Harris Corners I and II
Charlotte, North Carolina
Owner:
Beacon Partners
Architect:
Merriman Schmitt Architects
Delivery Method:
General Contractor
Size:
126,000 sq. ft.
Completion Date:
1998
Final Cost:
$4.0 Million
Featuring tilt-wall construction and a brick veneer exterior, both Harris Corner office buildings were primary additions to a new business/industrial park. The project also included roadwork and 70 acres of site work.
Unlike bringing in pre-cast walls, concrete slabs are poured on-site and lifted — or tilted — into place. The relatively new technique bypasses tight schedules at pre-cast plants, and avoids the cost of transportation and traditional subcontracting.
With one building down and the second under construction, a Knutson employee noticed a problem. Because of a drainage-related miscalculation, the sidewalks had been engineered with a series of peaks and valleys. Pedestrians would have to traverse a series of hills to reach Harris Corners II.
Instead of skirting liability for a problem it didn’t create, Knutson engineered a solution. Crews flattened the walkways and installed an underground drainage system that collects water and routes it to the rear of the building.