Commercial Drywall, Inc.
cm Craftsman
Voi. 3 No. 8
June 1982
Biggest project yet
Oafilas begins w©trk ©p landmark Arco Building
r
"Unique" and “challenging" are the two words which most aptly describe the 49-story Arco Building in downtown Dallas, according to a man who ought to know-Steve Gosling, CDI Systems project manager. CDI System’s scope of work on the skyscraper includes all core drywall work, fireproofing and a small amount of plastering. This is CDI-Dallas’ first fireproofing job. “It is going very well,” says Steve. “We are excited about doing more fireproofing in the metroplex." CDI has completed about 20 percent of the fireproofing work, which consists of spraying a fibrous material onto the beams and columns, so that in case of a fire, they do not become so hot that they collapse. Core work on the building has just started where CDI is actively involved in design and negotiations on the tenant work. Dollar volume wise, says Steve, the Arco building is the biggest project for CDI-Dallas. “This is a very, very complicated and complex drywall job,” says Steve. “It calls for a lot of unique drywall framing.” Although the Arco Building is not the tallest building CDI-Dallas has to its credit, several factors make it the most challenging. The building, designed by architect I.M. Pei, will be totally owneroccupied. “The combination of a prestigious architect and an owner occupied building presents a lot of challenges," says Steve. “This is not just a spec office building," he says. “Arco can afford to be as elaborate as they want. Practically the whole building is custom. We see it on the prints, and say, ‘We’ve never seen this before,’ and they say, ‘Fine, then create it!’ ”
The building features several different types of structure-concrete, composite and steel. “You name it, and they’ve got it," comments Steve. “The plans and specifications are tight and unusually demanding," he explains. For instance, the plans call for a lot of reveal work. CDI has custom designed some aluminum extrusions to meet the specifications for the reveals. Already, there have been 143 changes made to the prints. “It will probably continue like that for quite a while,” says Steve. Developer for the project is Olympia and York. J.W. Bateson is the general contractor for the shell of the building. Another general contractor will handle the tenant work. Steve is getting a lot of help processing the large amount of paperwork associated with the job from co-worker Rex Van Natta. Other CDI personnel on the job are superintendent Jerry Baccus, and foreman David Sparacino. David is also doing the layout. The problems and delays caused by changes to the prints are further complicated by the fact that J.W. Bateson is the second contractor on the job. That means construction is way behind schedule. “We’ll have to operate within a very compressed schedule to catch up,” explains Steve. In addition, there are already coordination problems between the crafts. “This is just a very complicated job from every subcontractor's point of view," says Steve. Most of the Arco Building is in the shape of an equilateral triangle. “It is the most striking building in Dallasdefinitely a landmark," says Steve.
A model of the Arco Building, under construction in downtown Dallas, shows off the equilateral triangle shape of the building. CDI is doing the core work, fireproofing and some plastering for the project, the largest yet for our Dallas operation.
“Our division president, Mike Grogan, and our chief estimator, Alan Smith, have never seen a job as complicated as this one." The Arco Building is just across Thanksgiving Square from the 50-story Placid Oil Building, where CDI is finishing up the core work and getting a good start on the lease work. CDI will be at the Arco site until June, 1983, and six to nine months longer if it gets the tenant work.