Richard Snyder
Project Consultant, Coreslab Structures (Miami) Inc., Medley, Florida
Anthony P. Chrest, P.E.
Senior Vice President/Corporate Chief
Engineer, Walker Parking Consultants, Tampa,
Florida
Shopping mall construction is booming along with the United States economy, making expansion
capabilities a key topic of discussion among owners. But such considerations
require a delicate balancing act, as additions often must be located in the
existing parking lot which eliminates parking spaces just as the retail center
needs even more space to accommodate the new customers attracted by the added
stores.
At the Aventura Mall in Aventura, Florida (an upscale suburb near Miami
Beach), a precast concrete solution was found by creating a six-level parking
structure that includes an exterior express ramp which hugs the side of the
curving building, adding both visual interest and functional accessibility.
When the mall expanded to include an additional anchor store, the new
construction consumed a significant portion of the available surface parking.
As a result, the owner needed to add vertical parking to meet local building
code requirements for parking spaces. He also wanted it conveniently located
near the new retail store that was being added. However, the site is landlocked
and surrounded by restrictions that made it challenging to design sufficient
new parking in the available location.
The most significant problem came
from the curving access road along the site s boundary, which dictated the edge
to which the parking structure could be built. This constraint worked against
designing the structure with precast concrete because a curved fade with
curving precast panels would be more expensive due to the additional formwork
needed for fabrication. However, with the help of some imaginative design work
and the use of faceted edges on the panels to allow them to fit together on a
shortened radius, precast concrete was determined to be the most effective
material with which to construct the project.
Credits
Owner: Aventura Mall Venture, Aventura, Florida
Architect: RTKL & Associates
Inc., Baltimore, Maryland
Engineer: Walker Parking
Consultants Inc., Tampa, Florida,
and Kalamazoo, Michigan
General Contractor: Turnberry
Construction Inc., Aventura,
Florida
Precast/Prestressed Concrete
Manufacturer: Coreslab Structures (Miami) Inc.,
Medley, Florida
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