No. 27 - B. Pietrini & Sons - Concrete Construction Since … B˜˘˛ a R"ˇˇ˙˘˜˚ CEG...

By Brenda RuggieroCEG CORRESPONDENT

B. Pietrini & Sons of King of Prussia,Pa., recently completed a mass founda-tion pour for the Comcast Innovation andTechnology Center in Philadelphia, Pa.Michael Ricchezza, estimator and

project manager, reported that the foun-dation pour was the base for the elevatorand core of the new building. The foun-dation was 102 by 96 by 10 ft. thick (31by 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. Reinforcingsteel was supplied by Harold Carmichael& ReSteel Supply and placed byBayshore Rebar of Pleasantville, N.J.Concrete was supplied by two suppliers;SJA Concrete of Philadelphia and ActionConcrete Supply of Sharon Hill, Pa.Concrete began discharging at

approximately 1:45 a.m. into a Schwing47SX and 39SX pump that poureddirectly in the foundation from ArchStreet. There also were two Schwing34M pumps working in tandem. Oneplaced on Arch Street and one placeddown closer to the foundation to reach

the farthest point.A crew of approximately 45 people

pumped, placed and finished, and alsocoordinated approximately 375 truck-loads of concrete to the various concretepumps. After much planning, the flow oftrucks to pump worked very well withfew delays. The continuous flow wasrequired so that no wet concrete wentover hardened concrete. The concretemixture contained high levels of fly ashand retarders to slow down the hydratingprocess. Approximately nine hours afterplacement, two layers of concrete blan-kets were placed on the top surface tomaintain the heat so that the bottom, cen-ter, and top had no more than a 35-degreevariation. Monitoring of the concretetemperatures was performed by CMTServices of King of Prussia.The L.F. Driscoll Company of Bala

Cynwyd, Pa., is the construction manag-er for the project. Foster & Partners ofLondon is the architect for a “verticalstacked campus” that seeks to replicatesuburban-style offices in a high-rise.Thornton-Tomasetti, one of the world’sleading firms for developing skyscrap-ers, designed the structural engineeringfor the new tower from its Philadelphiaoffice.The building will be 59 stories tall, or

1,121 ft. (341.7 m), and topped by a 222-room luxury hotel. When finished, theComcast Innovation and TechnologyCenter will be the tallest building inPhiladelphia. B. Pietrini & Sons is theconcrete subcontractor for the project.The company is among the largest con-crete construction contractors in the tri-state area servicing Pennsylvania, NewJersey and Delaware and has worked onmany large projects in the Philadelphiaarea such as Citizens Bank Park, thenew Phantom Arena in Allentown, theKimmel Center, the National JewishHistory Museum, The Residence at Ritzand 10 Rittenhouse Place high rise con-dominiums, Terminal 1 at thePhiladelphia International Airport,Bloom Energy in Delaware, and manyprojects in New Jersey, such as PrincetonUniversity 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 ofconcrete pumps and conveyors in thearea, which are available on a rentalbasis. Their equipment company, Kingof Prussia Equipment Corp. is a distribu-tor of Schwing Concrete Pumps andLoop Belt Conveyors, plus many brandsand models of placing and finishingequipment.B. Pietrini & Sons noted that the proj-

ect came to them as a result of the man-agement, estimators, and key field per-sonnel working together to plan andpresent a winning proposal to the L.F.Driscoll Company.

(This story also can be found onConstruction Equipment Guide’s Website at www.constructionequipment-guide.com.) CEG

B. Pietrini & Sons Complete Mass Concrete Pour

Concrete began discharging at approximately 1:45 a.m. into a Schwing 47SXand 39SX pump that poured directly in the foundation from Arch Street.

Approximately 400 tons (362.8 t) of reinforcing steel was placed.

The continuous flow was requiredso that no wet concrete went overhardened concrete.

B. Pietrini & Sons ProjectSuperintendent Bob Clements (L)and B. Pietrini & Sons PresidentFrancis Pietrini.

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December 31, 2014 • Vol. LIV • No.27 • 470 Maryland Drive • Ft. Washington, PA 19034 • 215-885-2900 • Toll Free 800-523-2200 • Fax 215-885-2910

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The concrete pour consisted of 3,800 cu. yds. (2,905 cu m) of concrete.

A crew of approximately 45 people pumped, placed andfinished, and also coordinated trucks to the variousconcrete pumps.

The L.F. Driscoll Company of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., is the construction managerfor the project.