B. Pietrini & Sons of King of Prussia, Pa., recently completed a mass foundation pour for the Comcast Innovation and Technology Center in Philadelphia, Pa.
Michael Ricchezza, estimator and project manager, reported that the foundation pour was the base for the elevator and core of the new building. The foundation was 102 by 96 by 10 ft. thick (31 by 29 by 3 m). Approximately 400 tons (362.8 t) of reinforcing steel was placed, and the pour consisted of 3,800 cu. yds. (2,905 cu m) of concrete. Reinforcing steel was supplied by Harold Carmichael & ReSteel Supply and placed by Bayshore Rebar of Pleasantville, N.J. Concrete was supplied by two suppliers; SJA Concrete of Philadelphia and Action Concrete Supply of Sharon Hill, Pa.
Concrete began discharging at approximately 1:45 a.m. into a Schwing 47SX and 39SX pump that poured directly in the foundation from Arch Street. There also were two Schwing 34M pumps working in tandem. One placed on Arch Street and one placed down closer to the foundation to reach the farthest point.
A crew of approximately 45 people pumped, placed and finished, and also coordinated trucks to the various concrete pumps. After much planning, the flow of trucks to pump worked very well with few delays. The continuous flow was required so that no wet concrete went over hardened concrete. The concrete mixture contained high levels of fly ash and retarders to slow down the hydrating process. Approximately nine hours after placement, two layers of concrete blankets were placed on the top surface to maintain the heat so that the bottom, center, and top had no more than a 35-degree variation. Monitoring of the concrete temperatures was performed by CMT Services of King of Prussia.
The L.F. Driscoll Company of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., is the construction manager for the project. Foster & Partners of London is the architect for a "vertical stacked campus" that seeks to replicate suburban-style offices in a high-rise. Thornton-Tomasetti, one of the world's leading firms for developing skyscrapers, designed the structural engineering for the new tower from its Philadelphia office.
The building will be 59 stories tall, or 1,121 ft. (341.7 m), and topped by a 222-room luxury hotel. When finished, the Comcast Innovation and Technology Center will be the tallest building in Philadelphia.
B. Pietrini & Sons is the concrete subcontractor for the project. The company is among the largest concrete construction contractors in the tri-state area servicing Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware and has worked on many large projects in the Philadelphia area such as Citizens Bank Park, the new Phantom Arena in Allentown, the Kimmel Center, the National Jewish History Museum, The Residence at Ritz and 10 Rittenhouse Place high rise condominiums, Terminal 1 at the Philadelphia International Airport, Bloom Energy in Delaware, and many projects in New Jersey, such as Princeton University 20 Washington Road, Station & Store, and the Arts and Transit Enabling project.
As well as being a concrete contractor, the company also has the largest fleet of concrete pumps and conveyors in the area, which are available on a rental basis. Their equipment company, King of Prussia Equipment Corp. is a distributor of Schwing Concrete Pumps and Loop Belt Conveyors, plus many brands and models of placing and finishing equipment.
B. Pietrini & Sons noted that the project came to them as a result of the management, estimators, and key field personnel working together to plan and present a winning proposal to the L.F. Driscoll Company.
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