Technology Square
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia
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Square
 In
an academic environment where students dedicate themselves to a
technology-based education, one recently constructed building serves
as a model for the latest environmentally friendly technologies
in today’s building design and construction. The Dupree College
of Management at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
received the prestigious LEED 2.0 Silver Certification, making it
Georgia Tech’s first LEED-certified building. In addition
to providing learning space for Georgia Tech students, the College
of Management also serves as a green-building laboratory, educating
the public about its sustainable features through tours and an interactive
computer system.
 The
$35-million, four-story, 330,000-square-foot College of Management
is the centerpiece of the $145-million, five-building project known
as Technology Square. In addition to the College of Management,
Technology Square also contains Georgia Tech’s Global Learning
Center, a hotel/conference center, Georgia Tech Bookstore, Economic
Development Institute and a 1,473-space parking deck. Every building
in Technology Square features a concrete frame.
Holder/Hardin, a joint venture of Atlanta-based general contractors
Holder Construction and Hardin Construction, self-performed the
concrete work for Technology Square. Selecting from a wide variety
of versatile available concrete floor systems, the College of Management,
Global Learning Center and Economic Development Institute buildings
utilized a modular pan slab construction with post-tensioned beams.
The hotel employed a flat slab floor system with dropped beams and
mild reinforcing. The parking deck was a precast concrete structure.
One of the biggest challenges with Technology Square was the size
and complexity of designing and building five buildings with completely
different programs at the same time. Careful coordination was one
key to the success of this massive project. The general contractors,
which self-performed the concrete work for this project, established
preconstruction and construction teams so information regarding
constructability, schedule, estimating and billing issues could
be studied, discussed and incorporated into the project plan in
a holistic manner. This early-operations involvement ensured any
challenges with the concrete’s design, preconstruction and
estimating were successfully and seamlessly transitioned to the
field.
Concrete structures were specified for Technology Square for several
reasons. Due to a shallower structure depth and fewer restrictions
for core drilling, concrete floors allowed the university flexibility
for future modifications. The hotel was specifically designed to
expand, and inserts were cast into the slab and beams for future
tie-in.
At the time of construction, concrete framing provided economic
benefits over steel. In addition, work could begin sooner with concrete
frame construction because it does not require as much detailing
and fabrication as a steel structure. Completed in 2003, Technology
Square serves as a model for future concrete-frame construction
on Georgia Tech’s campus.
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| Owner:
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Ga.
Architect: Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback
and Associates,
Atlanta, Ga.
General Contractors: Holder/Hardin,
Joint Venture; Atlanta, Ga.
Structural Engineer: Walter P. Moore;
Atlanta, Ga.
Ready-Mix Suppliers: Allied ReadyMix;
Decatur, Ga.
LaFarge Building Materials; Marietta, Ga.
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