USF Polytechnic 555 Building, Baker Concrete Construction, Ft. Lauderdale Office
2016
Some call this building a modern architectural marvel. ENR Magazine awarded it Global Project of the Year for 2015. The innovative design in architectural concrete, by Santiago Calatrava and Festina Lente, includes an elliptical-shaped structure highlighted with exposed concrete raker portals. Due to the challenges of the elliptical shape, the entrance ends were initially left off to allow for construction access to the building's main area.
The first architectural concrete constructed were the retaining walls, with integral concrete seating caps. These walls defined the building's perimeter from the reflection ponds. The architectural site seat walls not only separate the building from the adjacent reflection ponds, but also separate the reflection ponds across the entire site where together they total a mile in length.
The main building's architectural concrete began with 142 column portals spaced at eight feet on center in a curving layout, framing the endless hallway and supporting the second story of the building’s perimeter. The shape of these portals required triangular bracing between two columns, using self-consolidating concrete to monolithically pour. After column construction, the second-level elevated beams and slabs were completed and followed by the polished concrete ground floor slabs.
The two main entrances began with perimeter architectural concrete columns connecting to each of the 16 unique raker portals. These portals support the roof and tie into an oval concrete skylight that illuminates the grand entry polished concrete stairs. Outside of the architectural concrete challenges, the owner required local vendors to be used. With the high standards required for this building, the GC paired the smaller local vendors with larger vendors to monitor the work and ensure a quality product.