The One World Center Observatory Officially Opens

Even though the One World Trade Center has been opened for business since November, 2014, the observatory officially opened to the public in May, 2015.  Located on the 100^th, 101^st, and 102^nd floors of the tallest building in New York City as well as the U.S., visitors can experience spectacular views of close to 50 miles away.  On clear days, you will be able to see the Statue of Liberty and the Atlantic Ocean just beyond it. 

To access the top floors of the 1,776 ft., 104-story skyscraper, visitors ride on the world’s fastest elevators called “skypods”, which ascend to the 101^st floor in just 60 seconds.  In each skypod, riders are surrounded by floor-to-ceiling LED technology that virtually recreates the development of New York City’s skyline from the 1600s to the present day.

David Checketts, the CEO of Legends which is the company that operates One World Observatory, told "CBS This Morning” that, "You're high enough up that you can start to see the curvature of the earth."  On the 101^st floor, there is a dining area that has a view of the Hudson River.  Another part of the main observatory is the Sky Portal where guests are invited to step onto a 14-foot wide circular disc to experience an unforgettable view of real-time high-definition footage of the streets below.

On another project across the country, The Conco Companies are providing extensive concrete services for the Salesforce Tower currently under construction in downtown San Francisco.  While there will not be an observation deck, at 1070 feet and 61-stories tall, the Tower will offer panoramic views throughout the building with its open floor plan and 13 ft. high floors and 10 ft. high windows.  The building is scheduled to open late in 2017 or 2018. 

The Conco Companies’ mission is to be the best supplier of concrete services in the Western United States and to bring expertise and unsurpassed 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.

Sources: cbsnews.com/pictures/breathtaking-views-from-one-world-observatory/4/

oneworldobservatory.com/experience/

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

In The Conco Companies on-going series of blogs on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it brings us to one of most influential architectural structures throughout the course of history.  The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was constructed outside the city of Halicarnassus, which is now Bodrum, Turkey. When Mausolus, the ruler of a kingdom in the southwest region of Asia Minor, died in 353 BC; his wife Artemisia hired the most renowned architects and artist of the time to build the tomb for her husband.  The magnificent tomb became famous worldwide and is the origin of the word “mausoleum.”   

The shape of the Mausoleum was designed by two famous Greek architects, Pytheos and Satyros.  Other sculptures and artists such as Timotheus, Leochares and Scopas of Paros who was credited with rebuilding the Temple of Artemis worked on the tomb.  The historian Liny Bryaxis has written that the artists each decorated one side of the tomb, and gave it influences from Egyptian, Greek and Lycian cultures.     

Most of the tomb was constructed from marble and was believed to be around 140 feet tall.  It was rectangular and surrounded by a colonnade of thirty-six columns.  The topmost portion of the tomb was pyramid shaped and had four horse chariots in marble on top of it.  Throughout the structure were free standing figures on 5 or 6 different levels.  The tomb was destroyed in an earthquake in the 13th century.

Today many of our buildings have been influenced by the architectural design of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.  Wikipedia cites the following structures incorporate some elements of the tomb’s design: “the Civil Courts Building in St. Louis, MO, the National Newark Building in Newark, N.J., Grant's Tomb in New York City, Los Angeles City Hall, the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, the spire of St. George's Church of Bloomsbury in London, the Indiana War Memorial (and in turn Chase Tower) in Indianapolis, the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction's headquarters, the House of the Temple in Washington D.C., and the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial in Pittsburgh, PA.” 

   

Conco is a leading supplier of concrete services for the Western United States. We have built our reputation by offering superior concrete formwork, reinforcing, place and finish, shotcrete and other ancillary services that benefit from our vast experience.  The Conco Companies have four regional offices to serve California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Colorado. 

Sources:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_at_Halicarnassus, unmuseum.org/maus.htm 

The Temple of Artemis

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Greek Temple of Artemis (Artemision) was built near the ancient city of Ephesus in today’s Turkey.  The temple was dedicated to the Ephesus’ goddess of fertility and was the largest Greek temple ever built as well as the first to be constructed almost entirely of marble.  It was built on marshy land in an effort to prevent damage from earthquakes and the foundation was laid over a bed of “packed charcoal and sheepskins.”

The Temple was rebuilt three times with the second and third structures being the most elaborate.  The second Temple was designed by the Cretan architect Chersiphron and was a mixture of Classic Greek and Near-Eastern design.  Construction began around 550 BC and it took about 10 years to build.  The Temple measured 377 feet by 180 feet and had a total of 127 Ionic columns that stood sixty-feet high.  Of these, thirty-six were intricately carved with reliefs.  After it was deliberately destroyed by fire and looting, a third structure was built.  This one was the largest at 450 feet long x 225 feet wide.      

