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Tilt-up Construction Benefits |  |
Tilt-up Construction Delivers Theater Two Weeks Ahead of ScheduleThe
Martians were coming on June 29 and the city of Mansfield, Texas had no place
for them to show up. The solution? Tilt-up Construction.
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general contractor used tilt-up construction for the Cinemark theater in Mansfield
Texas. Thanks to the benefits of Tilt-up construction the construction company
was able to shave two weeks off the schedule, in time for the release of War of
the Worlds. The amount of time from when the tilt-up construction panels were
stood to the project's completion was shorter than any other theater in the company's
history. | | Cinemark
USA was in the midst of building its 302nd theater in Mansfield, a suburb of Dallas
/ Fort Worth, Texas and everything was on schedule. Then Cinemark realized the
theater wouldn't be complete in time for the release of the summer blockbuster
War of the Worlds. This was the first theater ever in Mansfield so there
was no place else in the city to run the movie. The schedule
had to change. "It was a big deal for us to get the
theater done in time for War of the Worlds," said Chris Cline, Project
Manager for Cinemark USA. "We originally planned to open July 10. The City
of Mansfield wanted us to open by July 4. Then with the release of War of the
Worlds, we wanted to move up the opening to June 29." A
two week jump in the schedule after ground had been broken presented a challenge
to Bob Moore Construction, a leading commercial general contractor in Texas. Fortunately
this general contractor was using tilt-up construction for this project. Tilt-up
construction normally provides for a shorter project schedule than traditional
construction, and the fact that tilt-up allows the trades to overlap their work
to further compress the schedule suddenly became a critical benefit to this building
methodology. As a result, this Mansfield theater was one
of the fastest construction projects Cinemark has ever built. Remarkably, the
amount of time from when the tilt-up construction panels were stood to the project's
completion was shorter than any other theater in the company's history. The theater
was actually completed on June 28, in time for a special "film-cutting"
ceremony for local dignitaries and representatives from Cinemark, the general
contractor and the developer. While the theater scrimped
on the schedule, it is still lavish and cutting-edge. The new 42,265 square-foot
facility features a large concession area and seating for 2,010 patrons. The exterior
features a dramatic full-height stone veneer, the first time this finish has ever
been used on a Cinemark theater. All 12 screens employ top quality Christie projectors,
wall-to-wall screens and Dolby digital sound. "The
compressed schedule forced everyone on this project to collaborate even more closely
than we normally do," said Curt Hellen, Senior Project Manager for Bob Moore
Construction Company. "The fact that this was a tilt-up project made all
the difference, in terms of building the shell quickly and then overlapping our
trades to finish it out on time. Tiltwall gave us the quality and speed we needed.
The pride and teamwork showed by everyone involved, combined with the advantages
of tilt-up construction, resulted in a superb project we were able to deliver
ahead of schedule." The Martians arrived as expected
on June 29. While the space invaders were a bit belligerent, the standing-room-only
crowds in Mansfield welcomed them - and the beautiful new theater - with great
enthusiasm. "It meant a lot to us and to the city
and everyone else that we could do that," said Cline.
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