IM Energy/Industrial Award of Merit: Kihomac

KIHOMAC
Layton, Utah
Award of Merit

Owner: Kihomac
Lead Design Firm: Case, Lowe & Hart Inc.
General Contractor: R&O Construction
Subcontractors: HOJ Engineering & Sales Inc.; Messerly Concrete Contractors; Mountain States Fence Co.; Redd Roofing Co.; Staker Parson Cos.; Western Industrial Door Co.; H.A. Fabricators; Knight Electric Inc.; MKB Mechanical Inc.

Significant challenges accompanied R&O’s construction of a new 125,000-sq-ft corporate compound—offices, manufacturing plant and a warehouse—for military contractor KIHOMAC in Clearfield, Utah. Heavy snow and winter winds made safety critically important. The construction site was on a hilly outcrop that made it hard to install the tilt-up wall panels.

Using tarps and cranes, the construction team constantly cleared snow from the site. That made it possible to set the panels on the difficult terrain, with crews doing the work from the inside rather than have the crane tracking from the outside.

Toward the end of the project, the owner mentioned how much he enjoyed watching jets landing and taking off from nearby Hill Air Force Base. That led to construction of the atrium, situated on top of the warehouse. The “eagle’s nest,” as it came to be called, was considered the highlight of the project, both for the owner and the construction team.