Adams Beverages Expansion

Summarize the project's program, features, and achievements: The project is a site-cast tilt-up expansion to an existing and active distribution space for Adams Beverages Company. The expansion is comprised of three separate building areas: a new office building, a warehouse expansion area, and a new maintenance building. The office 8” panels were designed to have inlaid thin, tumbled brick so as to give the impression of a worn building that has been there as long as the original warehouse. Most of the top part of the panel façade is comprised of modular rough brick, highlighted with a horizontal soldier course across the width of the building. However, some openings do not have brick, instead, they are framed by smooth concrete interrupted with reveals at every 2’-4”. A recess was created at both the top and the middle areas of the panels to accommodate an EIFS and a cast stone water table installed post erection. The bottom part of the façade has an 8” x 16” split face concrete block design created by a custom made form liner. Shadow panels were created by placing smaller narrow panels in front of larger panels at the corners. This new office building has a total of 10,563 square feet that is detached from the main building and is located east of the warehouse. The previously existing offices were demolished to allow for its warehouse expansion. The warehouse expansion adds 74,101 square feet of space directly attached to the existing warehouse. The panels in the warehouse were insulated utilizing the Thermomass System by Leviat. The 1’-1” thickness of the panel includes 8-1/2” inner wythe, 2” insulation, and 2-1/2” outer wythe. Panel façade matches the existing warehouse reveals thus creating a smooth transition between the old and the new areas of the building as well as continuing the thermal requirements for its production. The new warehouse area added twelve new loading docks for their tractor-trailer fleet. The new maintenance building also blends in by keeping the same type of reveal design even though it is located a few steps south of the warehouse. It adds 3,267 square feet of maintenance space for its tractor-trailer fleet. The timely completion of this project is an achievement in itself considering the amount of coordination that was done to balance a construction site with an active distribution schedule. The craftsmanship and dedication to making the project match the existing building as much as possible was a heavy undertaking that resulted in a successful project.

What obstacles were overcome related to the schedule, budget, program, specification, site, etc. on this project? This project started approximately a year after Covid-19 pandemic changed everyone’s lives. This project was also affected by all the complications brought on by the construction industry as a result. We experienced longer material lead times and shortages, especially with rebar, panel insulation, and brick. Thus, it took a lot of forecasting and planning to get the job done on time with as minimal delays as possible. As with all projects, the typical weather delays and subcontractor coordination delays were also present spanning in both summer and winter times. Moreover, this project had the additional coordination obstacle of an active distribution schedule. The challenges included limited access inside the building and around the site at times due to Adams Beverages employees working as well as distribution traffic during specific hours. This affected the material delivery schedule, concrete pour schedule and traffic, limited working space, and material storage. Forming the office panels was a complex task that required special attention to the way in which the brick lay and how the pattern would look. The architect traveled to the site to help our crew with this part of the project. The creation of a panel erection layout proved especially difficult due to the limited amount of space on the site and the slabs. The slabs at both the office and the maintenance buildings could not be used for casting, hence the panels were subsequently formed on casting beds taking care not to be in the way of active distribution traffic.

Please communicate any engineering complexities or unique features of the panel design for this project. ? In order to create the shadow panel effect in the office building, the panel-to-panel connections that hold together the main panel and the smaller panel in front had a hidden-from-sight connection at the top. The lifting and bracing engineering was also tricky where some panels were braced to the inside and others to the outside, and some panels were lifted from the inside face of the panel and others from the top of the panel. As a result, the panel erection layout and sequence proved to be a challenge.

What is the potential for this project's impact on the community and/or environment? Adams Beverages Expansion project is a reflection of its environment and its history. The site is located in an older, industrial part of town. In general, Charlotte, North Carolina’s industrial architectural history has mostly one-story brick and concrete structures that have survived time since its boom in the early twentieth century. And most of these structures have been renovated and continue to be used. Along with older brick warehouses, tilt-up warehouse buildings are also part of the landscape. The project’s architectural design is a homage and a reminder of the city’s history when mills, factories, and warehouses boomed during the early twentieth century. It vividly illustrates the past industrial success that will carry on for many years to come as a modern, environmentally friendly construction