Masonry Magazine September 1969 Page. 34
COVER PHOTO
High-Rise Load Bearing Hotel
Project: LeBaron Hotel, Burlingame, Calif.
Architect: Ronald K. Davis, San Diego, Calif.
Structural Engineer: Ferver & Dorland Associates, San Francisco, Calif.
Mason Contractor: Franco Masonry, Stockton, Calif.
The skyline of Burlingame assumed new dimensions recently with the completion of the Le Baron Hotel, an ultra-modern new ten story high-rise structure with a penthouse and service tower for an effective 13 story height. It has captured the attention of architects, engineers and developers, as well as contractors in the building industry, because it is the first high-rise load bearing concrete masonry building of this height to be built in Northern California.
The first Le Baron Hotel was constructed of load bearing concrete block in San Diego. Ken Riley, President of the chain, is planning a number of additional hotels using the same style, material and method of construction. He has good reason for continuing this new concept in building methods; construction on the Burlingame Le Baron was started February 1, and it was occupied August 4-just six months and three days construction time for this ten story, 340 room hotel.
The owners' selection of the concrete masonry load-bearing system was prompted not only by the speed of construction but also by other qualities offered by concrete masonry and required in apartment and hotel construction, such as being fire safe, having low sound transmission, good insulation, low maintenance and attractive insurance rates.
The choice of the load bearing wall system for high-rise construction is based on sound engineering principals. The combination of grouted concrete block and rigid lightweight concrete slabs form a boxlike structure with load resisting strength not only to support vertical loads but also to resist the lateral and seismic forces encountered in earthquake. These loads are transferred from the floors evenly along the walls and interior partitions to the foundation.
At the Le Baron, after the foundation was poured, the mason contractor erected masonry walls to one story height on one-half of the building, then transferred his crew to the other half of the building to raise the walls while pre-cast floor slabs were set by the crane on the first half of the building. The masons then erected the second story walls on the deck provided by the floor slabs. Using this see-saw method, they were able to work steadily and consistently, moving up floor-by-floor without any stoppage of work, and always working on dry, clean concrete floor slabs.
As the building progressed in height, trades-plumbers, carpenters, electricians, plasters, painters, etc., were also able to work steadily in clean, dry areas, because there was no shoring to work around and very little in the way of debris or clean-up from other crafts. The floor-to-floor repetition leads to a great degree of efficiency as, in effect, each floor provides a new, clean working deck to begin the new walls for that floor. It is like building ten one-story buildings, one on top of the other. One of the major cost items of a multi-story building is eliminated in that exterior scaffolding is not required. Single height scaffolding is all that is needed.
While much of the exterior wall surface was finished as exposed concrete block, the interior walls were plastered, with the concrete block and slabs furnishing the base for the plaster.
Form National Board
The American Institute of Architects, The American Concrete Institute, and The American Society of Civil Engineers today announced the establishment of The National Board of Accreditation for Concrete Construction. Its goal is to attain maximum assurance of quality in concrete structures.