TCA Executive Director Mitch Bloomquist presents Architecture, Innovation and the Evolution of Tilt-Up to an interdisciplinary audience at the MillerKnoll showroom in Monterrey, Mexico.
For many architects in Mexico, tilt-up remains closely associated with one building type: the industrial box. On August 13 in Monterrey, the Tilt-Up Concrete Association set out to broaden that picture.
Hosted at the MillerKnoll showroom in San Pedro Garza García, the evening program brought together an interdisciplinary audience of architects, contractors, developers, engineers, suppliers, and other professionals from across the region. Architects made up the majority of those in attendance, an encouraging response to a program focused specifically on the architectural evolution and design potential of tilt-up.
The featured presentation, Architecture, Innovation and the Evolution of Tilt-Up, was delivered by TCA Executive Director Mitch Bloomquist. Moving from the early history of the method through contemporary work from around the world, the presentation explored how architects, engineers, contractors, and innovators have continually expanded what can be achieved with the system.
The diversity of the work became one of the evening’s defining themes. Historic precedents were presented alongside contemporary projects demonstrating multistory construction, sophisticated architectural finishes, material expression, structural innovation, and an increasingly broad range of building types. Together, they presented a picture of tilt-up extending well beyond its familiar association with large-scale industrial construction.
“Locally, tilt-up is still strongly associated with industrial buildings, so the presentation’s biggest impact was opening architects’ eyes to its use in multistory and multidisciplinary buildings and the design opportunities that come with it,” said Lilia Ortiz de Montellano Valdez, regional manager for Ware Malcomb in Monterrey and a member of the TCA Mexican Advisory Board. “There was also strong interest from attendees working on educational projects, since tilt-up addresses their need for shorter construction timelines while still offering significant design flexibility.”
Architecture and Opportunity
Mexico already has an established tilt-up industry and considerable expertise in concrete construction. The opportunity, then, is not simply to introduce the method, but to broaden understanding of where and how it can be applied.
“The event was a great opportunity to see how tilt-up is a real and optimal choice for meeting the real estate needs of our market—a market that increasingly demands greater efficiency in time, resources, and cost,” said Jorge Figueroa Silva, chair of the TCA Mexican Advisory Board. “With a tilt-up industry already established in Mexico, TCA showed us how this system can be the solution for fast-developing markets.”
Left: Jorge Figueroa Silva introduces TCA Executive Director Mitch Bloomquist prior to the evening’s presentation. Right: Bloomquist responds to a question from the audience during his presentation.
The two perspectives capture much of what made the evening significant. Architects were introduced to a broader spectrum of what tilt-up can become, while contractors, developers, engineers, and suppliers considered those possibilities within the realities of a rapidly developing market.
That interdisciplinary exchange is central to TCA’s mission. Tilt-up does not belong to a single discipline. Its continued advancement depends on architects, engineers, contractors, developers, suppliers, manufacturers, and owners bringing their expertise to the same conversation.
Earlier in the day, members of the TCA Mexican Advisory Board met at the MillerKnoll showroom to discuss the association’s work in Mexico and opportunities to continue supporting the local tilt-up community. TCA and advisory board representatives also joined members of the MillerKnoll team for lunch prior to the evening program.
The strong participation from architects made the day particularly meaningful. If tilt-up is to continue expanding beyond the applications with which it is most commonly associated in Mexico, architects will play an essential role—not simply in specifying the system, but in testing its possibilities and determining what comes next.
Tilt-up does not prescribe an architectural answer. It provides a construction system with an increasingly sophisticated range of possibilities.
What architects choose to do with those possibilities is the more interesting question.
TCA extends its sincere appreciation to MillerKnoll for its generous hospitality and for providing an exceptional setting for the day’s activities, as well as to the members of the Mexican Advisory Board and the many professionals who participated.
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