SAN JOSE, CA — (Marketwire) — 06/21/12 — Central Concrete, a U.S. Concrete Company, today announced that it supplied its high-performing, low-CO2 concrete for the new SF Public Utilities Commission Headquarters (SFPUC), San Francisco–s newest and greenest office building. The 13-story, 277,500-square-foot LEED-Platinum building–s innovative use of concrete significantly reduced the project–s carbon footprint and saved 7.4 million pounds in CO2 emissions.
Original plans for SFPUC HQ called for a 12-story building with a steel frame, but ultimately the SFPUC decided to adopt a resilient post-tension concrete structure design. Developed by Tipping Mar, a leading structural engineering firm in Berkeley, California, this innovative design returns a building to plumb after a seismic event.
During the redesign phase, team members — KMD Architects, SOHA Engineers, Tipping Mar and Webcor Builders — invited Central Concrete to a charrette to find the greenest concrete mix possible. At that point, Central Concrete had not yet been selected for the project and was not paid for the charrette. The team looked to Central to suggest solutions for their aggressive goals — a set of concrete mixes that delivered up to 70% cement replacement materials, with no compromises on cost, finish or cure time for the mat foundation, slabs, columns and cores.
Meeting the aggressive goals, Central Concrete, in an open public bidding process, was selected for the job. Central–s solution offered numerous advantages. Not only did Central Concrete beat Tipping Mar–s own record of specifying 56 days of cure time, but the SFPUC was able to add a 13th floor due to the concrete–s reduced floor-to-floor height, and the concrete structure eliminated the sunlight-blocking beams. Central–s six different mixes significantly cut the Portland cement content and delivered a net savings of 7.4 million pounds in CO2 emissions from embodied carbon — nearly 50% better than traditional concrete mixes.
“The decision to switch from steel to concrete was an elegant solution. In fact, one good solution kept on bringing other positive results,” said Phil Williams, vice president of sustainability and systems engineering, Webcor Builders. “The change in design trimmed the construction schedule, secured $12 million in savings, while significantly reducing the project–s carbon footprint.”
The SFPUC will be showcasing its award-winning building at 525 Golden Gate Avenue over the summer. Tours for June 21 and June 22 are sold out, but more public tours will be scheduled in July and August. For more information on the SFPUC tours visit .
Central Concrete, a U.S. Concrete Company, has been serving the San Francisco Bay Area for over 60 years. The company is recognized for engineering higher-performing concrete than traditional concrete, while significantly lowering the carbon footprint with its low-CO2 mixes. Central Concrete goes beyond conventional concrete suppliers, collaborating with owners, architects, structural engineers and contractors to evaluate project requirements and identify solutions that match each client–s unique needs.
These solutions are carefully developed and tested in Central Concrete–s Quality Assurance Lab. Central is also proud to house U.S. Concrete–s National Research Laboratory, USC Technologies. The Laboratory, through its groundbreaking research, has significantly advanced the performance of concrete and driven the creation of many innovative, cost-effective solutions.
With 11 locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Central Concrete offers multiple points of service to meet the diverse operational needs of its customers.
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Additional resources:
Webcor Builders:
Tipping Mar:
KMD Architects:
Anne Banta
Marketing and Communications
Central Concrete, A U.S. Concrete Company
office: 831-293-8008
mobile: 650-400-9673
Dave Perry
Vice President, Marketing and Sales
Central Concrete, A U.S. Concrete Company
925-998-5169
Wade Khalil
Corporate Communications
U.S. Concrete
832-858-1247