The Ala Moana Hotel
Client: |
Ala Moana Hotel Corp. (Partnership of American Airlines & Dillingham Corporation) |
Architect: |
John Graham & Associates, Seattle, Washington |
Project Location: |
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA |
Project Scope: |
Structural Design and Construction Engineering |
Project Details: |
Main hotel tower 38 stories, 960 rooms, 390 ft. above street level; Additional hotel wing 13-stories, 308 rooms. Total floor area = 1.1million ft2 |
Challenge: |
Designing a method of joining precast elements in the field that would not be too elaborate and expensive but yet able to achieve the necessary continuity, ductility and toughness. Designed to be the tallest building in Hawaii upon completion. |
Solution: |
Structural design utilized a special “column tree” framing system of precast concrete structural members joined with Alfred A. Yee’s patented NMB Splice Sleeve grouted mechanical couplers. |
Results: |
Structural design and construction method enabled construction to proceed at a breakneck pace of one complete 18,120ft2 floor every 2.5 days. Construction costs were substantially reduced and construction time was cut by an estimated 8 months. At its 1973 completion at 38 stories, the Ala Moana Hotel was the tallest building in Honolulu. |
Read Articles |
Concrete Column Tree Frame Cuts Construction Time for Hotel (PDF) |
