Project Overview
Despite a slowdown in population growth in recent years, Austin, Tex., remains a popular city in which to live, work, and play. With a vibrant music scene, plenty of locally loved restaurants, and an eclectic vibe centered on the city’s motto, “Keep Austin weird,” the city also attracts a wide variety of visitors annually. According to Visit Austin, the city hosts approximately 30 million tourists every year who contribute billions of dollars to the local economy. With this many tourists and a metro-area population of more than two million residents, the city requires ample infrastructure support, including multipurpose facilities capable of supporting various needs such as office, retail, restaurant, and parking. Recognizing this, Jay Paul Company partnered with Coreslab Structures (TEXAS) Inc. and architecture firm Gensler on the construction of the Springdale Green Parking Garage. The eight-level structure, which features a 2300-car capacity and ground-floor spaces for future mixed-use functionality, was made possible thanks to more than 2000 pieces of precast concrete.
Atypical Solutions, Masterful Results
Early in the design process, the project team selected precast concrete as the building material of choice because of its versatility, flexibility, and speed of construction. The unique and complex geometry of the parking structure required atypical structural solutions to ensure functionality and aesthetic appeal simultaneously. The use of skewed double tees was essential to accommodate Springdale Green’s irregular layout and nonorthogonal elements. Other uncommon product shapes were also manufactured and installed to address the challenges posed by the building’s curved corners and radiused elevator walls. These specialized shapes allowed for seamless integration of the parking structure’s sophisticated geometry with the architectural features of the surrounding buildings, ensuring a cohesive design while meeting the parking layout’s functional requirements.
Precast, prestressed component design was required to meet the load and span requirements of Springdale Green’s exterior spandrels, including those that incorporated a 16-in. cornice bullnose. To make this happen, a prestressing bed with integrated self-stressing capability was fabricated for the project, which accommodated elevated strand locations while allowing monolithic incorporation of the cornice bullnoses. This helped provide the clean design aesthetic specified for the garage’s exterior. The body of the spandrels features a dark tone achieved with an acid-etched finish, while the bullnose projections are gray with as-cast finishes to provide additional depth and relief to the structure. Springdale Green also features round columns along the building’s perimeter for an added level of detail. In total, the project deployed 2142 precast concrete components, including double tees, beams, columns, spandrels, wall panels, stair risers, and flat slabs.
By leveraging the adaptability of precast concrete, the project team successfully optimized the Springdale Green Parking Garage for future expansion, ensuring rapid and efficient construction while maintaining high-end aesthetics. The result is an impressive mixed-use facility that Austin residents and visitors alike can use as the city continues to evolve.
Mason Nichols is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based writer and editor who has covered the precast concrete industry since 2013. |