Non-Profit HQ Building B – Austin, Texas

Best Commercial - Multi-use

Non-Profit HQ Building B – Austin, Texas

The Non-Profit HQ Building B, located in Austin, Texas, is a new stand-alone office building that encompasses three levels of office space and two below grade parking levels. This new non-profit headquarters expansion connects to the original building via a pedestrian bridge. Though the two buildings are connected physically, in order to connect them visually, precast concrete was selected to clad the new building in an effort to match the cladding of the original construction.

 

The architectural precast concrete façade features approximately 7,700 square feet of architectural cladding panels wrapped around this structure that was uniquely engineered as a cast-in-place structure up to level 2, with a steel structure above at level 3 and the roof. The architectural precast elements were only able to have lateral connections to the steel structure, resulting in most of the weight of these cladding panels, bearing on the level 2 cast-in-place structure. This resulted in larger and heavier precast concrete panels than typically used for architectural precast. These architectural elements are multi-story panels with punched openings for windows. The precast concrete manufacturer, Coreslab Structures (Texas), utilized prestressing to reduce reinforcing requirements while still limiting stresses during stripping, handling, and erection.

 

A great design challenge was to install several panels under cantilevered balcony decks. The limited crane access on this operating business campus meant reaching over the building from the street side to install several panels on the interior driveway side of the building.

 

In addition to the obstacles of installing the precast concrete panels, creating a matching façade to the existing building took special attention to detail. The architectural face mix was designed with two sandblast depths. This required the selection of specific aggregate to maintain consistency with aggregate used in the original building construction. Recesses and reveals are also used to separate different finishes and fully tie the architecture back to the first office building.

 

Even with challenging circumstances, the architectural panels were able to be installed on account of the strength of precast concrete and the ability to prestress. The use of precast concrete was essential in tying the architecture of this office headquarters together as one striking, cohesive campus.

• Precast Manufacturer: Coreslab Structures (Texas) Inc. – Cedar Park, Texas
• Architect of Record: STG Design – Austin, Texas
• Engineer of Record: Architectural Engineers Collaborative – Austin, Texas
• General Contractor: White Construction Company – Austin, Texas