Parking 2500 (Medium Structure) spaces Up to 2500 spaces
Description
Built to accommodate 2,500 cars at the main campus, The University of Houston Parking Garage #6, is centrally located at the main entry to the campus. It functions as the new gateway into campus. Designed by EYP Architecture and Engineering, Walter P Moore and Martinez Moore from EYP Architecture and Engineering served as the structural engineers. Also, Vaughn Construction served as the construction manager-at-risk.
The four-bay wide, six level structure with 633,000 sq. ft. of suspended double tees and 1,688 pieces of precast/prestressed concrete was delivered. The structure erected 21 days ahead of schedule and within budget by Legacy Precast LLC from Brookshire, Texas.
From design development in 2019, Legacy Precast was involved early on with Vaughn Construction to design, manufacture, and install the all-precast concrete building system. The contract was inked in 2019, with installation complete in the spring of 2020 and the campus occupied in the fall of 2020. Clifford Hew and Brad Aldridge with Unintech Consulting Engineers, a PCMA Associate Member was the precast specialty engineer for the project. SnS Erectors used a single crawler crane for the first 500 pieces, then a second crawler was added to complete the installation of the precast concrete components in less than 4 months.
Key gym design features
Key design features included architectural precast concrete finishes, a monumental stair with spine wall and cantilevered landings, canopy covered parking on the top level for tail gating. In addition, typical precast products, and systems, such as field-topped double tees providing for a uniform and consistent field installed concrete topping by the contractor. This eliminated over 110,000 linear feet of caulking and maintenance of double tee joints for the owner. The field-topped double tee system improved the user experience for a smooth ride by eliminating the caulk joint bumps every twelve feet.
Innovations or accomplishments using precast concrete
By utilizing precast concrete and teaming with Legacy Precast early in the process, the contractor, architect and EOR were able to control costs by simplifying the overall structure and meeting the aggressive schedule for installation. From breaking ground in the fall of 2019, to parking cars in July of 2020, just 8 months after the first piece of precast was set.
- Precast Manufacturer – Legacy Precast LLC – Brookshire, TX
- General Contractor – Vaughn Construction – Houston, TX
- Precast Concrete Engineer – Unintech Consulting Engineers, Inc. – San Antonio, TX
- Architect – EYP – Houston, TX
- Engineer of Record – Walter P Moore – Houston, TX
