Franklin Academy

The Franklin Academy project consisted of a two-story classroom and a gymnasium building. This charter school contained many different components including tilt-up, masonry, structural steel, bar joists, and hollowcore planks. This required many different types of structural connections between the tilt-up panels and the other structural units including dovetail slot that was cast into the panels to receive masonry ties.

The panels featured a wainscot of 24 in. x 16 in. chiseled stone pattern formliner and a variety of different width rustications. Most of the windows were set in recessed areas with bordering reveals with many of the recesses arched requiring that high density overlay plywood be cut in curved strips, installed onto the casting surface, and then trimmed out with PVC chamfer to achieve the desired appearance. The architectural scheme of the tilt up structure provided for an older traditional type schoolhouse look including grand style entry features.

The number of "pieces" was kept to a minimum by increasing the width of the panels. Many were between 28 and 35 ft. wide. While this required the use of a 300-ton crane, it ultimately reduced the erection time, which was critical due to the time constraints of the project. A 540-ft.-long privacy wall screening the school from adjacent residences was converted to tilt-up construction. This provided a more economical solution to precast and was a more sound, maintenance-free alternative to CMU and Stucco.