Rainier Square Redevelopment

Faster Construction with SpeedCore

Recognizing an opportunity to enlist a next-generation engineering innovation to solve a schedule dilemma, the developer agreed to utilize MKA’s proposed SpeedCore system on Seattle’s second-tallest tower in a manner that proved safe, cost-effective, and fast.

Instead of employing a traditional and time-consuming reinforced concrete core for lateral bracing against wind and seismic forces, SpeedCore’s modular, Lego-like, composite-steel-plate shearwall panels were shop-fabricated to include built-in penetrations for building services and connection materials to receive floor beams, then stacked and shipped to Rainier Square’s construction site for erection. SpeedCore eliminated the need for formwork, reinforcing bars, embed plates, and other time-consuming elements, and allowed the core’s construction to proceed apace with the steel frame’s construction.

As a result, Rainier Square’s steel core was constructed at a rate of four floors per week, a blistering pace compared to the more conventional rate of one floor every three to five days. This construction sequence shaved an astonishing 10 months off the original 32-month schedule, reducing contractor general-condition costs and interest carried on construction loans, as well as allowing Rainier Square to open sooner and generate cash-flow from rent-paying occupants earlier.