Masonry Magazine July 1971 Page. 8
Penthouse Towers
Penthouse Towers is a luxury apartment building utilizing curtain walls constructed during the winter months in Calgary, Alberta from ground block and Threadline.
The Revolution in Masonry Today
(Continued from page 7)
From outer brick to inner paint. The increased structural capability of high-strength mortars is also well illustrated in the Franklin Building...it's brick, it's three stories tall, the load bearing walls are four inches thick.
But if mortars now have tensile and bond strength, if masonry walls can be as strong as the masonry units themselves, what about handling larger masses? What about prefabrication? What can the mason contractor contribute to the construction project through this technique?
* Predetermined work schedule with a full week each week for the mason,
* Freedom from weather.
* Reduced scaffolding and material handling costs,
* Reduced construction time and financing costs,
* Increased mason productivity.
Cornices, beams, unusual shapes that normally require extensive form work offer an incentive to prefabrication where the mason may build in one position and install in another, a technique that has frequently been used with Sarabond.
But the project that has brought the most attention to prefabrication is University Center in Austin, Texas. (This building has been discussed in an earlier issue of MASONRY.) Three-inch-thick brick curtain walls were prefabricated on the ground and installed by crane. This system proved more economical than conventional masonry laid in place (with back-up required) or precast concrete. Savings in the six-figure range were realized.
These few examples and dozens of other buildings stand today as significant milestones to the revolution in masonry that is occurring. It is a revolution based on an established record of success. It says that mankind's most ancient means of construction can compete with the sophisticated techniques that modern technology has developed. It says that the progressive mason contractor is going to play a bigger and bigger role in bringing the building owner more building for his construction dollar.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dallas Grenley is a Research Chemist with The Dow Chemical Company of Midland, Michigan. He has spent a considerable portion of his career doing research on high-strength mortars and related masonry products. He recently participated as a research associate in a masonry research and testing program at the National Bureau of Standards. He is currently engaged in the research and development of products similar to those discussed in this article.