Ascent - Precast Protects Life June 2024
Unique Precast Concrete Projects Demonstrate Resiliency
Monica Schultes 2024-06-08 07:57:57
SELECTING ROBUST MATERIALS SUCH AS PRECAST CONCRETE IS CRITICAL WHEN DESIGNING RESILIENT BUILDINGS
Last year there were 22 extreme weather events that each resulted in losses exceeding $1 billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The question is how best to cost-effectively withstand, respond to, and recover from these events.
Among the many strategies for designing resilient buildings, material selection is of particular importance. The project team can have a huge impact when it comes to mitigating the risks associated with extreme weather. The following projects were designed to fortify against wind and snow loads as well as minimize losses from fire and seismic events. These projects across the country demonstrate how precast concrete can endure all of these occurrences.
MCNEESE STATE UNIVERSITY HEALTH AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE COMPLEX
LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA
The McNeese State University Health and Human Performance (H&HP) Education Complex consists of a new 138,000-ft2 multistory arena for the university’s athletics and health and human performance programs. General seating is 4000 seats in the main arena and 600 seats for the volleyball court. The building includes 6 classrooms, 12 faculty offices, and a sports training center that serves as a hands-on learning laboratory for exercise physiology students.
The joint venture of Randy M. Goodloe Architects and Crawford Architects pooled their expertise to tackle the complex multifunctional project. Collaborating with GATE Precast Company and engineer of record Thornton Tomasetti, they developed a precast concrete design concept that considered the building form, exterior materials, functionality, and aesthetics.
According to Joe Corvaia, associate principal at Crawford Architects, they had designed a similar venue for the University of Northern Iowa. Precast concrete insulated panels had helped keep costs down while providing both the exterior and interior surfaces. “We used a similar technique for the design and construction of the façade for this project at McNeese State University and took the design one step further with embedded terra cotta tiles in the precast wall panels. The system gave us the benefits of resiliency, durability, cost efficiency, and quality control versus a wall system built on-site.”
Up against a tight schedule, the 551,750-ft2 parking structure was to be completed within one year. “The speed of precast was a major factor in selecting precast,” recalls Spears. “It helped that we had a prior relationship with Kitchell Contractors to streamline the process.”
To meet the needs of the expanding Creighton University campus, says Spears, “no other system could go up that quickly and deal with the site logistics as a single-source supplier.” Prefabrication off-site was critical to meeting the schedule because milestones were tied to the start of the apartment complex, adds Russell Combs, healthcare and wellness studio lead, GLHN Architects & Engineers.
Fire Wall
One of the design requirements was fire protection: isolating the nine-story adjacent residential building, which was steel-frame construction. The 10.5-story fire-separation wall attaches directly to the parking structure on the east elevation. Egress doors were cast into the precast concrete fire-separation walls so tenants could enter the parking structure at every level.
The Catalina project team worked together to create a beautiful, multiuse hub that supports the medical school, apartments, and the new Home2 Suites/Tru by Hilton Hotels. By allowing them to in-fill the space, it uses space more efficiently.
Despite the arid landscape, flash floods are common in Phoenix. The Catalina design-build team made special provisions for drainage in and around the structure. “From a civil site perspective, we ended up diverting the water underneath the garage, but in a flash flood there is a chance that the first floor could experience standing water,” describes Combs. The majority of the parking structure is ramped, which helps move rainwater to the drainage system.
Paint by Numbers
With P3 (public-private partnership) funding, the parking structure budget was limited. Given the sheer size of the structure, the project team thought it would be cost-effective to paint the precast concrete exterior. A vertical ribbed formliner was cast in to add visual interest to the façade.
In addition to the tight budget, there was also a concern about vandalism in downtown Phoenix. “If someone tags the structure, you would have to sandblast off the graffiti, which is undesirable,” explains Combs. “For this structure, we will paint over the graffiti, if tagged. It was this decision that drove the façade. The gray and white palette also reflects the original historical Park Central Restoration.”
