George Bialecki Jr. takes green building seriously. As developer of age 55+ communities, environmentally responsible design saves his projects money and sells his energy-saving units more quickly. For example, PICP (permeable interlocking concrete pavers) saved thousands of dollars by eliminating conventional storm-water drainage at Autumn Trails, an independent living community with 32 homes located in Moline, IL, as shown in Fig. 1. The savings was so great that it made PICP cost-competitive with conventional asphalt and concrete pavements.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) Building (illustrated in Fig. 1) provides an excellent case study for the integration of (Building Information Management) BIM to achieve a sustainable building. This building required carbon accounting for construction materials and construction activities, and is LEED Platinum certified. Figures 2 through 4 show various views of the core walls of the building that incorporate vertical post-tensioning.

Awards and certifications

LEED Platinum (LEED for Homes/Affordable Housing)
Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute’s (PCI) Sustainable Design Award

Although the floors are made with specialty components such as iron aggregates, impact from garbage trucks unloading and abrasion from heavy equipment moving trash can shorten the average transfer floor life to only 1 to 3 years. For the Solid Waste Authority, the downtime of any plant and the logistics of diverting continually accumulating trash are paramount. Floor rehabilitation typically averages 2 months of construction time before the floor goes back into operation.

The Midfield Terminal at the new Indianapolis International Airport opened in 2008, and includes a massive 7000-car parking garage. Each of the five parking levels is approximately 500,000 ft² (46,500 m²). The two-way post-tensioned concrete design for the garage maximized the benefit from the chosen HPC mixture.

Aesthetics is what moved Westbank Projects Corporation to use approximately 350,000 ft² (3.2 ha) of PICP (permeable interlocking concrete pavers) at Marine Market Way (Fig. 1). The project, completed in Spring 2007, boasts nearly 100% occupancy. By combining parking and detention under the 1161-space parking lot, permeable pavement created a bit more rentable space and matched unique building entrances and light fixtures.

This 5200 ft² (483 m²) parking deck (Fig. 1) was nearing the end of its service life, and was characterized by widespread concrete deterioration and severe corrosion of reinforcing and prestressing steel. As an alternative to demolition and reconstruction, the owner was able to repair the structure, reducing environmental impact while providing significant initial cost savings, life-cycle cost savings, and schedule savings.

Awards and certifications

LEED for Homes Gold rating as a pilot project

When a wooden floating dock in the Port of San Diego, San Diego, CA, had deteriorated to the point of having to be torn down, the owners chose to replace it with a floating dock assembled from precast concrete modules, the durability offered by the precast dock was a key consideration, and the modular design allowed a few standard-sized sections to be used in the creation of a variety of configurations.

In 2005, the Washington Airports Authority decided to rehabilitate and maintain the exterior façade of the architecturally unique and historic Terminal A at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Fig. 1).