WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas - Speed Fab-Crete was chosen as the design-build general contractor for IAM District Lodge 776, a new union hall to replace a 1950s-era structure, which consists of two buildings totaling almost 19,000 square feet. The project began in November 2005 and was completed in August 2006.
Builders of the district lodge of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO, known as the “Fighting Machinists,” had a particular challenge. The buildings include offices, meeting space, storage for membership records, and a full-service kitchen, and are connected by a covered walkway, which is not unusual. But the union hall design also had to offset the almost constant noise from aircraft tests at the neighboring Lockheed Martin Aerospace site next door - where most of the union members work.
To combat the noise from new aircraft designs taking off and landing for most of the day, the union hall utilizes precast concrete walls, extra insulation, and minimal windows on the noise source side.
The two buildings are positioned so the windowless meeting hall building and a courtyard block noise from the office building. Additional insulation, along with the buildings’ reflective roofs, not only reduces noise but conserves energy. The precast concrete wall panels also offer extra energy savings, are low maintenance, and offer increased protection against fire and turbulent weather.
INFO: Speed Fab-Crete (www.speedfab-crete.com)