Inside Out
Two-way circulation in a parking structure with a central bay is often reflected through exterior spandrels. But the local community did not want to see an exposed horizontal ramp. “Utilizing the vertical nature of precast litewalls precludes you from seeing the inner workings of the garage,” explains Combs. “We took a traditional interior litewall and used it as a more robust architectural component to create a unique exterior elevation that concealed the sloping ramp behind it.”
The exterior litewalls were beefed up to 12 in. Thick to accommodate the 2-in. Architectural vertical ribbed formliner texture, says Spears. The exterior litewall openings received a custom metal weave feature. The screened elements reflect the chevrons from the Park Central Restoration. Combs says, “The design intent for the garage was a mid-century modern vibe in keeping with the mixed-use development.”
Public Art
A set of murals will grace the south side of the parking structure. The new murals will decorate six 21 × 10-ft panels, one of the largest public art installations in Arizona. “The public display is part of an art park and pedestrian corridor that softens the edge of the garage,” describes Combs. The addition of hardscape, lighting, shading, and landscaping ushers pedestrian traffic through to the light rail station on Central Avenue.
The blazing Arizona suns can create a cave effect when entering a dark parking structure, explains Combs. Ironically, entry and exit ramps are more brightly lit during the day than at night to reduce this effect. To minimize the use of electricity, lighting controls adjust the levels and dim the parking bays when not needed. Another unique feature is the addition of a sonic blaster that keeps birds from nesting in the structure, which minimizes maintenance.
The redevelopment of Park Central, from shopping mall to a bustling live, work, play destination has a new precast concrete parking structure at its hub. Capturing the versatility and resilience of precast concrete along with the advantages associated with speed of construction helped meet the design goals of this sizable project.
Terra Cotta Precast Concrete
“While tan brick is traditional on campus, we wanted to achieve a modern aesthetic,” says David Borel, project architect with Randy M. Goodloe Architects. “The terra cotta was fired at three different temperatures to achieve different colors. We used building information modeling and a random number generator to develop a range of colors to create a mottled appearance on the façade.”
“Southern Louisiana sees a lot of rain and humidity, which means mold. We felt that using traditional laid brick on these large, high surfaces would create a maintenance issue for the university,” says Randy Goodloe, principal at Randy M. Goodloe Architects. The terra cotta has a similar palette with the university buildings, but because the athletic district is separate from the university, it was an homage to the campus but with a modern aesthetic.
The precast concrete walls feature embedded terra cotta on the exterior, a hard interior wall, and extruded polystyrene insulation sandwiched in between. The interior concrete wythe was exposed for two reasons, explains Corvaia. “We wanted a surface that was easy to maintain as well as a durable interior. Fans are rough on stadiums and we didn’t want to see holes in gypsum board. The result is a nice aesthetic that is smooth to the touch, doesn’t require constant maintenance, and eliminates the need for additional building materials.”
Fan Experience
The H&HP project features an intimate setting and excellent sight lines in the arena. The precast concrete structural stadium configuration enabled the steep seating to provide the best game-day experience. GATE Precast Company installed the riser units around the bowl first and then the precast concrete wall panels enclosed the building.
Day lighting and sun control are critical in arena design. “We want to control natural light in certain areas because of the glare on the high-gloss floors,” explains Corvaia. “Precast panels worked to create a black box for the main arena, where you want controlled sport lighting for television broadcasts, the fans, and the players.” In other areas of the building, such as the practice gym, banded windows and insulated transparent panels were added to bring in natural light.
Opening Day
Every higher education and sports arena project faces tight schedules and hard deadlines, and McNeese State H&HP was no different. The university wanted to meet opening day for men’s basketball and women’s volleyball, so the project team worked backward from there.
