Plywood Company of Fort Worth

Plywood Company of Fort Worth, Bldg. 3 is a 127,703 square-foot office and warehouse/distribution facility in Fort Worth, Texas designed by Callaway Architecture. The building is the third for Plywood Company of Fort Worth and serves as their new primary client interaction building, including offices and warehouse/distribution space. The project site was just over 6.5 acres. While this is more than enough space for a building that is just under 130,000 square-feet, the issue comes when you consider that the entire west side of the project is lined with a railroad track, the south and east sides are lined up almost right up to the road, and the north side is shared with an active facility that sees near constant traffic on a day-to-day basis. Because there was essentially no consistent access to the site from the west, south, and east sides, all equipment and personnel had to be funneled through the North side. This issue was particularly difficult for crane access during the panel erection. The design of two primary panels did not take into account the fact that there was not enough casting room on the slab, nor was there access for the crane on these particular panels. The BMC project team came up with the solution; split the two panels into four smaller panels and add piers to accommodate for the additions. Broom Finish Concrete for the warehouse was created entirely using casting beds for panels and also utilized deadman for panel bracing. Polished Concrete in office area was also created in the same way. Each required a tricky method for removing all deadman and casting beds. The design and circumstances on the project required the concrete slab pour in the warehouse and office space after tilt-wall panel erection. This required extremely careful logistical planning for equipment and work crews as to not damage any standing equipment and panels. Multiple factors ended up forcing UG Plumbing installation after the building was erected. This meant crews had to be even more careful than usual as to not cause any disturbances in the building. The building design includes decorative floating wood panels, floating ATC ceiling clouds, A/C grills, specialty lighting, and painted exposed decking all in the main office lobby. All restrooms in the facility feature high quality plumbing faucets that combine water and soap in a singular unit. The drive through Bay and main entry soffits feature owner furnished Tiger Wood installed in the soffits. Finally, wood form-liner panels are featured along the top south and east side drive through bays. The Plywood Company of Fort Worth, Bldg. 3 is a unique visual addition to Fort Worth’s Mercantile Center industrial park. Th exterior features wood planking and natural earth tones to highlight the company’s long history in the timber products industry. The interior also features both raw and finished wood accents and features. The certificate of occupancy was received on schedule on December 12, 2020, meeting the owner’s urgency in the facility being operational soon after construction completed.