BYU Idaho Center

The 435,000-square-foot BYU-Idaho Center, a 15,000-seat auditorium and multipurpose area large enough for 10 full basketball courts, used quick-to-erect CarbonCast Architectural Cladding and CarbonCast High Performance Insulated Wall Panels.

The largest precast shear wall of its kind in the U.S. and the first constructed with CarbonCast technology in the region is about 96’ tall and over 400 linear feet long with a segmented radius. It provides primary lateral resistance and support for auditorium risers and the nearly 10-foot deep, 106-foot long roof trusses in this high seismic region.

CarbonCast Architectural Cladding measuring 10×30’ with a 2.75” thick face, ribs and open back were hung off the shear caliper walls using specially designed wet joint connections. These connections allowed movement of the panels and access to the exterior of the building without compromising the finish.

CarbonCast products are manufactured with C-GRID® carbon fiber grid that is more than four times the structural strength of steel with negligible thermal conductivity contributing to lighter, stronger enclosure systems. Its use enabled reductions of about 300 tons of structural steel for seismic braced frames, footing, and deep foundations contributing to significant cost savings. Panels also offered a design life of 100 years and maintained the relatively low weight of GFRC originally specified on the project. Continuous insulation, R-value and insulation type were secondary considerations.

The 16” wall was completed in 10 weeks compared to seven months had it been cast in place. These products are fabricated off-site in a controlled factory environment and delivered for immediate erection eliminating material and equipment storage, weather delays and other setbacks and expediting construction.The mix used elements from Colorado, Utah and Idaho and took about a year of sample making to achieve the desired blend and finish.