“We had to get the building enclosed so that the interiors, especially the gym flooring, could acclimate to the ambient temperature and humidity before they are installed. While the structure and the façade were on the critical path, the interiors were just as important to the schedule,” recalls Borel.
Coordinating with GATE Precast Company was critical to meeting the schedule and challenges on this complex project, says Greg Litterick, vice president of Thornton Tomasetti. Not only is there precast concrete on the exterior, but precast concrete was used for the risers inside the arena as well. “The precast was supported by steel, so we needed to coordinate with the precaster and the steel supplier to understand all the requirements before we got out in the field. It helped minimize issues in the field, by having everyone at the table, especially the precaster.”
“With precast as the cornerstone of the building, that enabled us to align all our façade elements. It really comes down to the sophistication that GATE provided to our project and the ability to work directly with them. It was good to see that with such a vital piece of the project,” says Borel.
Category 4
Just two years after the building was completed, Hurricane Laura made landfall in Southwest Louisiana and thoroughly devastated McNeese State University. The Category 4 storm’s wind gusts, torrential rains, and tornadoes roared through Lake Charles. The H&HP building had been designed to withstand 140-mph winds, but Laura had sustained winds of 160 mph with gusts up to 180 mph. All buildings throughout the Lake Charles area were impacted.
Despite the damage sustained during the storm, the precast concrete panels performed perfectly. Wind gusts damaged the roofing membrane, which allowed water to enter the building. Due to the positive pressure inside the building, metal panels on the side were blown outward. Overall, while there was substantial interior damage, if the precast concrete panels had failed in any way, the damage would have been catastrophic, describes Goodloe.
The building had been designed to wind speed per ASCE/SEI 7-10, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures, in accordance with the building code, says Litterick. “I believe the precast façade undoubtedly withstood repeated debris impact during the storm. That demonstrates the resiliency of these panels that can take that abuse and still provide an economical façade.”
CATALINA PARKING GARAGE
PHOENIX, ARIZONA
Arizona’s tallest parking structure accommodates more than 2000 vehicles in downtown Phoenix. The new 11-story, $33.5-million precast concrete parking structure was completed amid the revitalization of Park Central as a mixed-use destination.
The construction of the parking structure was inherently complex due to the project height, the tight site and the capacity of the cranes used to assemble the structure. The structure was sized to maximize the available space for students at the new Creighton University Health Sciences Campus, retail customers of Park Central Mall, and tenants in the new apartment complex attached to the parking structure. The height of the parking structure fits into the urban fabric and offers stellar views of the capital city and beyond.
Small Footprint
With an extensive bracing plan and very little laydown area, Coreslab jockeyed for space with three other contractors who were constructing concurrent projects, says Steve Spears, senior project consultant for Coreslab Structures. “Precast worked within the small footprint and kept our disturbance of the site to a minimum. We started on the east end and built up that bay to the full height of the structure, and then backed out the crane for the final stages. That allowed the crane operator to be able to see the picks and placement,” he adds.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
CATALINA PARKING GARAGE
Location: Phoenix, Ariz.
Architect: GLHN Architects & Engineers
Owner: Plaza Companies and Holualoa Companies
Engineer: PK Associates LLC, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Contractor: Kitchell Contractors, Phoenix, Ariz.
PCI-Certified Precast Concrete Producer: Coreslab Structures (ARIZ) Inc., Phoenix, Ariz.
Precast Concrete Specialty Engineer: FDG Inc., Denver, Colo.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
MCNEESE STATE UNIVERSITY HEALTH AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE COMPLEX
Location: Lake Charles, La.
Architect: Randy M. Goodloe AIA, Lake Charles, La.
Architect: Crawford Architects, Kansas City, Mo.
Owner: McNeese State University, Lake Charles, La.
Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti, Kansas City, Mo.
Contractor: Alfred Palma General Contractors, Lake Charles, La.
PCI-Certified Precast Concrete Producer: GATE Precast, Jacksonville, Fla.
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