Erector Set Steel Construction

[JDRCRASH]

Here is a recent article about this technology being utilized on a new development in Downtown LA:

Downtown’s Snap-and-Go Building

Wednesday, November 12, 2014 5:00 am

By Eddie Kim


Photo Credit: Gary Leonard
Carmel Partners’ apartment complex at Eighth Street and Grand Avenue features a metal skeleton created by ConXtech, a company with a proprietary technology that allows steel beams to essentially be snapped into place.




DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - The construction at developer Carmel Partners’ seven-story apartment complex at Eighth Street and Grand Avenue doesn’t seem out of the ordinary at first.

Look closer, though, and you notice something unusual about the giant steel skeleton: There’s no army of welders diligently fusing each joint and beam. Instead, steel girders are being lowered and snapped into place. For that matter, there are no floors: Rather than build level-by-level as with a wood structure, the entire intricate grid of steel rises first.

The 700-unit housing project is the first Los Angeles development to employ a proprietary structural system created by Bay Area-based ConXtech. Developed by the company’s CEO and co-founder Robert Simmons in 2004, it is sort of like a life-size erector set.

The ConX system uses precisely prefabricated steel beams and connections to simplify and speed up the process of erecting a project’s frame. Simmons claims the system makes it cheaper to put up a building that is larger and more architecturally versatile than a wood-frame structure.

“Demands for density are growing, and we have the best structural solution for a mid-rise project,” Simmons said. “ConX is quicker, quieter and requires fewer people on site.”

Most new residential structures in Downtown that are seven stories or less use wood framing. Steel and concrete construction only becomes financially feasible for buildings around 12 stories and up, and often only once they hit 20 floors. ConXtech aims for the “sweet spot” between 5 and 12 stories, Simmons said.

The spark that would become ConXtech came when Simmons was working on the Santana Row project in San Jose. As a then concrete builder, he created the podium and some other portions of the complex. A different company was hired to build the residential portion of the project, using wood, on top of the podium.

“I couldn’t compete,” Simmons said. “We were looking at ways to create a competitive method of structural framing versus wood and I couldn’t do it with concrete, so I started looking at steel.”

In 2002, the under-construction project caught fire. The blaze caused more than $100 million in damage. In the aftermath, the city refused to allow the developer to use wood to rebuild the housing, Simmons said. The timing was right for his steel chassis concept. The city said OK, and Simmons’ residential units at Santana Row debuted in 2004.

Simmons is, not surprisingly, quick to tout the benefits of ConXtech. The snap-and-go method means a project can rise quicker than with traditional construction, leading to a faster return on investment, he said.

The company claims its system also makes the job safer for construction crews, since pre-welded beam and column assemblies are easy to connect and require less climbing on steel.

Carmel Partners’ Senior Vice President of Development Dan Garibaldi said the newness of the ConXtech system provided some initial challenges, but that Carmel chose it because it offered the fire- and rot-resistant qualities of steel and made a more ambitious architectural design possible. Choosing steel over wood was more expensive, Garibaldi said, but timing and other factors made it viable.

“We contracted for the steel at a beneficial time so the cost differential is not nearly what it would be today,” he said in an email. “The main benefit is how quickly we can complete the framing. In addition, ConXtech allowed us [to build] an additional residential floor and create long spans that are not easily achievable in wood frame.”

Kelly Luttrell, vice president of business development and co-founder of ConXtech, said the key advantages of the system are the design possibilities and speed it offers. The biggest downside, she said, is that builders are often wary of the unfamiliar system.

“I think that’s really changing, probably because we have 7 million square feet under our belt,” Luttrell said.

That includes 12 Southern California projects, among them a condominium complex in Newport Beach and an elementary school in Anaheim.

Beyond the ease of on-site assembly, one of the biggest benefits of ConX is its modeling and planning software, said Jeff Jelniker, a vice president with Northern California company Douglas Ross Construction. The company has built hundreds of residential units using ConX, and he said the precise planning tools mean less wasted time and materials.

“Bob [Simmons] has moved the ball and combined several technologies to shift how our industry can work,” Jelniker said. “This is a better direction.”

For architects, a cheaper way to build with steel is good news, since steel construction provides more design freedom. Daniel Gehman, a principal at architecture firm Harley Ellis Devereaux, has not worked on a ConXtech building, but said the biggest benefit is the ability to use extensive glass on the exterior.

“You’re not limited by the structure of exterior walls, which in wood buildings are shear or load-bearing walls,” Gehman said. “Glass is way more expensive than plaster, but glass gives you a real return on investment.”

One potential ConXtech obstacle, Gehman said, is that the price is still significantly higher than wood. With a quickly emerging condominium market in Downtown, however, the ConX system could be a solution for developers who want a high-rise feel with a mid-rise building, he said.

Simmons said his next challenge is to partner with construction-related firms, such as electrical, plumbing and fire safety businesses, to familiarize them with the ConX system.

“Our industry is inherently slow in adopting new technology, especially on a systemic basis,” Simmons said. “Each trade is especially efficient at their own discipline, but there’s little incentive to do more holistic, ecosystem-like builds.”

Slow adopters or not, the massive project at Eight and Grand is quickly being snapped into place.

eddie@downtownnews.com

© Los Angeles Downtown News 2014

Source: http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/d...700c5f8e6.html

[GWHH]

Reminds me of all the "new" ideas in building construction that did not work!