ForConstructionPros.com

The building, built into a hill, has gray foundation walls that are exposed on the lowest level. The walls are disguised by cladding them with specially poured white Portland cement face panels. The visual appearance is enhanced by contrasting red Endicott thin brick and white cement with a slight color additive.

Speedy delivery
Located in Sunrise, Fla., American Classic Voyages is a 370,000-sq.-ft. office building that was completed in a mere six months. The original design called for full-height six-story panels. However, the staging and bracing of such a design was impractical, if not impossible. To overcome this challenge, the tilt-up contractor for the project, Tiltcrete LLC of Medley, Fla., redesigned the project into three panels - a bottom two-story panel, a middle three-story panel, and a one-story panel on the top.

To create the panels, casting beds were used. With a 92-ft. parapet, the panels were welded to the structure and bear on each other to the foundation. Some multistory buildings, because of the size and construction, can have extremely dull appearances. In order to provide visual relief to this tall structure, the building recesses as it elevates. In addition to the recessed features, various paint schemes and treatments such as reveals and punched windows were used on the three panel levels to provide architectural appeal. The clean design is augmented with earth-tone colors to achieve the owner's desired look.

Mastering a technique
With an innate understanding of multistory tilt-up construction experience gained from prior projects, Commercial Superflat of Naples, Fla. used this knowledge to aid the construction of the East Lake Point Office Building, a 54,998-sq.-ft. office building in Palm Harbor, Fla. With this prior knowledge, special attention was given to reducing costs and improving aesthetics.

To reduce costs, the firm reused casting beds and deconstructed them after completion to use for a parking lot base. For improving visual appeal, special attention was paid to the color choices. The three-tone scheme of the building complements the forest green glazing and entry porte cochère canopy. As a main focus on a prominent roadway in the town of Oldsmar, the owner wanted to have maximum visual impact. The inlay reveals on the upper entry panels were painted to match the design of the window glazing, and staggered panels at the main and side entries combine with the darker color of the building to provide striking depth and Class A elements. Using tilt-up allowed the contractor to focus on a strong appearance and draw attention to the owner's facility - a main goal for the project.