Utah heavy-highway contractor W.W. Clyde has been in business since 1926, when its crews used horse-drawn plows and scrapers to create infrastructure that transformed the state from a railway-based system into one reliant on roadways.

Because the contractor builds roads, bridges and water-management structures, the project team chose a hardy finish—tilt-up concrete—for the company’s first-ever stand-alone corporate office building.

The design-build project created a 14,000-sq-ft building using the carefully crafted concrete, streamlined glass detailing and concrete forms lined with cedar board for exterior texturing. All exterior walls and some of the interior walls are exposed concrete, with the former blasted for a smooth finish.

The finished product—the exposed architectural tilt-up concrete—was placed at the beginning of the project. Since the construction process can be abrasive, resulting in scuffs, scratches, marks and chipping, finishes are usually done at the end of a project—after the rough work is complete. Painting the tilt-up can hide scuffs and chips, but not for exposed tilt-up. As a result, crews took special care to protect the concrete panels throughout construction.

To form the panels, Hughes laid plastic over the slab, put plywood on top of the plastic and nailed cedar on top of the plywood. The concrete was then poured over the cedar to absorb its shape and texture. Crews did the forming in the winter and covered it with a tent to protect it from the elements.

The landscaping plan includes  equipment tank tracks shaped into planter boxes. The project  team walked through W.W. Clyde’s expansive equipment yard and handpicked elements to integrate into the landscaping.

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