Sources: Swenson Group, San Jose, Calif.; CP staff
Northern California contractor and developer Swenson Group has secured a patent for a reinforced concrete design suited to mid- to high-rise buildings, with strategically located outer columns and perimeter shear walls; optimal interior column placement; deflection-resisting, cantilevered floor slabs of 6- to 8-in. thickness; and, up to four-hour fire-rated assemblies. Equal to California Seismic Safety Codes for Hospitals and Emergency buildings, the Landmaker has been used in six Swenson projects around Silicon Valley, most recently San Jose’s Century Center Towers and Centerra Apartments.
“Landmaker creates buildings that are safer, stronger and more marketable to residential and commercial developers and investors as well as the tenants themselves. This patent solidifies Landmaker’s relevance in the market and the value it brings to projects across the country,” says Group President and fourth generation developer Case Swenson. While the primary focus is on structural safety and sustainability, he adds, the inherent cost benefit is undeniable: the Landmaker system allows the developer/owner to take advantage of the air rights of a property to achieve a higher density on the same piece of property.
U.S. Patent 9,297,158 for Landmark is assigned to Swenson Group parent Green Valley Corp. It credits California inventors C. Barron “Barry” Swenson of San Jose, chairman of Barry Swenson Builder, one of five Group companies; Don Peoples of Milpitas, who pursued seismic design solutions after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, founding Peoples Associates Structural Engineers and listing a Facebook data center among recent project credits; Hardip Pannu of Moraga, a member of the design team behind Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix; and, Bo Lundmark of Long Beach, who holds patents involving design, methods and construction processes for multi-story structures.