Collman & Karsky does much of its work in coastal Florida, designing mission-critical facilities that are hurricane-hardened, meaning they’re resistant to high winds, flooding, and the impact of large airborne missile debris—flying chunks of wood and metal, even whole pieces of rooftop HVAC equipment. For one recent project, a renovation of the Sarasota Emergency Data Center, Collman & Karsky used Wellbilt’s Sure-Board Wall Panel, a modular, panelized wall system, to create a bunker able to withstand a Category 5 hurricane.
Karsky says the product was very clean and easy to install and required no cutting of floor slabs. “We were on an extremely tight time frame, and because it was modular, the walls could be set up quickly, allowing the other trades to come in and start working.” The modular system also cost “a little bit less” compared to concrete block or poured-in-place concrete, he says.
Hasan S. Arouri, PE, principal and senior structural project engineer for TLC Engineering for Architecture in Orlando, also attests to the benefits of the Wellbilt system: “The panels are tested and certified as hurricane-resistant, impact-resistant, and blast-resistant products, adequate and cost-effective to provide additional protection and strength for buildings located in high-velocity hurricane zones.”
TLC used them to harden the walls of the Florida Supreme Court Building in Tallahassee. Arouri says the technology provided a lightweight solution that strengthened the existing walls, enhancing their capacity to resist lateral hurricane wind pressures and providing blast-wall protection without the need for a lot of additional footings. The panels also allowed the building’s historic façade to be preserved.
Related Stories
| Mar 29, 2012
Apartments provide permanent housing for California homeless
Gonzalez Goodale Architects designed complex to embrace community and engender sense of pride among residents.
| Mar 28, 2012
40 Under 40, the Class of 2012
Chosen from 223 applicants, these 40 young AEC professionals represent the Class of 2012 in Building Design+Construction’s “40 UNDER 40” competition.
| Mar 28, 2012
Milestone reached for LEED-certified buildings?
Total number of major global green buildings now stands at 12,000.
| Mar 28, 2012
Holden Cancer Center opens at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
The new cancer clinic provides a significant increase in patient space from the prior facility, which was located in an adjacent building.
| Mar 28, 2012
Meridian Design Build Begins work on 38 acre redevelopment project
The project includes construction of a new 150,585-sf cross dock facility that will include full service truck maintenance and repair bays, a truck wash, and approximately 20,000-sf of corporate office space.
| Mar 28, 2012
Tsoi/Kobis & Associates developing master plan for UT Southwestern Medical Center
Firm will spearhead strategies for transforming existing in-patient hospital into state-of-the-art ambulatory care facility.
| Mar 28, 2012
Ideas and input drive stories in online community, noraXchange
Community designed to help building and design professionals address challenges they face in their jobs.
| Mar 27, 2012
Bank of America Plaza becomes Atlanta's priciest repo
Repo will help reset market prices for real estate, and the eventual new owner will likely set rental rates at a new or near the bottom and improve the facilities to lure tenants.
| Mar 27, 2012
Skanska hires aviation construction expert Bob Postma
Postma will manage Skanska’s nationwide in-house team of airport construction experts who lead the industry in building and renovating airport facilities and their essential features.
| Mar 27, 2012
Precast concrete used for affordable, sustainable housing in New York
Largest affordable housing development in the nation will provide housing for close to 500,000 people.