Helping designers realize advanced architectural concepts
“Concrete is one of the world’s only truly plastic building materials, and it allows architects to design iconic structures that stand the test of time, with low maintenance over 100-year life cycles,” says Mo Wright, marketing director at Gate Precast. The company is one of the largest producers of precast concrete architectural and structural elements in the United States.
The Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas. Courtesy of Gate Precast.
A major component of delivering these iconic structures is Gate’s involvement in design-assist, in which the precast subcontractor becomes an active part of the design process. “Design-assist is our way to show the design community how to cost effectively realize, in concrete, their most progressive and cutting-edge ideas.”
With the design-assist model, Gate aims to get members of its engineering team on board at the starting point of each project design. “We really want to be engaged as early in the design process as possible, preferably in the conceptual or schematic phase,” Wright says. “That allows our engineers and modelers to make meaningful contributions—not to change designs but to show designers how they can do what they want to do, structurally and efficiently.”
For Gate, adopting design-assist led to a commitment to in-house engineering expertise. The company directly employs 18 engineers, plus 64 modelers and designers, and uses Autodesk Revit to support them. “Without good modeling tools like Revit, design-assist wouldn’t exist—we just couldn’t be productive enough,” Wright says.
Detail of the Perot Museum’s molded concrete facade. Courtesy of Gate Precast.
There are substantial advantages to design-assist precasting. First, it reduces complexity, which also reduces cost. By making slight adjustments to early concepts, designers can reduce the number of molds needed for precast elements, simplify casting and transportation of elements, and streamline installation. Design-assist also leads to fewer change orders and scope changes, and fewer conflicts during construction. “Early involvement with the design team gives us the opportunity to work with the architect’s models in conjunction with our own models, which allows our BIM technicians to detect clashes and conflicts before we start pouring concrete,” Wright says. “That’s huge.”
Another benefit is reduced timelines. “When we’re engaged early on by the owner to collaborate with the architect or engineer on a design-assist basis, we’re able to move typical design work—like detailing of precast elements—upward in the process so we can start building molds as soon as contracts are finalized,” Wright says. “We’ve seen this coordination shorten design and construction timelines by up to 24 weeks.”