The ancient Greek poet, Antipater of Sidon wrote of the Temple of Artemis, “I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the Colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, 'Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand.” 

At The Conco Companies, we have been busy working on modern day wonders ourselves such as setting the world record for the largest continuous mat pour for the new Wilshire Grand Center in L.A.  The Center will be the tallest building in the U.S. west of the Mississippi.  To reach the upper levels of the tower, we are using a new state-of-the art electric pump to pump concrete 400 ft. horizontally and then 1,000 ft. vertically.

The Conco Companies are a leading supplier of commercial concrete services for the Western United States.  Our extensive services include commercial, educational, parking and other construction development as well as public works projects.  We have regional offices to serve California, Oregon, Colorado, Washington, and Nevada. 

Majority of Skyscrapers Built in Asia or the Middle East

Twenty-five years ago North America was home to 80 percent of the tallest skyscrapers in the world.  Now it stands at just 20 percent.  Statistics from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) reports that of the 20 tallest skyscrapers constructed in 2014 across the globe, only 4 of them were built in the U.S.  The majority are located in Asia or the Middle East. 

Antony Wood, executive director of the CTBUH said, "If you predicted the world's tallest building 30 years ago you'd have said three things with certainty: You'd have said number one, it'll be in North America; number two, it will be an office building; and number three, it'll be built out of steel. Now the exact opposite is true. It'll probably be in Asia or the Middle East. It'll be residential or mixed-use, and it'll probably be concrete construction."  

Winners of the CTBUH’s 2014 Awards were One Central Park in Sydney Australia for the “Best Tall Building Worldwide.”  The “Best Tall Building - Americas” award went to the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building in Portland, USA.  The award for the “Best Tall Building in Europe” went to the De Rotterdam in Rotterdam, Netherlands.  For the “Best Tall Building - Middle East & Africa” the award went to the Cayan Tower in Dubai, UAE.  Visit their website for information on the criteria used and to see other award winners. 

TheConco Companies are providing our vast expertise to structural concrete work for the new Wilshire Grand Center, a mixed-use skyscraper currently under construction in Downtown Los Angeles.  The Grand will be the tallest building west of the Mississippi once it opens in 2017.  The mixed-use building will have 900 luxury hotel rooms, 18 floors of office space totaling 365,000 RSF, and 45,100 square feet of restaurants and retail shops.  

When your project demands exceptional services and the best value, Conco can deliver. We partner with clients on every project from the pre-construction stage right through to final completion offering cost-effective solutions to meet the ever-changing demands of the industry. We have four regional offices serving California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada.

Source:cbsnews.com/news/wilshire-grand-is-las-newest-skyscraper/, ctbuh.org/TallBuildings/FeaturedTallBuildings/tabid/1736/language/en-US/Default.aspx#buildings-2014

Salesforce Tower is Pre-Certified for LEED CS Platinum

Another one of The Conco Companies’ projects is the Salesforce Tower currently under construction in downtown San Francisco.  Cesar Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the lead architect on the project noted that, “The tower will be an elegant and exciting line on the skyline of a great city.”  For our part, we are providing extensive concrete services for the Tower, which, after the Wilshire Grand Center in L.A., will be the second tallest building west of the Mississippi when it opens in 2017. 

The Tower has already been given the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest rating, the LEED Core and Shell Pre-Certified Platinum, and meets or exceeds the levels of sustainability set by the new, more stringent building codes.  Features of the 61-story Tower include an innovative air system that brings outside air to every floor to provide occupants with outdoor-fresh air.  In addition special glass and sunshades will allow natural light in but control the amount of solar heat. 

Pedestrian friendly, the Tower is within walking distance to restaurants and several forms of public transportation.  Located just blocks from a BART Station and the freeway, it is adjacent to the new San Francisco Transbay Transit Center that is scheduled to be completed in 2017.  The Transit Center will connect 11 transit systems to eight counties throughout the Bay Area as well as connect the planned high speed rail system from San Francisco to Los Angeles. 

As part of the Transbay Transit Center Project, the Transbay neighborhood will have more than 6 million square feet of office space; over 4,000 units of new housing; and almost 1,000 new hotel rooms in addition to the Salesforce Tower.  Another interesting aspect of the project is a proposed 5.4 acre public rooftop park that sits atop the Transit Center. The park will feature amenities such as an amphitheater, water features, a restaurant, gardens and more.

At The Conco Companies, we are one of the leading concrete contractors in the Western U.S. and offer a wide range of quality services and products.  Our experience includes providing services for commercial, educational, parking and other construction development as well as public works projects.  We serve California, Washington State, Oregon, Colorado and Nevada.