Madison Concrete

As we enter 2023, we are fortunate to be working on a multitude of great projects in the greater Philadelphia area. So, what has our team been up to over the past few months? In a word…LOTS!

CLOSE TO THE TOP!

• Madison Concrete’s superstructure work on the new 20-story, multi-family building at 123 South 12th Street in the Washington Square West neighborhood is now complete and turned over to the other trades. The 371,000-square-foot project includes 399 residential spaces, 94 underground parking spaces and ground-level retail. Want to see the live webcam of the project? Click on Clemens Construction website.
• We have topped out and started removing material and equipment from the JFK West tower at Schuylkill Yards project. The mixed-use tower at 3025 John F. Kennedy Blvd. provides 200,000 square feet of office space with a dedicated amenity floor.
• In addition, the Madison crews are working on the 15^th level of The Standard at Philadelphia, a 19-story, post-tensioned concrete structure. Adjacent to both campuses of the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, the units will include high-end and will be open to residents during the fall of 2023.

MOVING RIGHT ALONG!

• Footings are complete and we are working on the foundation walls at the University of Pennsylvania’s Amy Gutmann Hall. Serving as the home of all data science academic and research programs, this 115,000-square- foot building will house labs, classrooms, and research centers.
• In February, the Madison team will begin slab pours at University of Pennsylvania’s Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology (VLEST) at the University of Pennsylvania. This project, expected to be completed in 2024, will be a model of low-energy laboratory design. It will house high-performance optics labs, fume-intensive chemistry labs, a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer suite with helium recovery and more.
• At 204 South 12th Street in Washington Square West, Madison teams are working on the foundation walls and structural concrete levels of the 32-story tower. The building will feature 378 residential units as well as 96 parking spaces. In total, the building will hold 401,870 square feet of space.
• Walkable to Philadelphia’s popular Rittenhouse Square neighborhood, 1620 Sansom Street in Center City offers 254 luxury rental spaces and a 12,000-square-foot rooftop garden terrace. . Previously home to an aging parking garage, we are working a three-day cycle on elevated floors – currently on level 16 of the 27-story structure.
• With a collection of more than 97,000 works, the Princeton University Art Museum is one of the world’s leading university art museums. Our teams are currently continuing work on concrete floors in the Grand Hall as well as sandblasting more than 60,000 square feet of concrete walls. The combined concrete and steel structure with exposed architectural concrete is expected to open in late 2024.

GETTING READY TO ROLL!

• Madison is collaborating with HSC Builders & Construction Managers, WRNS Studios and Thornton Tomasetti on Princeton University’s University Health Services (UHS) Building. We are expecting to start foundation work on the hybrid mass timber and steel structure in mid-February. Construction is expected to be completed in 2024.

Madison is excited to watch these and all of our projects come to completion. If you are planning a project, let us know how we can use our experience and expertise to assist you!

Throughout the 53-year history of Madison Concrete Construction, our ownership, the Dolente family, has generously supported many local organizations and charities. Through both The Dolente Foundation and the donation of labor, materials and equipment, the Dolente family has always endeavored to give back to the community, in addition to stressing the importance of family. This has always resonated with me throughout my career with Madison. In 2022 alone, their support has extended to such varied entities including:

Cornerstone Christian Academy – This faith-based school in southwest Philadelphia has been inspiring hope in children since 1988. Their success is evidenced by the fact that 95 percent of their graduates earn a high school diploma in four years and 65 percent go on to pursue post-secondary education. Visit their website to find out more.

Lankenau Medical Center – As a longtime teaching and research hospital, Lankenau Medical Center is committed to maintaining high-level expertise across all clinical areas—from primary care and disease prevention to medical and surgical management of all diseases and disorders. Its surgeons, medical doctors, nurses, researchers and other clinicians are consistently recognized for providing outstanding care. Find out more by visiting their website.

Cannonball Kids’ cancer Foundation (CKc) – Cancer is the number one killer by disease of children. At Cannonball Kids’ cancer (CKc), they are passionate about changing this statistic. CKc’s mission is to fund innovative and accessible research for children fighting cancer to provide better treatments and quality of life, and to educate for change. Their rigorous, relationship-based, invite-only grants process ensures that 92 percent of CKc-funded trials are first-of-their-kind in the US. Find out more about CKc by visiting their website.

Sisters of Mercy – The Sisters of Mercy is an international community of Roman Catholic women who dedicate their lives to others and take vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and service. The Sisters of Mercy envision a just world for people who are economically poor, sick and uneducated and ,with more than 2,000 sisters in the Americas, they strive to make a difference in the lives of those in need in North, South and Central America, the Caribbean, Guam and the Philippines. Find out more about the Sisters and their mission here.

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) – The mission of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. As a global leader in the fight to cure blood cancer, LLS is the largest nonprofit dedicated to creating a world without blood cancers. Since 1949, LLS has invested nearly $1.5 billion in groundbreaking research, pioneering many of today’s most innovative approaches. Visit their website to find out more about the work of LLS.

