Project Overview
American Savings Bank wanted to create a campus where all of its 650 employees could come together under one roof. The new location would include grade-level retail, a large community center, five levels of parking, and five levels of office space.
The original design featured a cast-in-place parking structure topped by a glass-covered steel structure for the office levels. However, the precaster offered an alternative design using a precast concrete exterior facade as a load-bearing system, which resulted in a more attractive and cost-effective plan.
The final structure was created using a total precast concrete system of columns, beams, double-tee floors, and a roof- and load-bearing architectural precast concrete exterior facade. The column footprint remains the same from parking through the office levels, resulting in straightforward load paths. This allowed for the use of double-tee spans, which created column-free spaces.
Initially, the project seemed to be moving forward smoothly, but it faced a significant interruption when a burial site was discovered directly under a column location. This discovery resulted a six-month delay as the descendants were consulted.
Ultimately, the precast concrete producer suggested that a 7-ft-deep, 100-kip transfer beam be used to span over the burial site, leaving the remains untouched. The descendants were happy with this solution, and a memorial garden was created above the site to honor the deceased. The beam had to be erected early in the project to allow the crane to pick the piece from inside the footprint of the structure, which was accomplished with very little added cost.
The first level of the finished structure features large, black precast concrete columns that are polished on all four sides. The parking levels on the main entry boast a randomized, highly articulated three-dimensional pattern embossed in light-colored, etched architectural precast concrete skin designed to look like thatch, symbolizing the growth of the company’s brand.
The office levels are highlighted by a band of darkened glass and black, etched architectural precast concrete columns. The corners are “picture framed” with precast concrete L-shaped pieces, with large, open areas of glazing that are tinted to reduce heat gain while maximizing available light. Vertical metal fins further reduce solar gains while retaining open views.
The 58 unique facade spandrels used in the building were created using three pieces of nine form sections, which were rotated, inverted, and shuffled to eliminate repeated patterns. For the other three sides of the structure, the design team chose spandrels that had a 25% scale of the front facade for visual continuity. The formliner for these panels was used repetitively to provide the economy of repetition. The interior was left exposed and painted to offer users an incredible sense of volume.
To ensure a successful delivery, the precast concrete producer held weekly meetings during the design phase with the owner, architect, engineer, and cost-estimating company to discuss precast concrete items. During early construction, regular meetings were held with the general contractor and all subtrades, an arrangement that proved to be highly successful and resulted in a successfully run project. |