Architectural Polymers

The King Abdullah Academy Pre-K-12 school in Herndon, VA features over 800 precast concrete pieces including spandrels, column covers, wall panels, punched windows, caps, benches and a sign. The architect, Bowie Grindley Architects, leveraged the design flexibility of precast concrete to create a modern urban school design that reflects the colors and architectural features of the Arabic culture. Gate Precast, the precaster, created a majority the exterior facade off-site in large precast panels, minimizing potential weather delays and allowing the contractor to focus purely on on-site work. The agal band, used in place of a traditional cornice, at the top of each story was created by Gate Precast with custom high re-use elastomeric formliners from Architectural Polymers.

Precast concrete was selected and specified for its versatility, cost-effectiveness, long-term durability and speed for construction. The goals of the project could not have been achieved successfully with any other material.