The Western Specialty Contractors – Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Branch was part of a team recently honored with a Sealant, Waterproofing & Restoration Institute Trinity Project Award in the Sealant Category for repairs made to the Broward Financial Centre façade during the height of the pandemic.

The SWR Institute Trinity Project Award provides an opportunity for member companies to showcase their unique project accomplishments and recognizes the collaboration of contractors, manufacturers and associate members in three project type categories (sealant, waterproofing and restoration). All entries are judged by a three-person panel of SWR Institute peers, with the winners announced during the organization’s Winter Technical Meeting held in March.

“The high-complexity solutions incorporated for the repairs respected the unique building architecture and presented numerous challenges during installation, which were further enhanced by site constraints,” according to SWR Institute award information. “This project showcased consistent and positive collaboration among the team, which included the owner, architect/engineer, contractor and manufacturers. Site safety protocols and quality control testing led the project team’s priorities and, as such, were routinely performed. Despite the unforeseen global pandemic, the repairs were completed while minimizing the construction impacts on the community and environment.”

Broward Financial Centre is a 325,492-square-foot, 24-story Class A office building with two flanking six-story parking garage structures located in the central business district of Fort Lauderdale. The iconic building was constructed in 1986 and has an architecturally unique, stepped “wedding cake” design that incorporates large terrace roof areas at tower setbacks.

The building has been subject to numerous hurricanes over the course of its history and sustained significant damage to its glass façade following Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Previous repairs to address the hurricane damage resulted in conditions that ultimately necessitated creative solutions in the recent restoration project.

At the direction of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., an American corporation of architects, engineers and materials scientists specializing in the investigation, analysis, testing and design of repairs for historic and contemporary buildings and structures, Western’s craftsmen installed 90,000 lineal feet of DOWSIL 123 Silicone seal around the building’s glass façade. The $1.83 million project, which started in September 2020, was completed in 270 days and successfully addressed the building’s water leakage and coating issues using an innovative and technologically forward approach.

“Completing this project in the middle of a pandemic was entirely a team effort,” said Western Fort Lauderdale Branch Manager Andrew Hoaglund. “We would like to thank the owner and various consultants on the project for keeping the project on track despite the unprecedented situation, and to SWR Institute for recognizing the team’s efforts on this challenging façade restoration project.”