Precast Specialties Corp. has been New England’s supplier of precast concrete products for decades. Precast products have been the backbone of many high-profile architectural projects throughout the years. Perhaps the most notable has been the Boston City Hall, created in 1969 using mostly precast concrete panels. This project won multiple awards for Kallmann McKinnell & Wood Architects, a firm located on Newbury Street in Boston. This group was picked out of a large pool of contestants for the honor of designing the City Hall.

The firm details the imagery behind the design, and their reasoning behind using precast concrete:

Commissioned as the result of a national competition, the design of the City Hall accommodates a complex program of public access, administration and ceremony on a prominent and dramatically contoured site. The architectural language aims at an iconic building to convey the dignity and openness of contemporary government.

The formal composition is a tripartite arrangement of a base, a brick clad volume built into the hillside from which a columnar concrete structure rises to support the elevated level of the council and the Mayor and the tiered office floors in the crown of the building above.

At the interior, offices are grouped around major public spaces, the council chamber, councilors’ and Mayor’s offices around the eight story high south entry hall and indoor forum, the work spaces of the lower building around a multi-level North Concourse and the upper floors with views of the city and the sea, get additional daylight from a central courtyard.

The structural fabric of precast and cast-in-place concrete, designed in collaboration with the engineer LeMessurier, provides the syntax of the formal language. The imagery of the building is complex in its innovative modernism and allusion to historic prototypes, temples, palazzi and city ramparts. Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles Architects.

See more pictures and information about this and other Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles projects here.

Precast Specialties Corp. specializes in architectural concrete panels, concrete roadway products and exceptional custom precast products including seawall panels, boat ramps and large support piers. We can produce virtually any color, finish or texture to meet your project needs. Our diverse portfolio includes industrial, medical and government projects, among others. See why contractors and businesses rave about our work, and contact us for your next project at:

Precast Specialties Corp.
999 Adams Street
P.O. Box 86
Abington, MA 02351

Tel: 781-878-7220
Fax: 781-878-7464
info@precastspecialtiescorp.com

Photo via Anmahian Winton Architects – American Indian Learning Resource Center (AILRC) will be one of the country’s leading American Indian centers at the University of Minnesota – Duluth

At Cambridge-based Anmahian Winton Architects, “architecture is an expression of culture, forged in relation to a complex set of circumstances that are at once practical and intangible…a synthesis of place, program, and community that enhances the rituals of everyday life and fosters a sense of well-being. It inspires, invigorates, and educates.” (AW Philosophy)

In addition to the belief that architecture elevates and enhances our daily lives, Anmahian Winton also maintains an exceptionally high standard for environmental stewardship with nearly all of the institutional and commercial projects being designed to achieve a LEED Gold certification, or better. As the firm explains, “Regardless of a project’s LEED goals, we are committed to designing buildings that carefully consider project impact on micro and macro ecosystems, that provide tangible operating benefits for our clients, and that create environmental benefits for our communities.” (AW Sustainable Design)

Precast Specialties Corp. would like to recognize this impressive firm whose vision combined with a focus on sustainability has led to award-winning, visually stunning projects including the Honor Award for Interior Architecture, 2012 from the American Institute of Architects and the American Architecture Award, 2011 from The Chicago Athenaeum for the Joukowsky Institute at Brown University (shown below).

Photo via Anmahian Winton Architects – Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World at Brown University

Every year, the National Precast Concrete Association selects NPCA members who have excelled in various areas of the precast concrete industry. The Salute to Excellence Awards recognize top companies who creatively use precast, demonstrate ingenuity with precast, and consistently show a focus on safety in their precast production. For 2010, Precast Specialties Corp. was given the honor of NPCA’s Excellence in Safety Award – Platinum Level.

To achieve this top level of the Safety Awards, Precast maintained a record of zero OSHA reportable/recordable injuries and illnesses for the year. Competing against the largest number of submissions for the award in the history of the program, Precast was chosen as the best! We’re proud to add this achievement to our impeccable record and pledge to continue forward with outstanding precast concrete work.