Ecoplex Parking Garage

Time and money proved to be the major factors when deciding to convert a precast parking garage design into Tilt-Up: Not only would keeping the design precast further delay construction (of an office building and hotel) by 18 months, but also the use of Tilt-Up would save the owner more than $1 million.

During the design phase, Woodland Construction relied on its considerable experience with Tilt-Up to conceive a design that included double-tee decks and ramps with a 2-inch concrete topping applied after erection for a smoother finish than traditional “pretopped” tees. However, the use of double tees required Woodland to carefully coordinate the erection of the Tilt-Up walls, creating an exterior bracing structure that wouldn’t disturb erection of the double tees.

To help achieve the owner’s green-building goals, Woodland worked with the ready-mix supplier to ensure the concrete mix contained recycled materials, and also verified that all reinforcing steel used was recycled. The five-story structure features an earth-toned palette to blend in with the surrounding landscape and is crowned at the entrance by a massive spandrel panel.

With a Silver LEED rating, the Ecoplex parking garage is the first green parking structure, as well as the first Tilt-Up parking structure, in the city of West Palm Beach.