Press Releases
INSULATING CONCRETE FORMS: SOLUTIONS FOR A LARGE-SCALE OCEANFRONT CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
Released: June 01, 2002
INSULATING CONCRETE FORMS: SOLUTIONS FOR A LARGE-SCALE OCEANFRONT CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
Seaside, Oregon. Located right on the Pacific coast 90 miles northwest of Portland, the very name sounds peaceful and serene.
But for planners of an 8-story, 435,000 square foot multi-family structure, the location created some design and construction challenges. The planners had to consider how to counteract the corrosive effects of salty, wind-driven rain and the fact that northwest Oregon is in seismic zone 3. By comparison, California, well known for the severity of its earthquakes, is in seismic zone 4.
According to Stephen Yu, a structural engineer with Cary Kopczynski & Co. of Bellevue, Washington, the project team had several issues to consider in selecting the type of exterior closure to use for the building. If the building had not been near the ocean, they normally would have used a light-gauge steel and dry wall system. But because they were concerned with the corrosive effects of the salty air, they didn't want to have any exposed steel and decided to search for an alternative wall system. In addition, they wanted a product that could withstand severe weather conditions and possible seismic activity. They were looking for a wall product that fit into the project goals, yet remained cost effective.
After evaluating several types of wall systems, the team settled on insulating concrete forms (ICFs) by Reward Wall Systems, even though it was a new product for them. "Basically, ICF walls are simply concrete walls. ICF construction is cost competitive because there is no need to add insulation after the walls are constructed," said Yu. "Since there is no exposed steel, it is corrosion resistant, and it meets the code criteria," he added. Reward is the only ICF company that currently holds National Evaluation Service Type I approval for non-combustible construction, which is essential for the construction of large, multi-story buildings.
Reward ICFs consist of two 48" x 16" polystyrene panels held together with plastic ties to make a hollow block. The forms are stacked up to form a wall, and steel reinforcement is placed vertically and horizontally within the forms. The forms are then filled with concrete, resulting in a steel reinforced, fully insulated concrete wall that provides a high degree of protection from high winds as well as energy efficiency and noise reduction.
The Seaside structure is the largest project ever built in North America using ICFs and is currently the largest building construction project of any kind in the state of Oregon. It is actually three independent, freestanding buildings configured in a U shape. Designed to withstand seismic activity, the building system consists of spread footing foundations, traditional cast-in-place 20" shear walls, 8" post-tension slabs and concrete columns. The shear walls are the main structural component. The concrete slabs and columns transfer the load to the shear walls, which then take the load into the foundation.
The buildings are designed for 12 inches of lateral movement each way at the roof level during a seismic event. The Reward walls are used as non-load bearing infill walls that are isolated from the concrete column and slab frame. This means that they basically "ride" on the concrete slabs during seismic movement. Since the Reward walls move laterally in both directions, they are more resistant to damage during an earthquake.
Wall construction on the project was completed right on schedule in early August. After a slight learning curve, installation of the Reward infill walls went quickly. Per floor installation time was reduced to just 12 days each for the last several 54,500 square foot floors. The entire building is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2003.
"The Reward ICFs functioned very well in this project. They're a great product, and I will definitely use them in other projects," said Yu.
Located in Omaha, Nebraska, for the past 13 years, Reward Wall Systems, Inc. was the first national manufacturer of two complete and diversified lines of insulating concrete forms used in residential and commercial structures. Reward's customers include general contractors, residential contractors, concrete contractors and construction supply distributors.