A Prairie Rose class in session

This week’s precast news comes to us from Bismarck, North Dakota. The Dickinson Public School system recently granted local company Wells Concrete a precast concrete package for a new construction project on an elementary school. There has been significant population growth in western North Dakota, forcing the Dickinson Public School system to restructure based on additions and size limitations.

The full team working on the project is Hulsing & Associates Architects, Comstock Construction and Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services (AE2S). Wells Concrete provides the team with precast wall panels (with exposed precast interiors that can be painted) in a mix of thin brick and sandblast. Electrical components are imbedded in the panels. Ground was broken on the project in May.

This is not the first time the school was expanded. Prairie Rose K-5 Elementary was built in April, 1977. Filled to capacity, a year later Prairie Rose was restructured, gaining 3949 square feet of new land to accommodate 71 more students, as well as new office areas, library sections and toilet areas.

The advantage of using precast here is in the speed and integrity of the materials. Precast can be quickly erected and placed, which also has the benefit of reducing labor costs. It’s also very sturdy and dependable for a construction material. These are important perks, as the school needs to be ready for the 2013-2014 school year.

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. All of our custom products are cast in our factory utilizing 5,000 psi, super-plasticized, air-entrained concrete. We can produce virtually any color, finish or texture to meet your project needs. Find out what our clients and contractors have to say about our work, or see for yourself by contacting 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 Credit: The Official Website for North Dakota State Government, Prairie Rose Elementary

The San Francisco Peace Pagoda

If you’ve ever lived in Japantown, went on one of the many San Francisco tours, or studied Buddhism, this picture might ring a bell. The building is called the Peace Pagoda, though it’s certainly not the only structure to bear that name. Built under Nichidatsu Fujii, a Japanese monk who founded the Ni­­­­­­­­pponzan-­Myōhōji order of Buddhism, most Peace Pagoda buildings are stupas , or structures that contain Buddhist relics (often the remains of Buddha himself). Buddhists typically use stupas as places of worship.

However, the Peace Pagodas serve a different purpose — they stand to gather people of all races and creeds with the aim of achieving world peace. The original Peace Pagodas were symbols of peace built in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the wake of the nuclear bombings. By the year 2000, eighty Pagodas had been built in cities and countries the world over, San Francisco included.This particular Peace Pagoda isn’t actually tied to the Nipponzan-Myōhōji order, however. It was designed in 1968 by the late Yoshiro Taniguchi and presented to the city as a gift from Osaka – San Francisco’s sister city. The stupa is a five-tiered structure made mainly of precast concrete. The design, despite being based on traditional Japanese structures, is surprisingly modern for its time, so it’s still an attractive architectural project in the 21^st century (and one of the more popular San Francisco attractions for photos).

Still… something about the pagoda’s design always reminds us of Italian Italian pizelle cookies. And that is by no means a bad thing (except for our waistlines).

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. All of our custom products are cast in our factory utilizing 5,000 psi, super-plasticized, air-entrained concrete. We can produce virtually any color, finish or texture to meet your project needs. Find out what our clients and contractors have to say about our work, or see for yourself by contacting 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

Precast Specialties Corp. in Abington, Massachusetts has a long history of contributing to unique and stylish architectural projects. Precast concrete has long been the backbone of impressive designs – both domestic and worldwide. Although we don’t focus on residential projects, we at Precast can still appreciate a great work of architecture. One stunning example can be found in Howth, Ireland. There, overlooking the Dublin Bay, Irish practice FKL Architects constructed a residence, using precast materials exclusively, that was designed to be an extension of the land around it. The building, which is called, appropriately enough, Precast House, is comprised of three separate areas: the swimming pool, the house and the garage.

The site is long, sloping, falling towards cliffs and the sea. Entering the site, the viewer’s eye is drawn to the horizon, the viewer is pulled towards the abstracted line. The project is defined in conceptual terms as three discrete forms – garage, house and swimming pool – each emerging from the landscape, their respective heights being determined by the use of each form. The relationship between the three elements is a casual one, slipping past each other, sliding towards the sea. The three forms are detailed in the same manner and use the same material, polished precast concrete.

At first floor level (entry level) the plan is open with the primary living spaces and entrance having an overlapping relationship. Within the field of the first floor a number of walnut clad timber elements are slipped between floor and ceiling planes, defining the flow of the space and adding richness to the interior. At ground floor level (sleeping level) the situation is more introverted.

The figure ground relationship is the reverse of the first floor, the plan is treated as a solid mass that has been carved out to make a cruciform circulation space with the bathrooms and bedrooms retained inside the remaining form.
– From Dezeen Magazine – November 16, 2009

For more about FKL  Architects and their diverse portfolio, please visit their website.

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. All of our custom products are cast in our factory utilizing 5,000 psi, super-plasticized, air-entrained concrete. We can produce virtually any color, finish or texture to meet your project needs. Find out what our clients and contractors have to say about our work, or see for yourself by contacting 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

As many know, the National September 11 Memorial opened to the public on Monday. Alongside the memorial, also located at Ground Zero, is another new American landmark, One World Trade Center. While the newest addition to the New York City skyline is still under-construction, not only is the building an architectural wonder, “a constant dance between concrete and steel,” but it is also arguably the most secure building in America.

At its base, the first three floors are made of a “super tough three-foot-thick blend of concrete.” Port Authority Executive Chris Ward explains that this “blast wall” is made from 18,000 lbs per square inch concrete. This special concrete blend will also make up the building’s core. Two-to-six-foot walls of this concrete will protect the vital elements – communications systems, ventilation systems, sprinklers, elevators, etc, making them essentially “fireproof.” Blast-resistant glass encases 20 floors for further protection.

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One World Trade Center is a staggering work of architecture and represents both hope and rebirth. Thanks to innovative uses of steel and concrete, this tower has risen majestically to an iconic 1776 feet tall with unparalleled strength.