Our Role

We were hired to review existing concrete formwork, design any required modifications, and fabricate and deliver any new formwork components to the construction site on a rush basis.

Project Background

The project was a complex concrete placement component of a larger condominium construction project involving heavy renovations to an existing historical building + tower addition. Our scope was primarily related to construction aspects of a new atrium space including the forming of two approximately 26' long x 5' wide x 7' deep transfer beams suspended 25ft in the air. The beams each weighed 130,000lbs and were designed to transfer column loads from above to adjacent structural elements to provide an open first-floor area.

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Project Description

Our initial review of the as-constructed formwork indicated that modifications were required to ensure the forms could safely carry the imposed loading. Given the massive size of the concrete beams, partial loading during concrete placement (i.e. concrete placed only on one side of the form) was a real possibility and was found to be the governing load condition for some form elements. The partial loading case was particularly concerning because it had the possibility of leading to global stability failure.

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Tight project deadlines, as well as access restrictions, posed significant challenges for both design and fabrication. However, through a collaborative effort with HRI, we were able to put procedures in place to overcome these challenges. For example, by working closely with HRI we were able to incorporate materials into the design that were already on-site or that were otherwise readily accessible to them - eliminating unnecessary delays due to material procurement.

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Due to the tight turnaround we elected to proceed with a design/build methodology whereby the formwork design occurred near-simultaneously with fabrication. We were able to do this by ensuring that the design was adaptable should changes be required, and because we have unique capabilities acting as both the engineering designer and the steel fabricator. The end result was a turnaround time of less than one week from initial site review to site delivery of fabricated components. We are proud to say that this resulted in our client being able to maintain their construction schedule, and most importantly, that our involvement allowed this uniquely challenging concrete pour to proceed safely without incident.