As architectural teams continue to push the limit of building design with ever more complex geometries, engineering and construction firms must develop clever solutions to execute these daring schemes on time and within budget.
During the course of several recent projects, engineers with Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH) and fabricator CW Keller have created an integrated approach to model, design, and off-site fabricate formwork for complex concrete geometries. The process combines SGH’s expertise with concrete materials, construction, and analysis of intricate assemblies, with CW Keller’s advanced modeling and computer numerically controlled (CNC) fabrication capabilities, to create geometrically complex, prefabricated formwork systems.
“The combination of advanced CNC machining and emerging technologies in construction materials is pushing the bounds of what can be cost-effectively constructed in concrete,” says Matthew Johnson, Principal with SGH. Johnson says the two disciplines—structural engineering and formwork fabrication—work hand in hand since the fabrication model can serve as the basis of analysis models. As a result, “teams can assess many options early and rapidly,” he says.
On the team’s most recent project, the new Gulf Stream Tank at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science in Miami (pictured above), the prefab process saved roughly nine weeks of the project schedule compared with conventional site-constructed formwork. The elevated tank structure is 125-foot-diameter, conical, cast-in-place concrete construction. It will hold more than 500,000 gallons of seawater, and will feature an acrylic oculus to offer museum visitors views into the tank from below.
Also on the Building Team: Grimshaw (architect), Baker Concrete Construction (concrete subcontractor), Peri (shoring contractor), and Skanska (GC).
Photo: CW Keller
Photo: CW Keller
Rendering: Grimshaw
Related Stories
| Feb 5, 2014
Extreme conversion: Atlanta turns high-rise office building into high school
Formerly occupied by IBM, the 11-story Lakeside building is the new home for North Atlanta High School.
| Feb 5, 2014
7 towers that define the 'skinny skyscraper' boom [slideshow]
Recent advancements in structural design, combined with the loosening of density and zoning requirements, has opened the door for the so-called "superslim skyscraper."
| Jan 28, 2014
2014 predictions for skyscraper construction: More twisting towers, mega-tall projects, and 'superslim' designs
Experts from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat release their 2014 construction forecast for the worldwide high-rise industry.
| Jan 24, 2014
Structural concrete requirements under revision: ACI 318 standard
The American Concrete Institute (ACI), an organization whose mission is to develop and disseminate consensus-based knowledge on concrete and its uses, is finalizing a completely reorganized ACI 318-14: Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete.
| Jan 7, 2014
Concrete solutions: 9 innovations for a construction essential
BD+C editors offer a roundup of new products and case studies that represent the latest breakthroughs in concrete technology.
| Dec 12, 2013
Book announcement: The economic performance of sustainable construction
Thirty specialists from around the world challenge the question of (higher) costs related to sustainability of the built environment
| Dec 10, 2013
16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.
| Nov 27, 2013
Wonder walls: 13 choices for the building envelope
BD+C editors present a roundup of the latest technologies and applications in exterior wall systems, from a tapered metal wall installation in Oklahoma to a textured precast concrete solution in North Carolina.
High-rise Construction | Jul 9, 2013
5 innovations in high-rise building design
KONE's carbon-fiber hoisting technology and the Broad Group's prefab construction process are among the breakthroughs named 2013 Innovation Award winners by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Jun 4, 2013
SOM research project examines viability of timber-framed skyscraper
In a report released today, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill discussed the results of the Timber Tower Research Project: an examination of whether a viable 400-ft, 42-story building could be created with timber framing. The structural type could reduce the carbon footprint of tall buildings by up to 75%.
