Gate Precast to Produce Precast Concrete Wall System for Replacement Hospital at Fort Hood

HILLSBORO, Texas — Gate Precast Company has been selected by the Balfour Beatty / McCarthy joint venture design-build team to provide a thermally efficient, pre-insulated, brick inlaid architectural precast concrete exterior wall system for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers" replacement hospital at Fort Hood.

The new $503-million, 944,000-square-foot medical facility is designed by HKS Architects and Wingler & Sharp. The facility will replace the existing Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center.

Gate Precast in Hillsboro, Texas will produce the blast-resistant precast concrete wall panels for the hospital. The firm is in the design and engineering phase of the precast elements, which are being modeled in BIM.

The medical campus is designed to earn LEED-Gold certification. One of the sustainable measures includes a 30-percent reduction in energy use over ASHRAE Standard 90.1. The innovative precast wall panels feature a continuous layer of insulation between the building's interior and exterior preventing thermal bridging that can nullify the effect of the insulation.

Production of the precast components should begin April 2012 with installation of the precast slated to begin December 2012. Construction is expected to be complete in May 2014.

More information on this project can be found at http://www.balfourbeattymccarthy.com.

Gate Precast Company is a subsidiary of Gate Petroleum Company, headquartered in Jacksonville, FL. Gate owns and operates eight manufacturing facilities and has become one of the largest and most diversified precast design assistance consultants and precast concrete producers in the United States. The company is recognized annually as a top subcontractor by Engineering News Record Magazine and was recently presented with Best-in-Class PCI Design Awards on multiple projects. For more information, please visit http://www.gateprecast.com.