Is It Live Or Is It Memorex?

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Kraemer Design Group

Exterior elements were reviewed and approved by the City of Detr… Read More Exterior elements were reviewed and approved by the City of Detroit’s Historic District Commission. Black brick was cast directly into the panels for the lower two floors; a custom pigment mix and acid finish was used to make the lighter precast panels look like limestone.

Kraemer Design Group

Thermomass panels were detailed to be indistinguishable from the… Read More Thermomass panels were detailed to be indistinguishable from the standard self-supporting precast exterior wall.

Jeff Garland

Only 10% of 28 Grand in downtown Detroit is cast-in-place concre… Read More Only 10% of 28 Grand in downtown Detroit is cast-in-place concrete; the rest is made of traditional or insulated precast panels.

Kraemer Design Group

Named for its location on Michigan’s well-known Grand River Av… Read More Named for its location on Michigan’s well-known Grand River Avenue, the building takes up 100% of a corner lot. Using precast instead of cast-in-place concrete minimized traffic and construction site congestion

Jeff Garland

Panels were off-loaded directly from the truck and hoisted into … Read More Panels were off-loaded directly from the truck and hoisted into place on the building. Painted concrete walls and ceilings eliminated the need for drywall and expensive interior finishes.

In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched a program designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging development and use of energy-efficient products. Most people think the ENERGY STAR label applies only to products, but structures are also eligible. An apartment or condo building that’s 15% more efficient than code requirements, for example, qualifies for the rating.

Last year, a 13-story residential building in downtown Detroit earned Michigan’s first ENERGY STAR rating. Only 10% of the project – the foundation and a structural podium that runs from the first to second floors – is cast-in-place. Kraemer Design Group specified precast concrete panels for the rest of the building, interior as well as exterior, because they’d help the project meet ENERGY STAR requirements.

There were other compelling reasons for precast as well.

The building, called 28 Grand for its location on Grand River Avenue in downtown Detroit, isn’t a typical apartment building. The 13-story building contains 218 micro-units, so-called because they’re an average of 250 square feet. Precast’s sound-dampening properties and extremely high fire-safety rating are a bonus for multifamily buildings. Painted concrete walls and ceilings eliminated the need for additional investment in drywall or other interior finishes.

The building’s footprint consumes an entire 8,957-square-foot corner lot, so equipment and materials staging space was virtually nonexistent. The project was on a tight deadline as well. Using precast elements overcame both challenges. Panels were fabricated offsite and shipped per an aggressive schedule that was developed and closely coordinated with the factory. Upon arrival at the jobsite, they were off-loaded directly from the truck and hoisted into place, minimizing the potential for damage.

Precast also satisfied various aesthetic requirements.

To fit in with the neighborhood, the city’s Historic District Commission required punched windows and a masonry façade. The goal of replicating the look of limestone, a commonly used exterior cladding material on many historic Detroit buildings, was achieved via a custom pigment mix and acid finish. Black bricks were cast directly into the panels for the lower two floors to satisfy the design aesthetic while maintaining the quick construction cadence.

The exterior design also reduces the opportunity for water to penetrate the wall assembly, preventing future water damage. The exterior skin is self-supporting, requiring a low number of tiebacks to the main structure; and a gap between the exterior wall and floor slab edge allows for the running of continuous insulation. Thermomass insulated precast sandwich panels were used at strategic locations to minimize thermal bridging. Introduced 30 years ago by Australian company Composite Global Solutions (CGS), the panels incorporate the structure, insulation, vapor barrier, and exterior façade for a seamless installation process. They were shipped in and assembled just like the typical precast panels, only they came from the factory with a layer of insolation between two layers of precast.

With fully furnished studio apartments, extensive amenities, and easy access to downtown Detroit destinations, 28 Grand is the next big thing in city living.

• Victoria & Albert Museum; Dundee, Scotland

  Linear concrete cladding mimics color and texture of Scotland's craggy cliffs.

  

• Faena Forum, Miami Beach

  Unique underwater construction method used to complete $1.2 billion project.

  

• Los Angeles Stadium, Inglewood, Calif.

  Lightweight aggregate is strong enough to hold together massive football stadium.

  

• Wain Road, Canada

  The contractor used Concrete Insulated Panels (CIP) to build this home north of the border.

  

• The Otto M. Budig Theater, Cincinnati

  Imperial wall panels, with a pour rating of 2,025 psf allowed for 16-foot pours to be done quickly and efficiently.

  

• 150 North Riverside, Chicago

  This LEED skyscraper overlooks the Chicago River.

  

• A-4 Motorway Expansion, Portugal

  Measuring 63 feet in width, this cut-and-cover tunnel will become the widest on the entire Iberian Peninsula.

  

• The Clement Canopy, Singapore

  This is the first structure on the island using an all-concrete version of the PPVC system.

  

• Cal State San Marcos Sports Center

  Thirty-three tilt-up panels were used to build this sports center in California.