Breaking the Ice: Tackling Winter Construction Challenges for the Bloomington Port Authority/SICK, Inc. Parking Ramp
Our role in the construction of the Bloomington Parking Ramp involved supplying and installing the EFCO 5600E curtainwall system on the stair towers.
Construction during the winter months often brings unique challenges to a project. That's why close collaboration with our valued partners—Clow Berg Architects (Minneapolis) and Ancoats Construction Management (Minneapolis)—was essential to identifying potential issues early and navigating them successfully as a team.
Challenges We Faced:
The six-story stair tower required a curtainwall system wrapping around three sides, supported directly by structural slabs and stair stringers.
The cast-in-place concrete stairs were constructed during the winter inside a temporary enclosure. This restricted our access to critical control lines and benchmarks, which are essential for accurate layout. This conflict is a common winter construction problem for curtainwall providers. To stay on schedule, we need access to take final fabrication dimensions; however, we cannot obtain access during the pouring and curing period.
While concrete work wasn't completed until late March, the curtainwall system still needed to be installed and enclosed by mid-summer, leaving little room for delay or rework.
How We Solved Them:
Understanding that winter construction can present unforeseen complications, we approached the project with a strong team mindset. From the start, we coordinated closely with Clow Berg and Ancoats to define preliminary slab dimensions and layout strategies that would enable us to stay on schedule with curtain wall fabrication.
We worked through architectural details and recommended adjustments to increase the allowable tolerance in the concrete work. By helping to design a more "robust" curtainwall system we helped limit the schedule disruption potential dimensional variations might cause.
The EFCO 5600E curtainwall system proved to be a key asset. Its modular, installer-friendly design enabled us to adapt our approach without needing to reorder frames or glass—helping avoid costly delays and keeping the project on track.
The Result:
Thanks to the strong coordination and collaboration with Clow Berg and Ancoats, we were able to overcome the added challenges that winter construction can bring and successfully deliver a clean, high-performance curtainwall enclosure for the stair towers.
The EFCO 5600E system met the project's functional needs and aesthetic goals, while also providing the flexibility necessary to adapt to field conditions. We're proud to have contributed to this important facility.
At W. L. Hall Company, your project's success—and your design vision—are our top priorities. We understand that issues can arise, especially in challenging conditions, and we're here to work through them with you to achieve exceptional results.
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