PCI Gulf South March 2017 Newsletter

Director’s Corner ...

PCI Gulf South is beginning to establish a presence in the region through increasing participation and visibility at key industry events. As I work my way through many functions, I'm proud to share the message of what an amazing and versatile product line our producers manufacture. Your projects stand as a testament to your commitment to our mission as PCI Gulf South. Let’s keep the momentum going!

Dan

Mississippi Engineering Society Winter Meeting

February 22-24 2017, Jackson, MS

The Mississippi Engineering Society represents professional engineers across the state and provides continuing education and programs for members. This year, attendees had classes about everything from environmental law to the attributes of lighting. PCI Gulf South had an exhibit and I gave a presentation on the uses/attributes of precast concrete.

The show drew a crowd of 300 engineers from various disciplines. Our booth had a lot of interest and I was able to meet many professionals during the three day event. Kudos to the show organizers who planned and orchestrated a great event. PCI Gulf South will be back next year!.

We would like to welcome two of our newest Associate Members: Architectural Polymers and Endicott Brick.

Architectural Polymers has been a leader and innovator in the concrete form fabrication industry for over 20 years. Architectural Polymers supplies architects, owners, general contractors and pre-cast concrete manufacturers with quality formliners and thin brick approved by the Pre-Cast/Pre-Stressed Concrete Institute.

Endicott Brick manufactures quality brick, thin brick, pavers and tile. Working within the precast industry, Endicott Brick provides a versatile range of thin brick products for both commercial and transportation projects.
Welcome aboard!

PCI Convention 2017: February 28-March 4 2017, Cleveland
Not even the cold weather could put a chill on attendee participation at the PCI Convention. At the start of every convention, PCI committees conduct meetings to direct and guide the operations of PCI with the goal of continuing to push the industry forward. Committees are an excellent way for anyone interested in precast to become involved. From Marketing to Technical, there is a committee for everyone in every area of precast.

Along with the committees comes the convention which celebrates the industry of precast. A number of awards are given annually. Our region was associated with several recipients and I have them listed at the end of this newsletter.

Congratulations to everyone on their awards! Along with the convention, NPCA also has the Precast show. It is the largest precast show in the US and showcases everything precast. There were many vendors at the show. In fact, it was so popular that we even had KISS show up for a photo-op! (Actually it was JVI’s sales team dressed up to look like the iconic rock band but don’t tell anybody). For many of the participants, me included, it was as close to Gene Simmons as we would ever want to get!

60th Annual Transportation Conference: The 60th annual Transportation Conference was held on February 9th and 10th in Montgomery, AL and included over 35 speakers on topics ranging from maintenance to construction to project overviews. There were over 900 attendees. The annual conference is designed and initiated by the Auburn Civil Engineering Department and is geared toward federal and state highway personnel, road building contractors, general contractors, heavy highway construction contractors, utility contractors engineers, construction material vendors and even some politicians. Some of the highlights of the conference were the project overview of the Birmingham CBD project and the introduction of innovative technologies, such as automated vehicles and their future impact on the roadway infrastructure. A lot of information was available within the two day conference and I would highly recommend attending this event.

Shown above is Dr. Anton Schindler discussing the issues with mass concrete construction.

Congratulations to Gate Precast of Monroeville, AL for winning the 2016 Design Award For Best Government and Public Buildings for their work on the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum in Biloxi, MS. When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005, a 30-ft tidal surge destroyed much of the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum and its collections. Since then, the museum has been working diligently to design and build a new complex on the original site, with expanded gallery and exhibit spaces and new community facilities.

A primary goal of this project was to build a structure that is stronger and more resilient to catastrophic events, says Daria Pizzetta, AIA, principal of H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture. “We wanted to design a large mass that would protect the museum’s artifacts, but also allow for a design with much visual interest.” she says.

The biggest initial challenge was building a new facility that could withstand hurricane force winds. The team considered numerous exterior wall materials but they ultimately found that precast concrete panels would provide the most economical and structurally appropriate material for the building. “We chose precast for its ability to sustain high velocity impacts associated with hurricanes, but also for its durability and insulating qualities.” Pizzetta says.

