Brookwood Baptist Church, Shreveport

In seeking a solution to its lack of space for future growth at its 30-year-old Shreveport facility, Brookwood Baptist Church knew relocation would be a major factor in solving the space problem.

To continue their vision of meeting the ministry needs of their community, the congregation selected a site at the intersection of Interstate 49 and Bert Kouns Avenue, an area showing growth and promise for expansion.

A key issue in relocating the campus was selecting a method of construction that would best utilize the congregation's financial investment through construction cost savings, low maintenance and reduced operating costs.

After thorough comparison of conventional structural steel/masonry construction, pre-engineering metal building and concrete tilt-wall construction, the building committee accepted the architect's recommendation to incorporate tilt-wall construction into the design.

The Tilt-up Concrete Association (TCA) reports that in Texas and other Sunbelt states, tilt-up accounts for as much as 75 percent of new one-story commercial building construction, yet the process is underutilized in the religious construction market.

As contractor of choice for the 58,000-sq.-ft. facility, Lincoln Builders Inc. of Ruston embarked on the project in September 2002 to provide Brookwood Baptist with the advantages tilt-wall construction could afford, such as construction cost savings, fast construction schedule, safety and aesthetics.

Wood framing was assembled on the floor slab to form a mold for the 36-ft. panels, providing exact shape and size, doorways and window openings to meet the design specifications and fit together properly. With the network of reinforcing steel bars tied into the form, workers installed inserts and embeds for lifting the panels and attaching them to the footings, roof system and to each other.

The slab beneath the forms was then cleaned of debris and water, and concrete was poured into the forms to create the panels.

Once the concrete panels solidified, the forms were removed and the panels were connected to a 124-ton crane with cables that hook into the inserts. The 25,000-lb. panels were lifted, or "tilted" up, by the crane into a vertical position above the footings where workers guided and set them into place.

The process was repeated to form and erect 160 panels, reaching completion of the building shell within three months and saving six months construction time over conventional construction.