COVER STORY
By Tina Cauller
CHOKE POINTS and IKEA, Burbank, Calif. Class III ($1 million to $2.5 million) Erector: S.L. Shaw Company Structural Engineer: KJWW Fabricator: Sun Steel Detailer: Ben Finnoe Design GC: VCC USA Architect: Greenberg-Farrow Contract Value: $2.4 million Tons of Steel Erected: 3,300
LIMITED LAYDOWN Big Box Retail and High Rise Office Share Common Challenges
609 Main 'Crown,' Houston, Texas Class II ($500,000 to $1 million) Erector: Peterson Beckner Industries Structural Engineer: Cardno Haynes Whaley Fabricator: United Structures of America Detailer: G.W. Slade Consultants Inc. GC: D.E. Harvey Builders Architect: Picard Chilton Contract Value: $663,000 Tons of Steel Erected: 410
Kubota HQ, Grapevine, Texas Class II (Honorable Mention) Erector: Mid Cities Erectors Structural Engineer: AG&E Associates, PLLC Fabricator: MMW Fabrication Ltd. Detailer: Poerr & Associates GC: Hill & Wilkinson General Contractors Architect: Corgan Contract Value: $719,000 Tons of Steel Erected: 890
To make up for time lost to exceptionally wet weather, S.L. Shaw pre-assembled all the joists.
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wo very different steel erection projects, one a low-rise big box retail space, the other a skyscraper, shared common challenges. Overcoming tight access to the site and limited laydown areas required highly coordinated logistics on both projects. At the 2017 SEAA National Convention, S.L. Shaw Company was awarded Class III Project of the Year for its work on the IKEA store in Burbank, Calif., while the Class II Project of the Year went to Peterson Beckner Industries for its contribution to one of Houston’s newest, most ambitious skyscrapers.
■■IKEA construction by S. L. Shaw Company almost as difficult as assembly of one of the retailer’s bookshelves Swedish furniture and housewares giant IKEA expanded into North America in 1985 and opened its first California store in Burbank in 1990. After outgrowing that space, the company recently unveiled a record-setting Tina Cauller is a graphic designer and freelance writer with 30 years of experience reporting for trade and technical publications in building construction and real estate markets. She can be reached at tinacauller@gmail.com
32 | THE STEEL ERECTORS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
replacement – a new facility nearly twice the size of the original store and the largest IKEA store in the Americas. The massive threelevel structure occupies 22 acres and houses 483,900 square feet of retail space with parking for 1,700 vehicles. The multi-level store includes a spacious showroom with 50 room settings and 600-seat restaurant, a self-serve warehouse, and convenient loading areas. S.L. Shaw Company, Bakersfield, Calif., garnered SEAA’s Class III Project of the Year