Spec-Brik® brings the classic look of a historic repurposed building to a modern Columbus, Ohio market place.
Designers of Giant Eagle’s new Market District at Grandview Yard in Columbus had a specific type of structure in mind: an early 20th century wholesale produce warehouse. Historically, cities across the Midwest built large brick warehouses as a central spot to transfer incoming farm produce from refrigerated rail cars to delivery trucks. Today, surviving structures are often rehabbed into multi-purpose retail, commercial and even residential properties.
“The double height space with masonry on the interior as well as the exterior certainly reminds one of warehouse district architecture,” says Ed Gebauer, CSI, CDT, Architectural Masonry Specialist at OBERFIELDS LLC.
“The Grandview Heights project is built with over 95-thousand Spec-Brik® architectural concrete masonry units in a Wesleyan blend color. Those units, along with the architect’s innovative design, make the 92-thousand square foot structure very reminiscent of an old produce distribution building.”
Gebauer notes the building envelope is constructed of 12” deep x 4” high x 16” long Spec-Brik® units, which proved to be a good choice for the building scale. The Spec-Brik® units feature sloped cross-webs called WCT (Water Control Technology) to resist moisture penetration by diverting water downward into wall’s drainage system. The CMU also contain Integral Water Repellent (IWR) and conforms to ASTM C90 specifications for normal weight density units.
Thermal Performance
Thermal performance is achieved by use of ICON thermal foam inserts, including in the grouted cells. Solar panels on the white TPO roof contribute to building energy efficiency. The project is expected to obtain LEED certification.
Designed by Pittsburgh’s DLA+ Architecture & Interior Design, the new Giant Eagle is one of the grocery chain’s latest stores to carry the upscale Market District brand designation. “Giant Eagle chose our firm to design new prototypes for their Market District stores,” says Kari Miller of DLA+. “The result of our collaboration is a simpler streamlined building envelope that features single-wythe load-bearing masonry with minimal decoration. The featured single-wythe masonry is left exposed on the interior and perfectly mates with the owner’s décor and merchandising plans. The combination of the attractive masonry color mix and the custom-color windows, entrances and exposed exterior and interior structure provides clean visual interest without distracting from the merchandise.”
Completed in 2014, the project was recognized for its innovative design by the Ohio Masonry Association, and was awarded both the 2015 Retail Facilities Honor Design Award and the Award of Excellence. “The high quality design details really impressed the panel’s award committee,” says Gebauer. “One Awards Juror remarked that the building should be the design standard for major prototypes being developed by all food store chains.”
Located near the intersection of SR 315 and I-670, Grandview Yard is a mixed-use development in Grandview Heights, Ohio, one of the very first Columbus suburbs. The former industrial site is now a vibrant pedestrian-friendly urban neighborhood. It was developed and is owned by Nationwide Realty Investors.
ABOUT OBERFIELDS LLC
OBERFIELDS LLC, a member of the Concrete Products Group, is Ohio’s best-known name in concrete masonry, landscape, precast and sitescape products.
