• Overview
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Featured Projects > 
• Hollywood & Highland
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• LA Live


• Vantage Pointe Towers
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• Palazzo Resort
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• LAPD Headquarters

 

Basement Walls - Overview

When constructing conventional subterranean perimeter retaining walls, a lot of time and money is spent in the forming process. The Shotcrete Advantage completely eliminates the need for 2-sided forms. When basement grade is laid back, Superior's 1-sided form and shoot system saves considerable time and money over 2-sided form and place. And against retention and shoring, we completely eliminate the need for all forms.

Depending on project excavation and logistical requirements, Shotcrete methods have the flexibility of being either full height or floor-by-floor bottom-up, or top-down construction.

The Shotcrete Advantage extends beyond mere time and money, allowing us to expertly construct longer and taller walls than CIP systems that are limited by joint, bulkhead and head pressure constrains.

Properly applied Shotcrete conforms to both the Uniform Building Code and the International Building Code.

Our Superior resources allow us to accommodate an accelerated schedule on a complex project. We have more available manpower and more equipment than anyone in the industry. We are the only company that can gear up on short notice, create extra crews, and get in and get out on an accelerated or emergency basis.

Shotcrete Advantage basement walls have wide acceptance in multi-story, high-rise, and parking structure applications.

Hollywood & Highland: Los Angeles, California

This recently completed project in the heart of Hollywood dramatically showcases our superior service and resources. Logistically challenging due to its location at a busy, high-traffic intersection, Superior had the resource capability to get in and out quickly, shaving an entire month off the schedule. Our manpower and equipment capabilities allowed us to assemble multiple crews that resulted in a cost effective construction schedule and expedited the flow of the revenue stream to the customer.

Superior also rose to the occasion by bringing its innovative Shotcrete solutions to this structurally complex project. In addition to constructing the perimeter basement retaining walls of this 6-level deep parking structure, Superior also constructed 42-inch thick, monolithic corbel beams of Shotcrete. A severe amount of steel congestion was required within these structural beams. Superior's nozzle men have the expertise to achieve successful consolidation in the most difficult of applications.

A further challenge was the corbels that extended as much as 18 inches beyond the wall face. While corbels normally require separate forms, our innovative Shotcrete techniques required no forms and the corbels were shaped with wires. In order to maintain the necessary tolerance, Superior put other innovative techniques into play during the construction of the corbels.

In addition to the demand of these features, Superior also constructed integral wall pilasters placing over 10,000 yards of concrete on this most challenging and impressive project.

LA Live: Los Angeles, California

LA LIVE is a testament to the power of Superior Gunite's innovative Shotcrete capabilities. The Shotcrete advantage allows Owners and Contractors to overcome time constraints and logistical obstacles that typically cause extreme financial burdens for a project.

Adjacent to the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, LA LIVE was a 5 year, 5 billion dollar endeavor 10 years in the planning. Funded by both the City of Los Angeles and private investors, this noteworthy development consists of numerous subterranean parking structures for the Staples venue as well as a 60-story Hotel and Residence Tower.

In the final phase of this 5-year project, Webcor Builders was charged with the most difficult component of the development -- constructing the Tower. To make matters even more demanding, during the shoring stage of the 50-foot deep excavation, the Owner requested that Webcor accelerate the schedule for the foundation, trimming it from 10 months to 4.

Superior Gunite implemented the Shotcrete advantage, installing its crews and equipment to work around the clock. Superior beat the 4-month deadline, completing the foundation level perimeter and interior walls, beams and pilasters and allowing the deck pours to accelerate the completion in just 3 months.

Superior Gunite was able to incorporate all of the high strength lateral and vertical beams that transferred massive column loads from the 60-story structural steel to the matt foundations. Shotcrete design mixes of 5K & 6K psi were successfully utilized in the construction of all of the vertical elements of the foundation construction. Single side forming systems that allowed the wall to be supported from the placement side were designed and constructed of a composite aluminum, steel, and timber panel system by skilled Superior craftsman. This unique and innovative design allowed us to accelerate the project by creating corridor access ways for cranes and equipment needed by all trades. This was accomplished by constructing wall forms at 40 feet high with no kickers typically required by conventional double-sided formed walls.

LA LIVE is a prime example of Superior Gunite's contribution to the Industry in the face of adverse conditions. For over 50 years, our innovative techniques and capabilities have created successful outcomes for our customers.

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels: Los Angeles, California

Completed in 2002, this Los Angeles landmark is the third largest cathedral in the entire world and serves as the seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Superior Gunite is proud to have played a part in the construction of what the Wall Street Journal has labeled as “the most impressive large interior space ever built in Los Angeles.” We are honored to have worked with a most distinguished group of architects, engineers and building professionals that were assembled from around the world to bring this project to its impressive conclusion.

This stunning postmodern cathedral was designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Rafael Moneo. At 11 stories, the main sanctuary seats 3,000 worshipers and gatherings of up to 5,000 can be accommodated in its open plaza. Beyond state-of-the-art advanced building strategies were implemented to ensure a building life to span at least five centuries.

Removing the threat to longevity by earthquake, the Cathedral was designed to rest on 198 base isolators, allowing it to float over 2 feet in all directions and withstand an 8.4 earthquake.

Superior constructed the subterranean basement walls for the Cathedral and for the separate parking structure.

Vantage Pointe Towers: San Diego, California

At completion in December of 2006, one of the towers in this impressive complex stood at 38 stories and was the tallest poured in place high-rise building in San Diego. Superior's contribution to this project was the Shotcrete application to six levels of subterranean basement walls that defined the parking structure. Recognized by both the Uniform Building Code and the International Building Code for its structural integrity, the Shotcrete Advantage was a cost effective choice to fold the design of the parking structure basement walls into the foundational support for the high-rise structures.

Palazzo Resort: Las Vegas, Nevada

Immediately adjacent to the celebrated Venetian, the Palazzo Resort, Hotel and Casino expanded the dramatic skyline of Las Vegas in 2007. Having the ability to place our expert teams and customized equipment outside our home state of California, Superior was able to provide the crews and equipment necessary to place over 4,000 cubic yards of Shotcrete on this impressive undertaking. Our crews installed the 6 levels of subterranean basement retaining walls for the parking structure that serves the resort.

LAPD Headquarters: Los Angeles, California

The 40 foot high interior and perimeter shear walls for the LAPD Headquarters building were constructed entirely of Shotcrete. The walls were 18" - 24" in depth with 3' - 4' deep strctural in-situ 5000 psi pilasters. Over 5,000 cubic yards of Shotcrete were installed.