Update on the Wilshire Grand Tower in L.A.

In order to open on schedule in early 2017, the new Wilshire Grand tower in downtown Los Angeles has been on an accelerated timetable from the start, which also includes the concrete services that are The Conco Companies’ responsibility.  After successfully breaking the world record for the largest continuous mat pour this past February, Conco is working to provide the rest of the concrete work on the new skyscraper.   

The ambitious project calls for a poured-in-place core wall going up the building that is surrounded by slab on metal deck.  The core of the tower will be 130 ft. X 35 ft. with some floors having walls up to 4 ft. thick.  Conco is on a 4-day core wall cycle, which means that every 4 days; concrete for a new floor is poured. 

The Wilshire Grand was designed by AC Martin Architects and the contractor on the project is the Turner Construction Co., one of the largest general contractors in the U.S.  The 1,100 ft. tall skyscraper will become the tallest building in the West upon completion, and as a result, is a complicated engineering project.  The tower had to be designed to sway during powerful Santa Ana winds, and also absorb ground movement from the strongest earthquakes. 

Furthermore the project is designed with green technology inside the building as well as the exterior.  It started with the “green deconstructing” of the old Wilshire Grand Hotel on the site in the fall of 2012.  Rather than imploding or demolishing it, the process enabled much of the old building materials to be recycled.  The combined steel and concrete that was recycled brought close to $4 million in revenue that was put back into the project. 

Highly energy efficient climate systems and innovative lighting will be used throughout the building.  With the addition of the green building techniques and material, the Wilshire Grand is on track to receive LEED Silver certification.   

Sources:

latimes.com/local/la-me-wilshire-grand-foundation-20140426-dto-htmlstory.html   

We have built our reputation in the Los Angeles area with superior concrete formwork, reinforcing, place and finish, shotcrete and other ancillary services that benefit from our vast experience.  We have been offering premium concrete services throughout the Western U.S. since 1959, and have four regional offices serving California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Colorado.

Cal Poly’s Student Housing Achieved LEED Gold Certification

Today many universities require new student housing that is being built to be “green” and utilize sustainable practices that save both energy and water consumption.  Conco was part of the team that constructed the award winning 2,670-bed Poly Canyon Village at Cal Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. 

The architecture firm, Niles Bolton & Associates designed the Poly Canyon Village, which became the one of the largest student housing projects in the country to achieve LEED Gold certification.  The finished construction even performed 50% better on the base building standard of ASHRAE (International technical society organized to advance the arts and sciences of heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration).  The contractor on the project was the Clark Construction Group, LLC.  The engineer was Nabih Youssef Associates.  Conco provided the expert concrete services. 

Bob Kitamura, Executive Director/University Architect (retired), Cal Poly said of the project, "Poly Canyon Village has been a great example of what can be done to further the green initiative in a living-learning environment. Both the builder, Clark Construction and the architect, Niles Bolton Associates, did a fantastic job for us in bringing this dream to a successful reality."

The Poly Canyon Village was built on a 30 acre agricultural site and consists of nine residential buildings that form a community that is somewhat removed from the rest of the campus.  The project also included on-site retail stores, ATMs, a swimming pool, mail center, study rooms, and administrative student support services.  Two parking structures provide 1,926 parking spaces. 

According to the document for the ENERGY EFFICIENCY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM BEST PRACTICE AWARDS, the project’s “use of materials with a high amount of pre- and post-consumer recycled content, such as doors, gypsum wall board, steel decking, and composite wood cabinetry, reduced the impacts of processing new materials.”  Additionally the  “regional materials and resources, such as local concrete, steel, and metal stud trusses resulted in lower carbon emissions due to the reduction in transportation needs.”   Overall more than 12,000 tons or 90% of construction waste material was reused or recycled.  

Discover the experience of working with one of the top professional commercial concrete contractors in the San Jose area.  Conco has been in business since 1959 delivering first-rate concrete services and has all the experience and expertise to handle even the most challenging projects.

Trucking and the Construction Industry

Conco owns and operates the Reliable Trucking Company to offer customers safe, dependable construction vehicles for hauling building materials.  Our modern fleet consists of flat beds, bottom dumps, ten wheelers, semi-end dumps, transfers and pneumatic tankers.