on spec by Terri Ward Metromont Corp. member AltusGroup
Best Practices in Multi-Family ››
Precast Panels
A Concrete Pearl The Pearl is a multi-family apartment complex located within a 43-acre urban, mixed-use redevelopment just north of downtown Tampa, Fla., in the historic neighborhood of Tampa Heights. As the first new structures in the redevelopment project, the three apartment buildings—with 314 dwelling units and 28,000 sq. ft. of retail space—established the architectural character for the new district. The buildings are organized around a five-level 500-space precast parking structure and central courtyard. Precast concrete components from Metromont Corp.’s Bartow, Fla., plant about 50 miles to the east— including CarbonCast High Performance Insulated
“Had we used block, stucco and paint instead of precast, the building would need to be repainted every five to 10 years.” Wall Panels, Metromont’s proprietary MetroDeck floor and roof system, balconies, stairs and stair towers—played a pivotal role in realizing the owner’s aesthetic, structural and timeline demands. Place Architecture sought to create a contemporary aesthetic that respected the area’s industrial past. And at seven stories tall and more than 500 ft. in length, the two larger buildings presented a design challenge of breaking down the scale of the buildings to reflect the character of the neighborhood. Six different precast finishes—such as three colors of tinted concrete, textured patterns using formliners, and 11,000-sq.-ft. embedded thin brick— were incorporated into the exterior wall panels. The integral finishes lessened the need for on-site labor as well as future maintenance needs. “The project was erected when the construction economy was at full speed before the pandemic and there were concerns about masonry labor,” said Tim Clemmons, principal at Place. “And had we used block, stucco and paint instead of precast, the building would need to be repainted every five to 10 years.” On the interior, an urban, loft-style character was achieved by leaving the interior face of the wall panels exposed in both common areas and dwelling units. Additionally, exposed precast concrete slabs in common areas and exposed MetroDeck System concrete ceilings completed the look. From a code standpoint, the precast concrete
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ARCHITECTURAL PRODUCTS
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delivered numerous benefits. The durable precast walls had no trouble meeting Tampa’s 150 MPH wind-load requirement. Fire ratings of one to two hours horizontally and vertically were realized more simply with precast’s inherent fire resistance. The insulated CarbonCast walls also helped meet energy codes. “Florida has one of the stronger energy codes in the country,” explained Clemmons. The CarbonCast panels featured 4 in. of expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation sandwiched between a 3-in. exterior wythe and a 4-in. interior wythe. Carbon fiber grid trusses connected the wythes for strength and thermal efficiency. “When it is erected, it is almost an R-20 assembly,” said Clemmons. “The precast returns in the corner were designed to retain continuity of the insulation so you don’t get hot spots. The good insulation value reduces air conditioning sizes and costs.” The final factor was speed. The owner wanted to reduce construction time to minimize financial carrying costs. The total precast approach on two of the buildings reduced the construction time by about three months compared to alternate systems. In fact, despite being half of size of the two total precast apartments, the three-story block and plank structure took 55% longer to construct.
A CONCRETE FINISH
Exposed concrete slabs in common areas and exposed MetroDeck System concrete ceilings helped complete the look at Tampa’s Pearl multi-family apartment complex.
07 10.2014 . 2021
7/26/21 1:39 PM
