkin