Hilton Grand Waikikian Tower-Waikiki, Hawaii

The 38-story concrete tower houses 331 time-share units. The exterior of the building is covered with precast concrete with a Hawaiian décor. The project consists of nearly 1,000 precast pieces including walls, columns and cornices.

This tower is one of DesignCast’s most impressive architectural jobs. The tower uses architectural thin-rib precast concrete panels which boast a 60 percent reduction in panel weight compared to conventional precast. More specifically, the cladding consists of a 3-inch thick precast panel with a 6-inch thick prestressed structural rib adjacent to each opening. Panels are additionally reinforced with CarbonCast reinforcing mesh.

These panels eliminate the need for structural edge beams while the post-tensioned floor plates provide enough structural support on their own. This allows a significant cost savings on the superstructure.