9000 Cypress Waters

Summarize the project's program, features, and achievements: This new, four-story office space is part of the Cypress Waters Development in Dallas. This new building features tilt-up panels with over 400 punched openings along with curtainwall system at the front elevation. Each floor is emphasized with a metal panel soffit system extruding roughly 10-12” to match the curtainwall. To harmonize with the many other buildings in this development, the team matched the paint pallet of the new buildings with a white textured paint on the panels and a similar paint on the curtainwall trims. This building has over a 6’ crawlspace and stands on a 12’ moisture conditioned pad. Piers extend at a depth of more than 50’ due to the soils it is standing on. The key achievement for the project was meeting a hard deadline for the tenant. The tenant had to move out from their previous location by determined date to avoid penalties. The tilt-up structure was the critical path. Our tilt-up suppliers and subcontractors came through for us which allowed a successful turnover to the client. The project was completed in 11 months from foundation to grand opening with zero recordable accidents on the structure. This achievement was only possible with the speed of tilt-up construction. Thanks to this approach, At Home Décor now has a stunning workplace that features a 78,000sf design center with a mock store, photo and video studios, training rooms, collaboration and coworking spaces, and a coffee bar. Lee Bird, the company’s Chairman and CEO, notes that the new environment allows them to “expand, retain, and attract the best talent out there… with a lot of energy to inspire creativity and working together. It will also provide the right tools for our flexible workforce.”

What obstacles were overcome related to the schedule, budget, program, specification, site, etc. on this project? The project team faced a few key challenges: 1. Grade of the site. The existing conditions featured a grade that falls over 6’ from one end to the other. The team added provisions in the structural foundations of the buildings to accommodate. We also faced a constricted amount of space for staging all the materials for the primary building and to be extremely organized with our jobsite to make the staging work. 2. Supply chain. This project was constructed as the tilt-up construction industry was still recovering from post-pandemic supply chain shortages. Cement, rebar, and even form work had to be diligently planned to ensure timely delivery and availability. Other supply chain constraints such as façade assemblies and MEP equipment affected the planning of the tilt-up panels since many temporary conditions needed to be incorporated. The team partnered with every facet of the tilt-up subcontractors as they were being pulled in many directions for the same labor and supply. We worked our project schedule understanding that these subcontractors and vendors were trying to keep up with pent-up demand across our region. Concrete deliveries and labor crews were diligently planned to allow other tilt-up projects to be successful as well. 3. Deadline: As mentioned, we had to meet a very aggressive deadline. Electing to use a tilt-up approach was critical to achieving that goal.

Please communicate any engineering complexities or unique features of the panel design for this project. ? The project features unique façade assemblies including window wall, curtain wall, stainless steel fins, and aluminum panels. Each of these components need relentless attention to the detail of the tilt-up panels since the embeds and receiving inserts required high standards. Each of the trades partnered with our team through CAD and BIM coordination, which allowed each of the systems to be flawlessly incorporated onto the building. Unique complexities for the panel design included coordinating all related items around the installation to ensure the panel soffit system did not have any disturbance in waves due to the long lengths of installation. We also had to coordinate all trades to ensure the framing was made for minimal tolerance in depth and height so the panel could be installed correctly.

What is the potential for this project's impact on the community and/or environment? This project was tracked on EC3 Carbon Footprint Tracking tool during the construction. We utilized this tool in the hopes that our building would be a base target to achieve minimal carbon emissions. There is definitely room for improvement, but this building will be able to help this community improve on the materials utilized so we can minimize the amount of carbon emissions. The project was also built next to a neighborhood park and multifamily residence. Through close coordination of concrete deliveries and location of tilt-up castings, we were able to keep the park open the entire construction duration and received zero complaints from our neighbors.