Pre-Casting—A Concrete Solution for Housing Artistic Talent
Both the residence hall’s occupants and the timetable for construction helped inform the decision to build with precast concrete panels. Early collaboration between architect Helix Architecture + Design, contractor JE Dunn Construction and Enterprise Precast Concrete led to a design that provides visual impact and “wow-factor,” an important consideration when designing a building for artistic occupants. Project management and labor considerations also factored heavily into the design strategy, as the aggressive timeline and efforts to efficiently schedule team members’ time on the jobsite presented challenges. And of course, the building had to be thermally efficient given the Midwest’s frigid winters and sweltering summers.
The efficiencies, performance and control of a precast approach