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Lightweight Concrete Provides Economical Solution for 12-Story Civic Center Addition
Over 8,500 cubic yards of structural lightweight concrete, produced with TXI expanded shale from their facility in Boulder, Colorado, was used to help construct an 860,000 square-foot office tower for the city and county of Denver. This 12-story addition to Denver’s Civic Center increased the complex’s office space by 65%, and allowed Denver to consolidate most of the city and county offices from various locations throughout the city.
The building was constructed using lightweight concrete over metal deck. This format provided the most economical building solution to match new floor heights with the existing structure. By making it easier to pump, the vacuum-saturation of TXI’s expanded lightweight aggregate product from their Boulder facility enhanced the placement of the concrete for this project. It also offered significant dead load reduction, reduced foundation size, and created more usable space per floor.
"One of the many benefits of using lightweight concrete on the floor decks of the Civic Center is that it helped save 1 1/4 inches per floor in the height of the building, which equates to a savings in the curtain wall alone of $55,000, and allowed us to align the new building floor to floor with the existing 1950’s structure. It also provided savings in the foundation, shaftwalls, and lateral system." Michael McAffrey, a principal at Martin and Martin Consulting Engineers.
Advantages
Martin and Martin designs and specifies Structural Lightweight Concrete
projects across the nation. The benefits of specifying Structural Lightweight
Aggregate Concrete include the following:
Dead Load Reduction – A reduced in-place density equates to smaller foundations, or the ability to use a site with poor or marginal soil conditions.
Lightweight Concrete Provides Economical Solution for 12-Story Civic Center Addition
Over 8,500 cubic yards of structural lightweight concrete, produced with TXI expanded shale from their facility in Boulder, Colorado, was used to help construct an 860,000 square-foot office tower for the city and county of Denver. This 12-story addition to Denver’s Civic Center increased the complex’s office space by 65%, and allowed Denver to consolidate most of the city and county offices from various locations throughout the city.
The building was constructed using lightweight concrete over metal deck. This format provided the most economical building solution to match new floor heights with the existing structure. By making it easier to pump, the vacuum-saturation of TXI’s expanded lightweight aggregate product from their Boulder facility enhanced the placement of the concrete for this project. It also offered significant dead load reduction, reduced foundation size, and created more usable space per floor.
"One of the many benefits of using lightweight concrete on the floor decks of the Civic Center is that it helped save 1 1/4 inches per floor in the height of the building, which equates to a savings in the curtain wall alone of $55,000, and allowed us to align the new building floor to floor with the existing 1950’s structure. It also provided savings in the foundation, shaftwalls, and lateral system." Michael McAffrey, a principal at Martin and Martin Consulting Engineers.
Advantages
Martin and Martin designs and specifies Structural Lightweight Concrete
projects across the nation. The benefits of specifying Structural Lightweight
Aggregate Concrete include the following:
Dead Load Reduction – A reduced in-place density equates to smaller foundations, or the ability to use a site with poor or marginal soil conditions.
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