PROJECT OVERVIEW

When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers set out to replace the existing hospital at Fort Hood, Tex., using precast concrete was a no-brainer. Gate Precast Company produced a brick-inlaid, architectural precast concrete exterior wall system in its Hillsboro, Tex., facility for the new Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center. The mammoth project tops out at nearly 1 million ft² and uses nearly 1000 precast concrete insulated panels embedded with thin brick.

Read more about this project in the Summer 2021 issue of Ascent.

PRECAST SOLUTION

The blast-resistant precast concrete walls, which are also thermally efficient and preinsulated, are among several features designed to earn the medical campus LEED gold certification. One of the sustainable measures includes a 30% reduction in energy use over ASHRAE Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. The wall panels feature a continuous layer of insulation between the building’s interior and exterior, preventing thermal bridging that can nullify the effect of the insulation.

Architect of Record

Joint venture of HKS, Wingler & Sharp Architects & Planners

Structural Engineer

Cagley & Associates

Contractor

Balfour Beatty / McCarthy joint venture

Owners

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Precast Concrete Producer

Gate Precast Company

Key Project Attributes

• Cranes setting the precast concrete walls had to reach higher and farther with every increase in level.” There were three cranes on the jobsite: two rentals and the contractor’s tower crane.
• The project was subject to progressive collapse criteria developed by the Department of Defense. These design requirements reduce the potential of progressive collapse for new and existing facilities that experience localized structural damage due to normally unforeseeable events.

Project/Precast Scope

• 911 pieces of precast concrete
• 9-inch-thick insulated panels   
• Building sits on 72 acres and includes six-story, 122-bed hospital