Another Remarkable Building Project Opens in Washington D.C.

Along with the several iconic construction projects that The Conco Companies have been involved with in California during the last couple of years, the rest of the country has also seen some pretty incredible projects completed.  One example is the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington D.C. that just had its opening dedication ceremony on September 24^th.   

The design for the building was awarded to lead designer David Adjaye and lead architect Philip Freelon and their architectural firm of Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup.  The firm was selected after winning an international competition that took place in April 2009 with a design that “synthesized a variety of distinctive elements from Africa and the Americas into the building’s design and structure.”   Construction on the five-acre site began in February of 2012.

The Clark Construction Group, Smoot Construction, and H.J. Russell & Company were joint general contractors on the project.  The first African American-owned architectural firm in the U.S., McKissack & McKissack, worked on behalf of the Smithsonian and provided the project with management services. 

The 350,000 square feet museum has a total of ten floors with five above ground and five below and is the deepest building on the National Mall.  Site work included digging an 80-foot deep foundation for the building.  The first concrete was ready to be poured in November of 2012, and during work on the lower levels, a crane was used to install a segregated railroad passenger car as well as a prison tower.  Both pieces would have been too large to bring as more of the building was completed. 

The NMAAHC was topped out in October 2014 and the steel superstructure and above-ground concrete was completed in January 2015.  An architectural highlight of the museum includes 3,600 bronze-colored panels that wrap around the entire building in homage to the lattice ironwork crafted by many enslaved African Americans throughout the South.   

  

Conco’s mission is to be the best supplier of concrete services in the Western United States and to bring expertise, experience and quality to each project.  We continue to upgrade and expand facilities to better serve the growing market for public works projects, commercial, parking structures, educational, and other construction development. We serve California, Washington State, Oregon, Colorado and Nevada.

Sources: nmaahc.si.edu/explore/building

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Museum_of_African_American_History_and_Culture

An Architectural Feat in Abu Dhabi to Finally Open

With an original opening date of 2012, later moved up to 2015 (and missed), we are now being told that as August 2016, the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum is now 95% complete.  Located on the Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE it has been announced that the museum will be finished in late December or early 2017 with an opening date sometime in 2017. 

 

In terms of ambitious architectural design there is good reason why the Louvre Abu Dhabi has taken so long to complete.  Designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel, recipient of the highest architectural honor, the Pritzker Prize, the 260,000 sq. ft. structure is expected to have a final cost between €83 million and €108 million (U.S. $120 million).  

To complete Nouvel’s “Rain of Light” vision, the dome’s approximately 1,855-foot circumference is constructed as a giant jigsaw puzzle that took over 30 million man hours and 424 days to complete.  And that does not count the underside of the dome’s cladding.  One of the 7,850 stars that form the eight layers of the Rain of Light installation is over 160 square feet and weighs almost 915 pounds. 

The walls of the structure required 4,680 panels of ultra-high performance, fiber-reinforced concrete that used a matrix of glass fibers instead of steel to increase its compressive and tensile strength.  Since the museum will be constantly exposed to sea water as it sits right on the edge of the Arabian Gulf, this type of concrete offered minimal shrinkage and impermeability.  Another feature includes the roof that “sits on top of four towers that have been carefully concealed inside the museum buildings, creating the illusion that the whole 7,000-tonne structure is hovering in mid-air.”

The museum, which is accessed by boat, will eventually be joined by two more museums, the Zayed National Museum and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, as part of the new Saadiyat Island Cultural District.  Along with the Louvre’s 23 permanent galleries, it also has space for temporary exhibits as well as a research center.  In addition to the cost of the museum, the country of Abu Dhabi also paid $525 million to be a part of the Louvre name along with an additional $747 million to receive art loans, special exhibitions and management advice.  

 

The Conco Companies are one of the foremost suppliers of concrete services for the Western U.S. We got our start in 1959 in the Bay Area by offering clients the best value on a broad range of concrete services and products.  Since that time, we have taken a leading role as top concrete contractors in the region. We have four regional offices serving California, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado and Washington.

Sources: archdaily.com/793182/in-progress-louvre-abu-dhabi-jean-nouvel

thenational.ae/uae/tourism/louvre-abu-dhabi

Pencil-slim Skyscrapers - A New Trend in Congested Urban Locations

During 2015, the world was treated to an array of new construction that continues to push the envelope in terms of both size and architectural design. One of those buildings is 432 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan that overlooks Central Park.  The new tower represents a “new generation of supertall, superslim skyscrapers,” as the pencil-thin design efficiently maximizes the confined Manhattan site.   

Featuring 104 condominium apartments, the building topped out at 1,396 ft. (426 m), to make it the third tallest building in the United States, and the tallest residential building in the world.  In New York City, it is right behind the One World Trade Center, which is the tallest building in both New York City and the country.  The Empire State Building is now the third tallest in the city.

The tower’s owner is 56th and Park (NY) and the developer was the CIM Group / Macklowe Properties.  The architects were Rafael Viñoly Architects and SLCE Architects, LLP.  The construction of the tower includes a 30-ft. square reinforced concrete core with 30-in. thick walls that house the elevator shafts and building mechanical services.  Wikipedia reports that, “the facade, with the formed surface left as the final finish without any added facia, was poured in place from concrete using 14,000 psi white Portland cement, and cast around preassembled full-floor cages of #20 rebars with articulated steel formwork.”

The 85-story building has a floor-to-floor height of 15 ft. 6 in.  While most of the floors consist of 10-in. thick slabs, the upper stories have slabs of up to 18-in. thick to provide more mass and help to reduce swaying.  In addition to improve stability of a building with a 1:15 slenderness ratio, “A regular grid of exposed concrete that creates an open basket from which seven “independent buildings” are separated by spaces where the building’s core is exposed to the outdoor elements.”  

The Conco Companies are a leading supplier of concrete services for the Western U.S.  We got our start in the Bay Area in 1959 by offering clients the best value on a wide range of concrete services and products.  Since that time, we have taken a leading role as one of the top concrete contractors in the region. We have four regional offices serving California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon and Colorado.

Sources:skyscrapercenter.com/building/432-park-avenue/13227 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/432_Park_Avenue

Our New Range of Services Offer our Clients Cost-effective Solutions

If you have not had the chance to take a look at The Conco Companies’ website in a while, you may be unaware that we now offer an expanded range of services designed to provide clients with cost-effective solutions.  In fact, when you work with Conco, you are working with a company structured to expertly meet all the concrete needs of your next project.   

Our extensive background in a broad range of commercial concrete projects has given us the expertise to evolve into a full service provider to the construction industry.  Conco now proudly offers professional Concrete Design/Build, general contracting and turnkey solutions along with all of our other excellent concrete services.

When you take advantage of our concrete Design/Build services, we will construct a concrete structure for you without the additional cost of hiring an architect or other contractors. Also your project will be guaranteed the services of Conco’s high-quality formwork, rebar fabrication and installation, place and finish, shotcrete, and pumping.

Our team recognizes that tight construction schedules demand coordination between building trades in order for a project to be successful.  By hiring Conco as your general contractor, it means we can coordinate our crews to provide joint management of rebar and concrete services with a focus on the best end result.

This holistic approach mitigates the problem of work delays and work stoppages in cases where subcontractors may have committed crews and resources to their other projects.  Just a single day delay can cause interruptions down the road if subcontractors have conflicting work schedules.  With Conco in charge, we are immediately aware of the problem and have the flexibility to accommodate customers by shifting crews around to keep projects on schedule.  Remember that concrete cannot be poured until the rebar is finished and inspected.  Crucial delays between rebar and concrete are better controlled when one company is in charge of both of the jobs. 

Conco is a leading supplier of concrete services for the Western U.S. and got our start in the Bay Area in 1959 by offering clients the best value on a wide range of concrete services and products.  Since that time, we have taken a leading role as one of the top concrete contractors in the region. Our offices serve California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Nevada.

Our Expanded Geographic Footprint Includes Reno, NV

The Conco Companies are the premier commercial concrete contractors for the Western United States and offer exceptional services to clients in the Reno, Nevada area.  We bring our vast experience to projects both big and small and offer the unique perspective of   executing innovative, cost-effective solutions.  In addition we have earned a reputation for delivering projects on time and on budget, and do so by utilizing state-of-the-art equipment and modern, technologically advanced facilities to serve our growing markets.   

For each of our projects, Conco’s team of highly skilled professionals collaborates and partners with clients starting in the pre-construction phase right through to the finished product.  Our portfolio includes many of the most notable and challenging projects constructed throughout the West over the last several decades.  Our extensive experience includes multi-residential, educational, healthcare, parking structures, and industrial construction as well as public sector work. 

Furthermore, our fleet of modern, up-to-date boom pumps and equipment allow us to provide the safest, most efficient concrete pumping for even the most challenging projects. All of our concrete pump operators are ACPA certified and adhere to the highest industry safety standards. We are proud of our pumping division’s excellent safety record and work every day to make sure we keep it.

Much of Conco’s success can be attributed to our willingness to advance and implement the latest concrete industry’s methodologies and techniques.  We also continue to invest in state-of-the-art equipment to do the job more cost-effectively as well as to purchase equipment that helps to reduce emissions at the jobsite.  In addition our entire workforce is routinely trained in the latest safety regulations and protocols.  Please visit our website for contact information, and while you are there, take a look at our featured portfolio of projects for examples of the scope of Conco’s experience. 

The Conco Companies’ mission is to be the best supplier of concrete services in the Western United States and to bring expertise, experience and quality to each project.  We continue to upgrade and expand facilities to better serve the growing market for public works projects, commercial, parking structures, educational, and other construction development. We serve California, Washington State, Oregon, Colorado and Nevada.