Urban Grove

Project summary provided by submitting company.

Lifting expectations with strongbacks for a three-story tilt-up! This 105,000 square foot retail building called for spandrel glass to wrap around the entire third floor. This required a 3.25-inch recess on the edge of every window opening. The recess decreased the structure of the panel from 9.25 inches thick to only 6 inches thick, causing a potential weak point in the panel. To avoid having any flex, or possibly a break in the panel, 560-linear feet of strongbacks were used to lift the panels off the ground. Each panel required four or five strongbacks. Each panel also used between four and seven 52-foot long braces weighing 410 pounds apiece. Despite the enormous challenge, we were able to stand each panel in an average time of 18 minutes! Eight panels were reengineered to allow for returns in the building structure. Frontline Concrete, Inc. always tries to do returns as one solid panel to allow for a cleaner look. We utilized 20,000 square feet of casting bed, so that it could be stood in one mobilization. The building was stood in a day in half, which allowed the steel contractor to mobilize and start erecting the steel structure on the inside. A beautiful characteristic of this project was that portions of the tilt-up panels were created by casting the concrete in board-formed rough-cut Douglas fir 1x6s. Meticulous arrangement of each wood plank allowed for a textured wood-look displaying knots, grain, and seams with proper bleed through. Overall, the most impressive feature is the 61-foot panel height at the building entry. It draws one’s eye to the center of the building and offers dimension to the complete structure. A total of 36 panels were used with an overall surface area of 29,000 square feet. The heaviest panel weighed 140,000 pounds, while the widest panel was 33 feet 4 inches .