Tower to Trump Chicago's Skyline

Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) Chicago's 92-story Trump Tower will be the tallest concrete building in the United States, and the tallest building built in North America since the completion of Sears Tower in 1974. Reaching a height of 1134 ft. (1362 ft. including the spire) above grade, the 2.6 million-square foot structure includes condominium, service apartments, health club, parking, and retail functions.

Reinforced concrete was selected as the material of choice for the high-rise Tower based on its high stiffness, mass, damping, and superb acoustical properties. The use of flat plate construction allowed for more floors to fit within the same height compared to a steel-framed building. New ground is being broken through a series of high performance concrete mixes designed by Prairie Material Sales, Inc. and employed by SOM on the project. It is believed to be the first application of 16,000 psi self-consolidating concrete pumped and placed to an elevation up to 650 feet above grade.

Project completion is scheduled for spring of 2009; however, based upon the phased-occupancy plan, the 339 room hotel opened January 30, 2008, well before the topping out of the structure. Read the complete Trump Tower case study.

PCA Extends Deadline for Sustainable Leadership Awards

The annual Sustainable Leadership Awards will honor government leaders who advance sustainable development in their communities through the use of concrete and cement-based products. The deadline for entries has been extended until June 30.

Four categories will be recognized. The Leadership in Sustainability Policy Award honors public officials who advance policies that promote the concept of sustainable development by advocating for and promoting the use of concrete and cement-based products in their communities. Additionally, three award categories honor specific projects in three areas: Homes and Residential Building, Non-Residential Building and Infrastructure. For more information and nomination form.

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Meeting at the ACI spring convention last month, the ACI 216 Committee on Fire Resistance and Fire Protection of Structures (a joint committee of ACI and The Masonry Society) is working on a new edition of the ACI 216R Guide for Determining the Fire Endurance of Concrete Elements. The emphasis of the guide is on concrete slabs and beams.

The committee is now working on a commentary to the standard, ACI 216.1 Code Requirements for Determining Fire Resistance of Concrete and Masonry Construction Assemblies. This will result in increased substantiation for use of prescriptive and analytical methods for determining the fire-resistance ratings of concrete and masonry assemblies, a relatively easy and affordable approach for designing for fire protection.

Future work will begin to develop information on the properties of concrete and masonry at elevated temperatures and fire exposures for use in fire performance models and performance-based design. Read more on codes and fire safety.

International Theme Directs 2008 Structures Congress

The theme "Crossing the Borders" reflected the international nature of the 40th ASCE/SEI Structures Congress, held April 24-26, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Congress was attended by more than 1,300 engineers, executives, professors, contractors and engineering students. With an emphasis on the practicing engineer, technical sessions explored the many changes that have occurred in design standards and codes. A paper and poster presentation, “Fire and Concrete Structures,” was given by David Bilow, PCA director of engineered structures, and Mahmoud Kamara, senior structural engineer. A co-sponsor of the event, the PCA booth offered attendees answers to technical questions, discussions about concrete use and PCA publications.

Reaching for the Stars

Structural engineer Lawrence Novak, PCA manager of building structures and his son Alex, age 10, presented structural engineering and “green” building design as part of the PACE (Parents and Community for Excellence) 2nd annual “Reach for the Stars!” event for Oswego, Ill., students on May 12, 2008. The program is a celebration of academically talented grade school students and the teachers who enable them to reach for the stars every day. More.

Austonian Rises Above Development Concerns With Green Design
Scheduled for completion in 2009, the residential and retail tower will dominate the skyline as the tallest building in Austin, Texas. It also stands out as a commitment to green building and sustainable development by encouraging high-density, urban living downtown and complying with Austin’s stringent Green Building program. More.

Tucson Office Park Green with ICF
The first speculative LEED-certified office park in Tucson, Arizona, is using insulating concrete forms (ICF) to meet its energy efficiency goals. According to the project's LEED consultant, the concrete-form combination provides a "tremendous thermal barrier." More

New Waves Hit Chicago’s Lakefront
Aqua, a stunning new Chicago high-rise, will be completed in early 2010. Using concrete as both structural element and architectural material, the designer builds upon the Mies Van Der Rohe ideal “form follows function,” and disguises the building’s rectilinear layout beneath a fluid face. More

Westchase II Taps Demand for Green Office Space
Granite Properties is tapping into commercial demand for LEED-certified office space with Westchase II, now nearing completion in the Westchase District of Houston, Texas. It's the first new Class A office building for Westchase in more than six years and an addition to Granite’s existing complex. More.

ACI 318-08 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Commentary
The most sought-after and most used structural design code, this most recent edition of the ACI Building Code includes revisions to the 2005 edition. The fourth edition of the International Building Code (IBC 2009) will adopt ACI 318-08 by reference.

Special Prices for PCA Notes on ACI 318 Code

Prepared with engineers and architects in mind, the PCA Notes is a valuable aid to educators, undergraduate and graduate students, contractors, materials and product manufacturers, building code authorities, and inspectors.

PCA Notes on ACI 318-05 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete with Design Applications (EB705)—$50 (Regularly $95)

PCA Notes on ACI 318-02 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete with Design Applications (EB702)—$25 (Regularly $60)

Annual Building Professors' Seminar
August 4-6, Skokie, Ill.

In an effort to keep the concrete industry in touch with university professors of civil, structural, and architectural engineering, the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association , the Portland Cement Association, the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, and the Post-Tensioning Institute co-sponsor an annual Building Professors' Seminar. Since 1991, the seminar has been held every summer at PCA's Skokie, Illinois, headquarters. Financially sponsored by regional cement and concrete promotion groups, professors from around the U.S. and Canada attend this three-day seminar. More.

ACI/PCA Simplified Design of Concrete Buildings of Moderate Size and Heights

Increase your design efficiency and reduce the time it takes to design small to moderate size buildings by applying the design procedures that you will learn at this seminar. It provides civil, architectural, and structural engineers with ways to simplify design procedures, thus reducing time required to analyze, proportion, and detail small to moderate size projects, while still complying with the ACI 318-05 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete. The seminar is sponsored jointly by the Portland Cement Association and ACI. More.

pcaColumn Version 4.10 Increases Capacity

Needed to properly define load combinations in the Canadian standard CSA A23.3-04, a recent pcaColumn update introduced “snow” as a new basic load case. And since we can’t hold snow at the Canadian border, the default load combinations for the ACI 318-05 and 318-02 have also been modified to include the new load case for snow.

In response to users’ requests, the maximum number of bars, section and opening outline definition points have been increased to 10,000 each, up from 500. You can analyze larger and more sophisticated sections of structures, shear walls, chimneys, and bridge peers. With increased capacity, pcaColumn numerical procedures have been optimized to substantially reduce processing time. To learn more about all the new features and the latest enhancement of pcaColumn 4.10 click here.

More about StructurePoint’s suite of reinforced concrete analysis and design software.

• Structural Engineers Building Conference & Expo
October 2–3, Atlanta, Ga.


• ACI Fall Convention
November 2–6, Saint Louis, Mo.

• Design-Build Conference and Expo
November 3–5, Las Vegas, Nev.

• GreenBuild International Conference and Expo
November 19–21, Boston, Mass.