Applying shotcrete at the EMP required the use of mesh, screen and rebar together — a first in the industry.

The Experience Music Project is a one-of-a-kind project that required new ways of construction — even in the application of shotcrete.

The building’s inner structure consists of a 110,000-square-foot shotcrete shell that was placed to tolerances of 4.75-5.25 inches thick. The tricky part was the shell has no straight lines. Shotcrete had to be placed onto horizontal, sloping, vertical and overhead positions. The specifications: 5,500 psi shotcrete in 28 days, low shrinkage, pumpable over long distances, and finishable to a fine broom finish in order to receive rolled-on waterproofing.

To apply the shotcrete, it was impossible to construct a typical rigid forming system that could conform to the shapes needed. The answer was a combination of mesh, screen and rebar — a first of its kind. Many reportedly didn’t believe the method would work since it would not be completely rigid. The conceptual belief that if all things moved in unison, the shotcrete could be placed without voids, was proven through rigorous pre-construction mock-ups.

The project was deemed a success and the monorail, which runs through it, never stopped.