Yankee Doodle Business Center is a 112,000 square foot distribution center. The building shell consists of a faceted, cast-in thin brick precast insulated wall panel façade. The 221 precast panels are load-bearing, supporting both the roof and providing lateral stability to the structure. The primary exterior building material is insulated precast concrete wall panels. Precast concrete wall panels were selected for their durability, cost effectiveness, functionality, and ability to meet the multiple architectural finishes required on the exterior.
Exposed aggregate precast panels with horizontal and vertical articulation were used to accentuate the brick color and provide a contrasting different finish type. Precast panels which were clad with aluminum composite metal panels were also used around the primary building entrances.
Cast-in thin brick was also used, in buff and charcoal colors, both of which were utility sized and placed in a ½ running bond pattern. The architect used masses of the charcoal colored brick, which were then outlined with the lighter, buff colored brick, anchoring the building and providing vertical and horizontal interest.
Initial planning for the project commenced in the fall of 2020, with the groundbreaking happening in the spring of 2021, and construction completing in the winter of 2021. The precast wall panels were produced in three weeks by Fabcon with erection commencing in mid-September. Erection took place over ten working days averaging 22 panels per day. Had conventional construction methods been incorporated into the project an extended construction schedule would have been realized with the setting of brick extending into cold weather. The use of precast insulated wall panels with embed thin brick avoided this scenario and allowed rapid enclosure of the building, allowing the interior finishes to be completed in dry heated environment saving the project schedule and costs.
The project used 55,832sqft of 12” Insulated Sandwich Panels, having 221 total panels, with eave heights up to 36’, extending down to the footing, which was up to 7’ below finished floor. The building had panels up to 41’ long and 8’ wide, weighing up to 22,000 pounds. |