At this past Precast Show 2013 in Indianapolis, the inaugural Sustainability Awards were given out during the Salute to Excellence ceremony. There were four winners in four categories: Associate Product, Associate Plant, Producer Project, Producer Plant. There were 13 great entries submitted. The Sustainability Committee wants to recognize all entries by profiling each one in this blog. The first entry to be profiled comes from StructureCast out of Bakersfield, California with their entry in the Producer Project category – Pomona College South Campus.
We hear of sustainable office buildings, sustainable schools, but not usually sustainable parking garages. Pomona College, located in Claremont, Calif., wanted to free up space for further campus expansion by using old lots for new building sites. Two architectural firms partnered to design a two-story, 318,000-sq-ft parking garage with 608 spots that opened in July 2012. However, this is more than just a parking garage. This is an example of a growing trend to integrate parking facilities with their environments.
Not only was the southeast corner of the garage bermed so that it fuses into the campus, the architects also placed a soccer field on the roof. StructureCast supplied 165 architectural precast panels to this LEED Platinum project. Structurecast worked with designers at the beginning to come up with textures and colors that would best blend in with the area’s natural environment and terrain. The panel finishes were medium acid etched exposure and used a specially selected natural stone and a tan color pigment.
In addition to the panels, StructureCast manufactured unique roof-level spandrels with integrated benches that allow spectator seating for the rooftop field. These structures were able to contribute to LEED credits due to the recycled content of the reinforcement, as well as the relatively short distance between extraction of raw materials to the plant, and the distance from the plant to the jobsite.
By undertaking this project, Pomona College ended up with not only a durable and aesthetically pleasing garage, but one that matches up with the ongoing campus initiative to go green and to become a more pedestrian-friendly campus.
The Sustainability Committee wishes to congratulate StructureCast on a great project and their 2012 Sustainability Award.
Please click on this link for further information on the project:
http://www.pomona.edu/news/2011/07/06-parking-structure.aspx
Click on this link to go to StructureCast Web site
Click on this link to go to NPCA’s Sustainability Home Page for more information on how you can incorporate sustainable practices at your facility.
https://precast.org/precast-possibilities/sustainability/
Direct any questions to Claude Goguen at [email protected] or (317) 571-9500.
Claude Goguen, P.E., LEED AP, is NPCA’s director of Technical Services and Sustainability
this is a really inspiring approach and innovative thinking ” thinking out of box”
very much impressive.
really appriciate to get more similar materials.