Precast Solutions

Architectural Details Cast in Stone

When Veranda Park developers wanted to create an Old World Tuscan feel for a massive mixed-use community project, precast stone provided a cost-effective answer.

By Deborah R. Huso

Orlando, Fla., has long been a city devoted to the concept of New Urbanism, where mixed-use retail, office and residential structures make for walkable communities that draw on traditional architectural concepts and neighborhood designs. As the demand for such communities grows among consumers, precast concrete has become a cost-effective solution for mixed-use structure construction. And so has precast stone.

A new mixed-use community under development in Orlando, known as Veranda Park, promises to be the city’s largest town center. When completed, it will consist of 10 multistory buildings totaling 1.6 million square feet covering 30 acres and will feature sidewalk cafes, restaurants, retail shops, condominiums, parking garages, office space and artisan piazzas.

In a nod to the Old World neighborhood styles it emulates, Veranda Park is being built in Tuscan style with colorful facades that look like real stone. Building 4000, which was just completed in 2007, makes use of both precast concrete and precast stone to establish a look that is at once historic and authentic.

Veranda Park has been a long and complicated project. When the complex is finished, it will include some 20,000 housing units and 10,000 upscale apartments. PCL Construction, the project’s general contractor, began work on the complex two and a half years ago and decided to construct Building 4000 of precast concrete. The structure consists of 560,000 square feet and six levels – the first consisting of retail space, the second and third levels devoted to parking garage, and condominiums occupying the top three floors.

To construct the massive structure’s frame from steel would have been too costly. “Two years ago, steel prices were going through the roof,” points out Mike Godek, PCL’s project manager. Plus, it would have taken longer to build. So the builders used a precast structure of beams and girders with elevated concrete slabs.

Building 4000 is certainly complex. Not only is its square footage massive, but it also consists of two interior courtyards and a variety of decorative architectural features on its facades. Most of the facade is comprised of conventional precast concrete wall panels treated with a lime-based paint that gives the structure an antique Tuscan look. But the building’s decorative features are all precast stone produced by Fortune Stone Inc. of Miami. That includes a precast stone veneer approximately 20 feet high around the base of the building, window trim, columns, shutters and a variety of decorative architectural features. The main entrance to Building 4000 has columns more than 28 feet tall in precast stone.

“The client originally wanted to use real stone,” says Dave Thomas, the project’s architect and vice president of HKS Architects, “but precast stone was so much cheaper. Fortune Stone has a hybrid lightweight precast stone product with fiberglass content.” The product is made to look and feel like real stone. Precast stone can also be reinforced for greater strength and durability than real stone.

Building 4000 with its large clock tower was a trial run for the precast stone manufacturer, according to Roman Rodriguez, Fortune Stone’s installation superintendent. “ Veranda Park was looking for a company that could meet its demands,” says Rodriguez. He explained that many precast manufacturers don’t produce an array of colors, but Fortune Stone thrives in this type of environment with such high demands.

Among the array of colors adorning Building 4000 are mocha, red, burnt orange and gold. “Every facade on the building has Fortune Stone on it, whether it’s trim or veneer,” says Rodriguez.

The company used three types of precast stone. On the lower level, the precaster used a regular mix design with its typical weight for the veneer. For the trim and decorative pieces on the building, the company used FortuLite, a registered trademark for an air entrained concrete up to 50 percent lighter than regular-weight and GFCR yet very strong. This allows the pieces to be applied to upper stories of the building that could not have easily supported the full weight of natural stone or regular concrete.

“It’s easier to install than real stone, and it’s durable,” points out Thomas. “They (Fortune Stone) can do a mixture of colors and textures as well.” The precaster can also match any samples provided.

Jeff Westphal, PCL’s operations manager, says the precast stone used at Veranda Park is deceptively thin. “It’s a lightweight aggregate, and the pieces are hollow for the most part.”

The major advantage of the product is its lower cost and light weight. Whereas each piece of natural cut stone would have been carved individually, precast stone reduces expense because various architectural components were repeated and cast in the same mold. Precast stone also makes it easier to incorporate any design, curves, bevels or any type of carvings. Furthermore, Veranda Park avoided the expense associated with quarrying and shipping natural stone.

In the end, Westphal says, although installation is similar, the manufacturing process for architectural detail is less involved, faster and cheaper with precast stone than it is for real stone.

According to Rodriguez, Building 4000 has 50,000 square feet of veneer across two full blocks. Fortune Stone began applying the veneers and trim in June and completed the installation at the end of 2007. Fortune Stone will be applying its precast stone products to all 10 Veranda Park buildings.

Most of the window trim and decorative pieces are installed using adhesive or thinset and stainless steel cap grinds. For the precast wall panels, the company used special attachment pins and a special sealant.

“What makes this project so unique are the different designs requested by the owner,” Rodriguez says. “Every side of the building has different designs, so it really makes the precast stone product stand out.”

Fortune Stone created custom molds for the Veranda Park project. The client provided the architectural designs and specifications for the pieces needed. Fortune Stone also has a catalog of precast products in many different designs, colors and trims available along with the capability of matching just about any sample provided by and for its customers.

Thomas says he’s impressed with the finished product, pointing out that Fortune Stone was able to make any shape the client wanted. Godek agrees, noting, “You can’t even tell it’s not real stone. It looks like marble from a distance.”

Veranda Park’s Old World feel is made possible with a New World touch, thanks to modern manufacturing and precast stone.

Deborah Huso is a freelance writer who covers home design and restoration, sustainable building and design, and home construction.

PROJECT PROFILE

Project: Veranda Park residential, retail and parking complex in Orlando, Fla.

Project Owner: Veranda Partners LLC, Orlando

General Contractor: PCL Construction Services Inc., Orlando

Architects/Engineers: Walter P. Moore, Orlando

Cast Stone Manufacturer: Fortune Stone Inc., Miami

Designer: HKS Architects Inc., Orlando