“Bringing the team members on board who are ultimately responsible for the manufacturing and installation of certain key building elements allowed for an enhanced level of collaboration, review and decision making. The ability to incorporate sophisticated patterning and unique forms in large format panel sizes is a characteristic perfectly suited to architectural precast.”

– Rupert Brown, HKS, Inc.

Given the numbers and varieties of precast panels needed for Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center’s nine-story, 300,000-square-foot tower and adjoining four-story 600-car, hybrid-parking structure, Gate Precast’s design-assistance was invaluable.

GATE turned to two of its Florida facilities to supply the project’s voluminous material needs, producing the architectural precast cladding in Kissimmee and the structural components in Jacksonville.

The attention to detail during pre-production was key to the project’s success.

The designers had two primary areas of concern – the large tapered sections on the tower and the diamond-patterned façade of the Hope Wall, which forms a portion of the project landscape and shapes the view of the project from the southwest corner. As such, the designers wanted sharp details on the panels.

“The MD Anderson project ranks highly on the ‘uniqueness’ scale. Every detail was thought out and coordinated. There was no way to finish the design and start construction without the support of the design-assist team. Every week presented new challenges that were resolved during WebEx meetings or in person.”

— Brian Griffis, Gate Precast

Awards

2019

2019 Award of Honor

AIA Orlando Chapter

2018

Significant Concrete Structure Award

ACI Florida First Coast Chapter

2018

AIA Unbuilt Award of Excellence

AIA Orlando Chapter

2016

Best of Design Awards

Architects Newspaper

2016

Outstanding Redevelopment Award

Florida Planning & Zoning, First Coast Chapter