Dallas Holocaust Museum Parking Garage
The Dallas Holocaust Museum is a very highly publicized project and it is located less than a block from the Dallas School Book Depository and John F Kennedy Museum. The new “museum district” is heavily congested and parking is a constraint, so the new garage addition will provide convenience and benefit to the area. The Lithko Dallas BURG installed the slab on grade, crawlspace slab, cast in place elevated parking deck, and drilled pier foundations. Our schedule was critical as the garage was part of phase two for the project and the Holocaust Museum could not open without it.
The project location offered some exceptionally difficult logistical challenges. Working in the heart of downtown Dallas and near two heavily traveled highways made traffic a constant concern. Lane closures were a must for our construction, and they were very difficult to obtain permission for and to keep for a long period of time. The property is shaped like a pie, which restricted our laydown area and provided limited space for material deliveries. High voltage power lines with restricted aerial rights border two sides of the project, prohibiting crane usage. Even though the design was relatively typical, we were required to utilize formwork that allowed stripping and transporting by the means of a forklift, since a crane could not be used on site. To top off the list, the public transport train is adjacent to the site and could not be delayed for any reason during construction. Our project team did an excellent job with the extensive daily planning and coordination to ensure timely deliveries, material movement, and concrete placement logistics.
The garage included a cast in place crash wall that surrounded the entire building at each floor. The crash walls had a paint finish while the slab edge on the building elevations had to remain exposed. To achieve this architectural effect, the transition between the slab edge and crash wall had to be sharp.
Our work began during an unusually wet autumn in Dallas. Water and lime pumps were necessary in the installation of the foundations through the wet weather. With the onset of winter, we encountered freezing temperatures, which unfortunately encompassed the majority of the project duration.
Our Project Execution Process was critical to the success of this project. Our planning processes allowed us to be aware and proactively plan for all the site logistical issues, critical schedule requirements, on-time deliveries, and equipment coordination. Additionally, we engaged our client during the planning stages which ultimately set up the project for success!
