Masonry Magazine June 1970 Page. 16
University Center Construction
The University Center at Brigham Young University is rapidly taking shape, thanks to the use of innovative construction techniques. The 12-story structure, designed by architect Fred Markham, is being built using flying form units for the floor slabs and prefabricated masonry panels for the exterior walls.
The flying form system, developed by the concrete contractor, Okland Construction Company, allows for rapid construction of the floor slabs. The system consists of fourteen flying form units that can be repositioned for a new floor in just one hour and twenty minutes. This allows the contractor to pour the 8,000-square-foot floor slabs in just three days, with five days being typical.
The prefabricated masonry panels for the exterior curtain walls are being constructed and installed by the masonry contractor, Gage Behunin Company. The exterior walls will contain over 72,720 square feet of brick masonry prefabricated into panels of 10 different shapes ranging in size from nine feet by three feet to a maximum of nine feet by 17 feet, and 4 inches.
These panels are monolithic units of single wythe three-inch brick. No metal reinforcing is used or required because the bricks are "laid up" with a modified mortar containing Sarabond brand mortar additive, a product of The Dow Chemical Company. Sarabond is a high-strength polymeric emulsion designed to improve the structural qualities of portland cement mortar. In repeated testing, mortar containing Sarabond withstands higher stresses than the brick itself.
The use of high-bond mortar containing Sarabond additive not only has permitted the handling and installation of masonry panels as monolithic units, but also has produced sufficient flexural strength with the panels in place to resist design wind loads without back-up.
The prefabricated panels are being manufactured at a rate of 25 panels per day in an on-site factory employing a total of 25 brick layers over three shifts. Since the normal rate of installation is about 15 panels per eight-hour day, completed panels are adequately cured in storage prior to installation.