Our friends at CollinsWoerman have been working on a concept known as Sustainable Living Innovations (SLI), which is a new approach to design and construction that would appeal largely to cost-conscious developers and consumers.
Our Seattle team has been working closely with CollinsWoerman, Lydig Construction, and McKinstry to devise and refine this new design technology. The SLI building method can be used to construct concrete and steel structures up to eight stories high, for about the same cost as wood-frame structures. Each unit of the construction process is completed separately. First, a concrete podium is poured. On top of that, separate concrete slabs are created. Then, pre-fabricated steel is erected to form the structures and a slab with pre-finished roofing material is lifted up using internal hydraulic jacks and cables. The inside of each unit, including cabinets, appliances, fixtures, utility wall, demising wall, outside wall, and window systems are all placed on a slab that is then lifted up through the building to form the top floor. The slab is then connected to the frame, the innards are installed, and the process is repeated floor by floor, until all eight levels are assembled.
The Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce recently wrote an article about SLI and the potential it brings to the construction industry. Congratulations to all those involved on this great press!
Click here to view the entire article.