PROJECT OVERVIEW
Shannondell at Valley Forge boasts more than 2,000,000 square feet of building projects on its 144-acre campus. The main 172,000-square-foot structure is comprised of four stories, a basement, and 190 patient rooms—each with a private bathroom. The state-of-the-art facility includes three patient activity rooms, four physical therapy rooms, four dining rooms, and numerous offices and lounge areas to accommodate a staff of 350.
As the baby boomer generation ages, the demand for senior living facilities continues to grow. The owners at Shannondell wanted to maintain its reputation for construction excellence and keep the residential peace and tranquility intact, so they selected precast concrete as the building material of choice for installation efficiency, fire safety, and effective sound transmission attenuation.
PRECAST SOLUTION
Hollow core precast slabs can be quickly and safely installed on site in variable weather conditions, reducing the number of workers needed, providing an immediate working platform, and minimizing disruption to residents during the construction process.
Hollow core offers unparalleled benefits beneath the exterior. One of the most critical benefits to building occupants is sound attenuation and privacy. Because the cavities within hollow core walls and floors dampen sound vibrations, there’s less noise transmission between spaces than with other types of building materials, such as conventional wood framing, and less intrusive overhead or next-door sounds. Used as floor-ceiling assemblies, the sound transmission class rating ranges from 47 to 57, and the impact insulation class rating starts around 23 for a plain slab and may be increased to over 70 with the addition of carpeting and padding.
Precast concrete offers passive fire protection, which means it does not rely on another system or person to take action. Constructed of inorganic elements, concrete provides a noncombustible environment that curtails fire danger and confines the damage to other materials into smaller compartments. It also offers up to a four-hour fire rating and passes a hose-stream pressure test, minimizing water damage from firefighting if an event were to occur. It’s becoming increasingly more common for insurance premiums to be reduced with a total concrete structure. |