May 19, 2014 – The structural engineers who designed Eataly Chicago to hold tons of Italian food and drink are finalists in an annual “Excellence in Structural Engineering” award presented by the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois.

The two-story, 63,000 square foot emporium offers 23 dining options, including eight restaurants, a wine and cocktail bar, and a coffee bar. It is the largest of 17 Eataly locations in the world. Co-owned by celebrity chef Mario Batali, it opened on December 2, 2013, on East Ohio Street in space previously occupied by Texas de Brazil and ESPN Zone.

Among the challenges for The Structural Group, based in Deerfield north of Chicago, was designing to support nine brewery tanks weighing 31,700 pounds, ovens weighing 40,000 pounds, and tons of meat, seafood, cheese, wine, and pasta in cases suspended from ceiling racks.

(Above) The same angle, photographed during construction.

Only SEAOI members can enter the competition but says a spokesperson for the organization, most of the major structural engineering firms in Illinois belong to SEAOI. The winner will be announced at the association’s annual banquet, held this year at Civic Opera House on June 7.

The ten other finalists include buildings for Loyola University and University of Chicago, a bridge in St. Paul, Minnesota, a “skyspace” in Houston, Texas by artist James Turrell, the Museum of Biodiversity in Panama, and the Federation of Korean Industries Headquarters in Seoul, South Korea.

Equipment changes and plan revisions were typical throughout the project, according to a document submitted to SEAOI by The Structural Group. Interior elements were continually “re-evaluated, repositioned, and improved.”

“The complexity of designing and implementing numerous free standing kitchens interspersed with retail and dining areas required strong focus, multiple reviews, and a system of checks and balances.”

The same project won the 2014 Merit Award for interior build-out from the Chicago Building Congress, according to company president Jan Blok.

Judges in the SEAOI competition include Chicago architect Peter Exley, along with representatives of University of Illinois, Chicago Department of Buildings, and Related Midwest.

(Above) Wells Street Bridge construction on April 26, 2013. (Photo by Steven Dahlman.)

Also a finalist in the SEAOI competition, in another category, is AECOM for its rehabilitation of the Wells Street Bridge. The yearlong, $50 million project was finished last November. After the steel framework, mechanical and electrical components, railings, and bridge houses were replaced, Mayor Rahm Emanuel called it a “feat of engineering.”