Connecticut Contractors Shine Light on Concrete

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The AGC (Associated General Contractors) of Connecticut held its 65th Annual Meeting in February along with its "Build CT" Awards which featured for the first time a concrete award co-sponsored by the Connecticut Ready Mixed Concrete Association (CRMCA) and the Connecticut Concrete Promotion Council (CCPC). Recipient of this year’s Specialty Contracting Award for Concrete went to Manafort Brothers, Inc. for its participation on the Yale University, Morse & Ezra Stiles Colleges renovation. Several NRMCA members played pivotal roles in the success of this project and were included in the award, reported NRMCA Northeast Senior National Resource Director Doug O'Neill who attended the event. The L. Suzio Concrete Company supplied the concrete and Lafarge cement and BASF chemicals were used within the concrete.

The new crescent courtyard addition, completely underground, is the centerpiece of this project. This 25,000 square foot addition includes a variety of activity rooms, a 50-seat theater, music practice rooms, exercise facilities, and spaces for dance and aerobics. The structural components for this two level below-grade structure are all cast-in-place concrete elements. The cast-in-place concrete walls and elevated slabs are not only the structural backbone of the structure but also the architectural finished surfaces. The majority of the rooms, including the hallways, have exposed concrete walls and ceilings. The exposed concrete surfaces have a "board formed" finish. Rough cut 1"x6" hemlock boards were used to achieve the architect's desired concrete wall and ceiling finish. Most of the finished walls and ceilings are very angular and sloped in elevation. Also, an integral colored admixture was used to achieve a tan colored concrete surface.

"This is another great example of how concrete can be the solution for many challenging design concepts. And it offers promoters further evidence that we could be talking about so many more aspects of the versatility of concrete," O'Neill said. CCPC Executive Director Jim Langlois added "The CRMCA and CCPC are extremely proud to co-sponsor this award and to demonstrate the partnerships available with our friends from CT AGC."

For more information, contact Doug O'Neill at doneill@nrmca.org.