/ Awards / Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Announces 2017 Sidney Freedman Craftsmanship Award Winners

Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Announces 2017 Sidney Freedman Craftsmanship Award Winners

Parul Dubey on August 22, 2017 - in Awards, Corporate, News

CHICAGO – August 22, 2017 – Today, the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) announced the winners of their sixth annual Sidney Freedman Craftsmanship Award. The award recognizes PCI-certified plants for excellence in manufacturing and craftsmanship of architectural precast and glass fiber-reinforced concrete (GFRC) structures and individual components.

 

PCI announced two PCI-certified plants for this year’s award. A judging panel made up of industry experts selected Willis Construction’s precast concrete cladding for the new Latter Day Saints Tijuana Temple in Tijuana, Mexico, as well as Gate Precast Company’s architectural precast panels for the Faena Park parking structure in Miami, Fla. PCI also awarded an honorable mention to Gate Precast Company for 610 Highland Crossing residence in Baton Rouge, La.

 

Judges evaluated projects on a variety of criteria the precast/prestressed concrete industry have identified as key measures of manufacturing excellence, including forming, overcoming obstacles to production, finishing, and the overall quality of the end product. The award is named after retired PCI Director of Architectural Systems Sidney Freedman, who served as a leading voice in precast architectural design for over 43 years with the organization. An industry panel of experts, including Freedman, evaluated the projects submitted for the 2017 awards.

 

“Willis Construction’s meticulous design work on the beautiful scrolling shapes featured in the Latter Day Saints Tijuana Temple project is a stunning example of both expertise in precast production and in craftsmanship,” said Freedman. Willis Construction Inc. used a Computer Numeric Control (CNC) machine to maximize their form building precision when they were producing the intricate panel forms for the process. “The real evidence of the level of craftsmanship on this project is in the fine detailing on very ornamental pieces,” Freedman said.

 

Roland Byers of Willis Construction said they prepared the surface of a positive form shape created by the CNC machine, and then sprayed it with glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC) to achieve the final result. “The precaster created scrolling concrete ornamental pieces by first producing foam molds using their CNC router. Then they sprayed the foam molds with GFRC to deliver add polish and dimension to the final aesthetic. The end result is breathtaking,” said Freedman. CRSA was the temple project designer, and Haskell was the general contractor of the new LDS temple in Mexico.

 

PCI Architectural Services Manager Jim Lewis said judges selected the Faena Park structure recently built in Miami, Fla. for one of the two awards because they felt it bridged a gap between the architect’s vision and fabrication with its unique architectural precast concrete façade resembling a beehive. The Faena Park project is a 28,283 sq. ft., six-story parking garage designed by OMA*AMO Architecture PC. The general contractor was Layton Construction Co., and the precast concrete producer was Gate Precast Company.

 

“Their final product, which was a white sandblast precast concrete façade of angled perforations, was a high-impact design because it had to facilitate airflow, light, and controlled views,” said Lewis.

 

“We used Building Information Modeling in the design process, and CNC machining during production to create the repetitious level of precision and uniformity the project required. This uniformity would have been impossible to replicate through manual power tools,” said Bryant Luke of Gate Precast Company.

 

“Their ventilated façade system was such a complex puzzle for the precaster to solve,” said Freedman.  “It took an amazing level of ingenuity to think of doing things like using reverse plugs made out of rubber and concrete to create the unique end result.”

 

Lewis and Freedman said the judges also decided to award an honorable mention for this year’s awards to 610 Highland Crossing, which was an 18,000 sq. ft. single family residence built in southern Louisiana, thanks in large part to how impressed they were with the intricacy of the precast concrete façade. Gregg Phorr of Precast Technical Services Group said with the assistance of the precaster, the design team developed a method of aggregating and casting nine CNC milled primitives to create sculptural waves arranged in various ways so that each of the 15 (Type B) precast panels were unique when cast. “We worked closely with Bayne Dickinson Architect in partnership with One to One Design to use digital analysis and BIM so we could create a truly fascinating façade design for the project.”

 

“One of the joys of having worked with precast concrete producers for several decades is that I have personally witnessed an industry that has constantly adapted and grown with modern design expectations and vision without sacrificing the strength and quality of the material and building method,” said Freedman. “This year’s projects really underscore the commitment our precast/prestressed concrete producers have to innovating in their craft to produce resilient, beautiful, high-performing end results,” said PCI President and CEO Bob Risser.

 

PCI will begin accepting entries for the 2018 Sidney Freedman Craftsmanship Award in May 2018.

                                            

About PCI

Founded in 1954, The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) is the technical institute for the precast concrete structures industry. PCI develops, maintains, and disseminates the body of knowledge for designing, fabricating, and constructing precast concrete structures. PCI provides technical resources, certification for companies and individuals, continuing education, as well as conducts research and development projects, conventions, conferences, awards programs and much more.

 

PCI members include precast concrete manufacturers, companies that provide products and services to the industry, precast concrete erectors, and individual members such as architects, consultants, contractors, developers, educators, engineers, materials suppliers, service providers, and students.

 

To learn more, visit www.pci.org or e-mail Brenda Banks at [email protected].

 

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