When Los Angeles-based Westfield Development designed a new parking garage for its Meriden Square Mall in Connecticut, plans called for a steel and cast-in-place concrete structure. Westfield had completed its drawings before recognizing that using steel would delay the fast-track project. Unistress assembled a design/build team to respond to the Owner’s needs.
Our precast concrete solution provided the timeliness and cost savings Westfield required. The redesign was challenging, due to the unusually high 18 foot first floor, coupled with the Owner’s request for no walls within the parking areas. Precast frames in both directions met the Owner’s need for openness. The elimination of shear walls combined with open stair towers and painting the interior concrete surfaces white, exceeded the Owner’s expectations for a safe, pedestrian-friendly structure.
A number of the mall facade’s architectural features were replicated in the spandrels, including the warm terra cotta color. Further linking the two structures are two precast concrete pedestrian bridges. Satisfied by how well the project’s components came together, the Owner is now a firm believer in the value of precast concrete parking garages.
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