At Madison Concrete, every project we work on is something we commit to as a means to further develop and support our communities. I am very proud of Madison for their sincere commitment to community involvement. My heartfelt gratitude goes out the Dolente family for continuing to place a high value on family and community.

As we move into fall, Madison Concrete is continuing superstructure work on the new 20-story, multifamily building at 123 South 12th Street in the Washington Square West neighborhood. The 371,000-square-foot project will include 399 residential spaces, 94 underground parking spaces and ground-level retail.

On Monday, Aug. 22, we made our first pour on the 8th floor and are on track to hit our four-day cycle on the typical floors.

In addition to Madison, the project team includes:

Contractor: Clemens Construction Co.

Owner:       Greystar Development

Architect:    BLT Architects & Studios Architecture

Structural Engineer: The Harman Group

Want to see the live webcam of the project? Click on Clemens Construction website.

Summer means many things to us here at Madison: more jobs, more fun and more employees exposed to the sun, heat and humidity. We want to ensure our employees return home safely… without a detour to the hospital due to heat-related illness. With virtually all of the United States experiencing above-normal temperatures over the past weeks, we wanted to remind everyone to follow these simple tips to keep your crews safe and cool on the job during these warm, summer months.

Drink more water, not caffeine! 

Hydration is key to avoiding heat stress. Avoid caffeinated and sugary drinks that can lead to dehydration. Encourage your team to drink small amounts of water often, even when not thirsty. One cup every 15 to 20 minutes should be sufficient. Provide cool drinking water in convenient locations.

Take breaks in the shade

Provide air-conditioned or shaded break areas close to the work area and enforce rest breaks. A temporary shelter can be a trailer, tent, parking garage or under the shade of trees or buildings.

Wear light-colored, lightweight clothing

Provide light-colored hard hats with brims that shade the face and encourage workers to wear breathable (cotton), light-colored and loose-fitting clothing. Long sleeves are better than short. Personal cooling apparel also can help, such as cooling vests with pockets for cold packs and either cooling or water-dampened bandanas, towels and other gear.

Adjust schedules

Whenever possible, save the “heavy lifting” for the cooler morning hours. And where possible, set up shade canopies over work areas exposed to direct sunlight. Also consider earlier start times or evening and night shifts.

To help determine when the above tactics are needed, download OSHA’s Heat Safety Tool app, which allows anyone to calculate the heat index for a jobsite and the risk level for outdoor workers. And to learn more about staying safe and cool on the jobsite, check out OSHA’s Water. Rest. Shade. (#WaterRestShade) campaign.

Connected.Supported.Safe is the theme for this year’s Construction Safety Week, an annual week-long event when the construction industry recommits to sending every worker home safe each day. The mission of Safety Week is to strengthen the industry’s attention to safety, share best practices, tools and resources. Construction Safety Week is scheduled for next week, May 2-6. And this year, Safety Week Daily Topics are available with accompanying videos and Toolbox Talks to help you plan conversations, demonstrations and activities with your team.

A Culture of Safety

For more than 50+ years, safety on the jobsite has been the number one priority at Madison. Through the employment of a corporate safety director and safety manager, the implementation and enforcement of a comprehensive safety policy and the in-house production of an Employee Safety Orientation program and video, Madison is recognized in the local construction industry as a contractor that strives to provide a safe working environment for our employees and the employees of other trades that may be working nearby.

Our safety professionals work hard to stay on top of the latest safety regulations and industry trends. Our program incorporates safety procedures so that they become a natural part of daily activities. This is done through teamwork, collaborative evaluation of incidents to determine measures that reduce risk, and teaching employees to proactively identify and mitigate risks. Participation is expected at every level of the organization, from executive staff to field workers. However, the program is implemented from the top down so managers can verbalize the message of safety to staff and lead by example.

We’d love to hear about how you’re approaching safety on your projects and how we can use our experience to assist you. If you would like to learn more about our policy and how it might relate to your project, I invite you to contact me or our safety department.

The first quarter of 2022 has been a busy one for Madison Concrete. Along with our work at Princeton University’s art museum and a multi-family building in the Washington Square West neighborhood, we have also secured work through January 2023. Below are just a few projects we are excited to begin.

Princeton University: Health Services Building
Madison is collaborating with HSC Builders & Construction Managers, WRNS Studios and Thornton Tomasetti on Princeton University’s University Health Services (UHS) Building. Located in the heart of the campus, the building will connect three wings, each with a different focus—counseling and psychological services/SHARE, urgent and outpatient medical care and administrative/health promotion and prevention services space. One wing, Eno Hall, a laboratory building constructed in 1924, will anchor the UHS Building in Princeton’s rich architectural history while connecting to its present and future with two contemporary wing additions stretching towards two primary pedestrian walkways. UHS will employ a hybrid mass timber and steel structure. Construction is expected to begin January 2023 and be completed in 2024.

