Building with Concrete Home

May 19, 2000

An ode to concrete: WACA puts its money where its mouth is

By RAGAN WILLIS
Journal Staff Reporter

Suitably, the Washington Aggregates and Concrete Association chose concrete to build its new headquarters in Des Moines.

Lots of concrete, for everything.

WACA’s new $350,000 headquarters, which is designed to resemble a residential house rather than an office building, will double as a year-round model for clients considering building a concrete home.

The exterior of the 3,800-square-foot building - including the roof tiles, siding and masonry - features concrete. Also, Interlocking concrete block will make up the area walls, the porches will be made with cast-in-place concrete and walkways will feature stamped, patterned and finished cast-in-place concrete.

On the inside, instead of carpeting or hardwood floors, stained concrete will grace the floors of this innovative structure, complementing the poured concrete countertops. And the furniture? You got it: concrete.

"It’s going to be as cementitious as we can make it," said Bruce Chattin, executive director of WACA.

Chattin says the $350,000 headquarters, which resembles a residential house rather than an office building, will double as a year-round model for clients considering building a concrete home.

Chattin noted that the building may be the first of its kind in the country, aside from an all-concrete commercial building recently built in Kentucky. It won’t be anything too fancy, he added, but will showcase the creativity, durability, and efficiency of concrete.

‘Our ‘house’ won’t be a Microsoft castle. It’s geared to show Mr. and Mrs. Northwest a good example of a concrete home.’ - Bruce Chattin, executive director Washington Aggregates and Concrete Association

"Our ‘house’ won’t be a Microsoft castle. It’s geared to show Mr. and Mrs. Northwest a good example of a concrete home," Chattin said.

The project is all about opportunities. Builders on the job will be trained on ICF construction, and a construction video will document techniques used, to be shown as part of future training programs.

Architectural Werks of Kirkland is the project designer.

Chattin plans to begin seeking permits for the building this month, and hopes to begin construction in July. The project will likely take at least six months to complete, he said.

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