The precast concrete panels also met Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) durability requirements, which was vital as FEMA provided funds for the project. “The use of precast for the exterior wall system met the impact test criteria for wind-borne debris and provided a secure envelop for museum’s artifacts.”
Precast concrete also played a major role in achieving the aesthetic goals of the museum that reflects the context of the surrounding neighborhood. The design features a white lap siding pattern that gives the building shadow lines to add visual interest to the façade while evoking memories of the fisherman’s cottages that once proliferated in this historic neighborhood. The lap siding pattern also allowed for a large-format panel system, featuring customized 10-foot-wide by 25-foot-tall panels, which simplified casting and sped erection, saving time and money.

The resulting structure has become a welcoming centerpiece to the community that is more than just a museum, she says. “It serves as a symbol of resilience as the city continues to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, and provides a new place for the community to come together and honor its heritage, year-round.”
Owner: City of Biloxi, Biloxi, MS
Architect: H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture LLC NY, NY
Associate Architect: Walter T. Bolton Associates, Biloxi, MS.
Engineer of Record: Thompson Engineering Biloxi, MS.
General Contractor: GM&R Construction, Bay St. Louis, MS

Congratulations to Tindall of Moss Point, MS for winning the 2016 Design award for the Best All Precast Parking Structure. The new five-level, 435-space parking garage at South Market in the heart of the New Orleans Warehouse District isn’t merely a place to park cars. The structure anchors a $200-million mixed-used, transit-oriented development that promises to be a hub for nightlife and urban activity. It is considered to be one of the most ambitious projects in the city’s history.
From the beginning, the architect wanted precast concrete for its durability, as well as the speed and ease of construction. Durability was crucial, as the structure is in a hurricane prone area, and thus needed to be storm resistant, shared Sam Briuglio, a consultant with Tindall Corporation. But the design also had to infuse the architecture of the parking garage with character and style that reflect the historic surroundings.
The architect invited the precaster to early planning meetings to help guide decision-making and ensure the client achieved all the benefits a precast design could bring to the project. “Since they had a strict budget and timeline plus a unique exterior design, having our expertise and input early reduced the cost and time needed to complete the project.” Briuglio says.

Together, they came up with a contemporary design featuring a white concrete sandblast finish with a random spandrel pattern on the exterior façade to achieve aesthetic goals while providing an open-air structure that would improve indoor environmental quality. Unlike traditional parking garages that take a stacked approach to precast concrete, this design integrated larger premanufactured modules to generate a light skin for the building façade to create an eye-catching style that met all building code requirements, including the 50% open-air ventilation for parking garages, Briuglio says.
The precast concrete spandrels allowed the separate architectural fins on the exterior spandrels to be installed as one unit, saving time and money, and also allowed for fewer columns. “That increased open space, visibility and ease of navigation,” says Vince Altese, sales representative for Tindall.
The precast concrete design also lent itself to the constraints of the tight jobsite by allowing the team to erect the structure from inside its own footprint, minimizing site disturbance, Briuglio says. “The precast panels made the assembly of the building incredibly easy and the unique style creates a distinct identity for the building's exterior façade.”
Owner: Domain Companies, NY, NY
Architect: Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, New Orleans, LA
Engineer of Record: Woodward Design+Build, LLC New Orleans, LA
PCI Certified Erector: Pre-Con Construction., Lakeland, FL

Product Highlight: Columns

Columns are typically used to support beams and spandrels in applications such as parking structures and precast concrete structural systems. They usually are designed as multi-level components ranging from a single story to six levels or more. They can be made in a long-line pretensioning facility and reinforced with prestressing strand or cast in individual forms with either prestressing strand or conventional rebar. They are cast in a horizontal position and rotated to their final position at the jobsite by the erection crew. Sizes and shapes vary to satisfy both architectural and structural requirements. They usually are cast in a square or rectangular form in sizes from 12 by 12 inches to 24 by 48 inches. Since columns are cast in a horizontal position, three of the four sides are created with a form. These finishes are very smooth and most often remain “as cast” in the finished construction. The fourth side is typically troweled to match the other three sides as closely as possible.