Precast Solutions - May/June 2008 - (Page 11)

Courtesy Enwright Associates Inc. table, according to Daley, whose firm was able to eliminate half of the load-bearing walls originally specified on the contract (thanks to the longer spans afforded by the precast). “We saved the customer a substantial amount of money just by doing that,” says Daley, who adds that the facility’s remote location in New Mexico made it a perfect venue for the use of finished, easy-to-install precast columns and balconies. “Because we were able to cast everything off site – and because the masons only had to build half of the walls – they were able to proceed at a faster clip.” Engineered by Enwright Associates of Greenville, S.C., the now-larger FLETC facility accommodates an increased number of Homeland Security trainees, particularly border guards. “They were seeing a huge influx of students at the Artesia facility,” says Richard Pace, Enwright’s project director. “Between the campus overcrowding and no available hotels to speak of in the vicinity, their goal was to get as many rooms online as quickly as possible.” Already under contract with the Department of Homeland Security, Enwright Associates was selected to modify an original design that it had developed years earlier. Salmons P.C. of Albuquerque, the designer for the project, was called in to handle all of the connection, member and supporting element design for the hollow core aspect of the project, according to design engineer James Andazola, whose firm completes precast concrete design for manufacturers nationwide. This particular project posed its own set of challenges, particularly when it came to the design of the balcony slabs. That’s because one edge of the balcony was bearing on a continuous concrete block wall, and the cantilevered portions of the balcony were supported by one column on each corner of the slab. “The precast column that was all doweled together was four stories high, and at each story received the balcony slabs into it,” says Andazola. “Other than that, it was a pretty straightforward design that wasn’t overly demanding.” Andazola says precast made a “good alternative to regular construction,” in that it worked well with the concrete block walls and flooring system, which was also precast. “It obviously speeds up the construction process,” says Andazola. “The precast provides a quickforming system that the contractor can use to build up the walls, set the precast and use it as a forming material for the topping.” Pace says his firm often specifies precast hollow core planks for upper level floors and ceilings. For this project, he says matching the new material as closely as possible to the rest of the campus’ vernacular was an issue. “We had to consider the types of coatings that MAY/JUNE 2008 | PRECAST SOLUTIONS 11

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Precast Solutions - May/June 2008

Precast Solutions - May/June 2008 Contents Sustainability and Practicality Security Blanket A Frank Lloyd Wright Takes Shape Concrete Joins MENSA Precast Lightens Up

Precast Solutions - May/June 2008

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