Osaka, Japan-based Daikin Industries, Ltd., the leading global manufacturer in heating, cooling and refrigerant products, is expanding its Goodman Manufacturing Co. operations in the United States by constructing a state-of-the-art business campus near Houston. The Texas-sized development, designed by Powers Brown Architecture and LJB Inc., is projected to be operational in mid-2016 and will feature the world’s largest tilt-up concrete building, encompassing 4 million square feet. The structure will incorporate more than 2 miles of panel length, with approximately 370 wall panels. They will account for a large portion of a concrete schedule upwards of 360,000 cubic yards.
“Tilt-up has consistently shown that it is the most economical method of construction for ‘big box’ applications,” says LJB principal Jeff Griffin. “On a project of this size, being able to use load-bearing tilt-up panels and eliminate perimeter steel magnifies those cost savings. In a mature tilt-up market like Houston, the speed at which tilt-up can be achieved amplifies these material savings.”
A.J. Breneman, senior designer for Powers Brown Architecture, notes that all functions are housed in the same structure, incorporating a 1.8-million-sq.-ft. distribution center, a 1.7-million-sq.-ft. manufacturing space (plus 196,500 square feet of mezzanine), a 231,598-sq.-ft. lab space, and a 202,600-sq.-ft. office. The massive 497-acre site will also feature parking for approximately 5,000 vehicles.
“The new business campus will provide many outstanding benefits to our customers,” says Goodman Manufacturing CEO Takeshi Ebisu. “The operational efficiencies we achieve will be reflected in the superb quality of our high-efficiency, energy-saving heating and cooling systems. Daikin is expressing a strong, long-term commitment to its customers in North America.”
The campus will consolidate a variety of Goodman facilities in Houston: two manufacturing plants that produce residential and commericial furnaces and air-conditioning units, an engineering center, and a series of logistics buildings. It will also consolidate two Goodman plants in Tennessee.— Tilt-Up Concrete Association