Universal Concrete Products is a proud winner of a 2017 PCI Design Award. The Study at University City is a 10- story luxury hotel at the intersection of two world-class universities in the heart of Philadelphia. "The owner of the project envisioned a high-quality, robust structure that reflected the traditions of building in Philadelphia", says Jeff Goldstein, principal at DIGSAU, the Philadelphia-based architecture firm.
The challenge: erecting this sophisticated piece of architecture on a tight jobsite, in a busy urban environment, and on a short schedule.
Precast Solution: the final design features a façade of solid precast concrete panels containing ironspot thin brick in a three-dimensional garden-wall pattern, which is a popular architectural theme in many of Philadelphia's historic buildings. Universal used bricks of multiple thicknesses, which required custom formliners to produce a highly textured and stealthily repetitive design. The panels were stacked in an offset pattern at corners, and custom brick shapes were used to wrap the exposed jambs and soffits of panels.