Meadow Burke to Supply Engineering and Materials for 5 Story Tilt-Up Building in South Florida

Rendering of Mercy Medical Arts Building via Onicx

In Miami, a new state-of-the art medical building is currently being constructed using tilt-up concrete. The building will serve as the new Mercy Medical Arts Building located adjacent to the Mercy Hospital. The construction of the building will consist of 39 tilt-wall panels which will put the building at about 75 feet tall, five stories high.

The tilt wall contractor for the project is BNG Construction; a Florida based company that specializes in tilt-wall construction. BNG Construction partnered with Meadow Burke tilt-up engineer, Mudar Barakat, to put together the preliminary detail and project materials for the job. One of the largest products being used is Meadow Burke’s biggest brace, the Super 52, which measures at 52 feet long and has an ultimate strength of 16,050 pounds and at a height of 39 to 79 feet. Weighing 680 pounds, the Super 52 eliminates the need for secondary bracing due its strength capacity.

While determining which tilt products were needed, the project presented some challenges for tilt-up engineer Mudar who provided the engineering support and placement of the tilt-products. Mudar commented “because of the large openings in the middle of the panel, space was somewhat limited in placing the inserts. Another challenge was the change in thickness between the second and third floor panel, specifically locating the lifting inserts vertically on the panel to work in a way to control the positive bending stresses in the bottom face rebar layer, while minimizing the negative bending stresses at the transition in thickness. This is necessary to prevent any top face cracking during lifting.”

One unique method to this tilt-up project was the use of the MB Brace Badger. Unlike the conventional method of bracing to floor slabs, the MB Brace Badger braces to the soil, providing a more economical and efficient alternative while also eliminating concrete deadmen. The MB Brace Badger consists of three helix plates that are welded to a 1 ½ inch square bar shaft. Each helix plate is specially formed from a 3/8″ x 44 ksi new steel plate. The shaft steel has yield strength of 95 ksi, and a tensile strength of 130 ksi, making it the strongest helical anchor available in the industry.

In addition to the Super 52 and the MB Brace Badger, the construction of the tilt-up building also required the use of Meadow Burke’s Super Lift III insert, a patented three part lifting system for tilt-up construction. The Super Lift III simplifies installation and minimizes labor time due its functionality and combination of three parts; a two-part sturdy base, a high strength steel anchor and a three-part, snap-together recess former.

The use of such innovative products like the MB Brace Badger, Super Lift III insert and the Super 52 Brace helps to create and maintain a safer work environment for such tilt-up projects like the Mercy Medical Arts Building.  Such products also improve construction times as well as reduce costs for the contractor.

The construction of the Mercy Medical Arts Building is expected to be competed in the Spring 2016. For more information on the mentioned Tilt-Up products, visit the Tilt-Up page on the Meadow Burke website.