University of Pennsylvania: Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science & Technology
The University of Pennsylvania’s Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology (VLEST) is a project Madison will be embarking on with the L.F. Driscoll Company, Behnisch Architects, and KH Engineering DPC beginning in July 2022. Although small in relative scale, the VLEST building will play an outsized role in the expression of the university towards the city of Philadelphia by announcing its commitment to outstanding research and scholarship in the field of innovative energy development. The building will be a model of low-energy laboratory design, in light of the university’s pursuit to reach carbon neutrality by 2030. The project, which will house High-Performance Optics Labs, Fume-Intensive Chemistry Labs, a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer Suite with Helium Recovery and more, is expected to be completed in 2024.

University of Pennsylvania: Amy Gutman Hall/SEAS Data Science Center
Another University of Pennsylvania project, Amy Gutmann Hall, will house the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and serve as the home of all data science academic and research programs. The building will centralize resources for scholars across a wide variety of fields making data analysis tools and concepts more accessible to the university community. This 115,000-square- foot building will house labs, classrooms, and research centers. With a goal of connecting its occupants who work in a digital world back to nature, the building will integrate ecological environments into interior spaces and maximize light and views of campus. The six-story building will be Penn and Philadelphia’s first mass timber building. Working with Gilbane Building Company, Lake|Flato and KSS Architects and Burohappold Engineering, construction is set to begin in November 2022.

Madison Concrete is excited to see these projects launched to help advance the medical and educational facilities in our area. If you are planning a project, let us know how we can use our experience and expertise to assist you.

With a collection of more than 97,000 works, the Princeton University Art Museum is one of the world’s leading university art museums. Even though the building has had numerous additions and modifications over the years, it only has space to display approximately two percent of its collection. In Oct. 2021, construction began on a new three-story building that will replace and almost double the square footage of the existing building in the center of Princeton’s campus. The combined concrete and steel structure with exposed architectural concrete is expected to open in late 2024.

Madison’s extensive structural work on this project includes foundations, more than 60,000 square feet of architecturally sandblasted concrete walls and beams as well as more than 200,000 square feet of slabs. Our scope of work also includes exterior site concrete.

As we move into the new year, Madison Concrete continues concrete foundation work in the Washington Square West neighborhood on a new 20-story, multi-family building at 123 South 12th Street. The 371,000-square-foot project will include 399 residential spaces, 94 underground parking spaces and ground-level retail.

In addition to Madison, the project team includes:

Contractor: Clemens Construction Co.

Owner:       Greystar Development

Architect:    BLT & Studios Architecture

Structural Engineer: The Harman Group

Want to see the live webcam of the project? Click on Clemens Construction website.

As we enter 2022, Madison continues to be proud of our significant contribution to the region’s construction efforts. If you are planning a project, let us know how we can use our experience and expertise to assist you.

Even though we are getting ready to turn the calendar to September and children have headed back to school, the end of summer doesn’t necessarily mean the end of high temperatures. It is hot. Really, really hot.

During the last few weeks, we have seen unseasonably high temperatures across the United States. This combination of conditions (high temperature and low humidity) can make placing concrete a challenge. A recent article in Concrete Contractor provided tips to successfully complete a project in hot weather.

Tip #1: Understand what “hot weather” means. According to the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Committee 305, hot weather is defined as any combination of high ambient temperature, high concrete temperature (80 degrees Fahrenheit), low relative humidity, wind speed and solar radiation that can impair the quality of fresh or hardened concrete.

Tip #2: Know the potential impacts that hot weather can have on concrete. Issues include:
High temperatures and low humidity increase the frequency of cracking.
Concrete hardens faster in hot weather.
Greater demand for water.
Increased difficulty in handling, placing, consolidating and finishing.

For more tips, read the entire article here.

Follow these precautions to mitigate the negative impacts of hot weather on your next project

Plan ahead. Have all forms, equipment and workers ready to handle concrete, especially during the first delivery of the day to avoid delays.

Utilize materials and mix proportions that perform well in hot weather conditions. Use a concrete consistency that allows rapid placement and consolidation.

Reduce the times for transport, placing and finishing as much as possible.

When the weather is extremely hot, restrict placement to early morning, evening or nighttime hours.

Staying cool on the jobsite

While its important to know how to successfully work with concrete during hot weather, its more important to keep your crews cool while on the job site. Make sure your crews:

Drink more water, not caffeine!
Take breaks in the shade
Wear light-colored, lightweight clothing
Wear sunscreen and sunglasses

Regularly train employees to recognize the signs of heat stress and prevent as well as treat it. Encourage the use of the buddy system to ensure co-workers are looking out for each other. Finally, download OSHA’s Heat Safety Tool app, which allows anyone to calculate the heat index for a jobsite and the risk level for outdoor workers.

To learn more about staying cool on the jobsite, check out OSHA’s Water. Rest. Shade. (#WaterRestShade) campaign.