The newest residence hall under construction on the west end of campus will be completed and ready for students to move in before fall classes of 2014.
Michael Molina, vice chancellor of Facilities, Planning & Construction, said the only reason the university will be able to complete the residence hall by August 2014, is thanks to a new construction material called insulated concrete forms, or ICF.
“We saved about 60 days of time to go with this technology,” Molina said. “And, you can tell it’s gone up way quicker than anything we’ve ever done. So, from concept to keys, we’re [at] about a 16-month turnaround for this project.”
In its simplest terms, Molina said, ICFs are two pieces of foam separated by many plastic joints. He said the forms are staked and glued together to create the walls of the building.
After completing a section, Molina said, contractors then fill the gap between the two foam sections with structural materials and concrete.
“We actually slide the steel rods, rebar and infrastructure into that to create a form,” Molina said, “and then it’s filled with the certain types of concrete.”
This is the first time the Texas Tech University System has used the new construction material, but Molina said using ICF has proven to be so easy and cost-efficient the university plans to use it more often in the future.
Molina said the pre-fabricated foam-forms are also very ‘green’ because the walls include two six-inch-thick pieces of foam insulation.
“So, major energy savings at the end of the day,” Molina said, “and it’s built into the product not added on layers. So, it’s already there – very, very cool.”
But that’s not the only ‘green’ aspect of the new residence hall, Molina said. The carpet for the building will be made with completely recycled products, he said, and all of the wood products used in the building will be organic, naturally grown wood.
Molina said the building will have 455 bed spaces, and some of the rooms will even include a washer and dryer and a full kitchen.
Even with the added amenities, Molina said the new hall will be one of the most energy efficient on Tech’s campus and use the least amount of energy to heat and cool the building.
“We’re not doing all of this just to say we are LEED certified,” Molina said, “but rather because we care. We care about the future.”
Denise Hostick, the project’s manager for Texas Tech’s Facilities, Planning and Construction Department, gave an exclusive, unrestricted tour of the residence hall under construction on the west side of the campus.
Alicia Keene contributed to this post.
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