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Kerkstra Precast wins the PCI design Award our "All Precast Concrete Solution" Read Featured Article Kerkstra Precast, Inc. has been recognized in the 53rd Annual PCI Design Awards Competition which showcases design excellence and construction quality using precast concrete.  Kerkstra Precast’s project, Gordon Food Service Home Office, has earned ‘All Precast Concrete Solution’ in this year’s competition. The project team includes Owner – Gordon Food Service, Architect and Engineer– Integrated Architecture, Structural Engineer – JDH Engineering, Civil Engineer – Exxel Engineering, Precast Specialty Engineer – Ericksen Roed, Precast – Kerkstra Precast and Gate Precast, and Contractor – Dan Vos Construction Co.
The new facility consists of three main areas that include test kitchens, meeting spaces, and offices that are all linked by a light-filled connector zone; this zone features a curved-glass curtain wall to transition between the spaces. The building structure, floors, and exterior walls are all made of precast concrete. Early on, designers decided to use a raised floor hollow-core precast concrete system, which added several performance and economic benefits to the project. “The precast concrete floor system was a perfect fit for this approach as it proved to be the lowest first-cost solution with the fastest construction time,” says Scott Vyn of Integrated Design. In addition to acting as the structural system for the floor, the underside of the precast concrete panels provided a paintable finished ceiling. That meant the need for a typical layer of cast-in-place concrete to create the finished floor level was eliminated as the raised platform sits directly on the panels. Vyn’s team estimates that this decision alone saved roughly $1 million and weeks of construction. Using precast concrete for the new headquarters also provided aesthetic versatility for both the exterior and interior of the building, he says. The exterior’s architectural precast concrete cladding, combined with the glass and metal curtain wall, helped provide the rich, modern and timeless appearance. In addition, the use of long clear spans helped open up the office area; as a result, it provided the owner with virtually limitless options for office configuration, Vyn says. “The great thing about this project, in addition to the staff at GFS, is the timeless longevity that I am confident this building will enjoy.” Comments are closed.
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