PCI Gulf South Newsletter|Issue #28
How Precast Builds
Fourth District Court of Appeal
Photos via Gate Precast
The client requested a modern courthouse with a large courtroom being the central focus. The site selected was an existing surface parking lot in the center of downtown. The façade of the courthouse is a combination of precast concrete, cast stone, and precast concrete 40-foot architectural columns. The three-story courthouse building includes a secure public lobby, one courtroom, 14 judicial suites, and a courtyard on the second floor located directly above the courtroom. Parking is provided in the new parking garage (100,742 sf) located behind the courthouse.

The architect originally planned for the entire building’s façade to be constructed with precast concrete for its high-quality appearance and durability. The project is pursuing LEED Silver Certification.
Director's Corner
Everywhere you look nowadays there are help wanted signs hanging on doors and in windows. The “shortage” of help is causing backlogs and service issues in many areas of commerce throughout the country. The reasons for the lack of willing and able workers are many, but the ultimate effect is that there is work to be done, and nobody interested in doing it.
Forterra Plant Tour
As part of PCI Gulf South’s unwavering support of the PCI Foundation Studio program at the University of Alabama, Dr. Sri Aaleti and his students traveled to Pelham, AL to take part in a plant tour of Forterra’s precast facility. Dr. Aaleti’ student, who by the way all have 4.0 GPA’s, took a general plant tour of the facilities including the concrete batching facility, QC department, shipping yard and NEXT Beam production line. A highlight of the tour was when the students witnessed the detensioning of a girder line which involved a series of coordinated “cuts” in the strand. The students saw firsthand how a prestressing plant detentions a long line girder bed. As one student commented “ it is not a random act”. We would like to thank Johnnie Hayes and Dwain Hamby of Forterra for hosting the students at the Pelham facility.
PCI Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Workshop Set for September
PCI will host an Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Workshop on Tuesday, September 21, 2021. This one-day workshop will gather experts from across the precast concrete industry to discuss various research and development initiatives for the implementation of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) in precast concrete components. The event will cover design considerations for architectural and structural precast UHPC components, such as UHPC material selection for nonproprietary mixture designs, characterization and quality control testing of UHPC, and production and fabrication of precast UHPC components.
ACT Co-Founder E. Max Hoene Announces Retirement
Concluding a successful transition, E. Max Hoene, co-founder of Advanced Concrete Technologies, Inc. retired March 31, 2021 after 32 years at the helm of the New Hampshire-based mixing/batching plant and equipment supplier. With his vast technical and industry knowhow, Max will continue to support ACT in a senior advisory position.
Mississippi State 2021 Spring Final Review
On April 16th, Mississippi State conducted the final reviews of Architectural Design III-B and BCS 3126 – Building Construction Studio IV, more commonly referred to as The 3rd Year Collaborative Studio. The collaborative studio, one of only a handful in the country, combines architectural students with construction management students in a project design, price, schedule, and build scenario.
Learn@Lunch - Go Virtual!
PCI Gulf South offers a variety of ways to reach the existing design community.
The Learn@Lunch program was developed to allow professionals the opportunity to learn about precast products and systems.

Get the design credits you need all without having to leave your home or office!
2021 PCI Convention
The 2021 PCI Convention got underway May 18th with the kick-off of committee meetings. The convention format offered a mix of both in-person and virtual options. The in-person attendance stood at about 65% of what a “normal” year would have been.
Welcome New Associate Members!
PCI Gulf South is happy to welcome two new associate members to our region, Jones Logistics and Afinitas!

Jones Logistics is an expert in the world of pipeline construction. They offer experience in freight brokerage, dedicated services, and 3rd party logistics to find a better way to get things done.

Afinitas provides intelligent infrastructure solutions through its family of companies. We provide innovative production equipment and automation solutions for precast. We also have a Division of Concrete Accessories that provides both plastic and steel spacers for concrete reinforcement in precast.
The Spring 2021 issue of Ascent Magazine is Here!
The Spring 2021 issue of Ascent Magazine is now available on the PCI website in digimag format! The current issue features 2021 PCI Design Award winners and honorable mentions.

Articles include:
  • Special Design Awards
  • Building Design Awards
  • Honorable Mentions
  • Continuing Education Opportunities
  • Precast/Prestressed Concrete Design Resources
  • University Profile: North Carolina State University
  • When Strategy Collides with Culture, Culture Always Wins
  • High-Performance Tps And Architectural Precast On Display
  • and more!
Attention Students!
If you are a recently graduated student and want to continue to receive emails from PCI Gulf South, please be sure to update your email address as
most school email addresses expire after 6 months!

To update, simply forward your new email address to
pcigulfsouth1@att.net and we will update it in our system.
PCI Gulf South Spring Meeting 2021
PCI Gulf South held the Spring Meeting on April 13th and 14th in historic Natchez, MS. Having been the first in-person meeting in more than 6 months, the group was happy to be back to normal activities. The meeting got underway with a foreword from PCI Board of Director Chair Dennis Fink, followed by a virtual presentation from Randy Wilson, Director of Architectural Services for PCI and an information-packed market update from Brian Miller with GCP. There was a lot of ground to cover while we were together. Topics such as DOT seminars and Marketing Committee activities were on the day’s agenda. Thankfully, we stayed on course and finished business just before a major thunderstorm hit the area.
Did you know?
The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China is the heaviest concrete structure in the world. How heavy is it? The Dam is said to contain 144,309,356,753.51 pounds of concrete.
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Residential projects use precast to meet high-performance goals. From single-family homes to large-scale condos, precast is the right choice for constructing residential facilities.