Ford Motor Company’s Experience Center (FXC), a multi-use events center in the heart of Dearborn, underwent a complete interior and exterior renovation with help from Aristeo Construction.
Aristeo, a long-term, trusted construction partner for Ford, provided concrete and steel services for this renovation, including decorative, architectural and structural concrete. This project closed out with nearly 22,000 manhours and an excellent safety record.
Throughout the 18-month project duration, Aristeo’s main contribution was concrete expertise, which included pouring 2,500 cubic yards of concrete for a variety of needs, such as exterior decorative and architectural concrete, slab on deck and slab on grade and new interior and exterior foundations. The team also provided steel erection and demolition services for the newly renovated building, which included the fabrication and installation of 70 tons of interior structural and miscellaneous steel including mezzanines, stairs, hangers and canopies. Additionally, Aristeo installed two exterior terrace structures.
To achieve the decorative look the customer envisioned, the team created multiple mockups with different blasting finishes, sealers and concrete colors before choosing the final option with the customer. The decorative driveways were also installed using a color dyed concrete, which was later shot blasted in a stripe pattern. For the architectural concrete, Aristeo built two cast in place bars for two patio spaces, which required a consistent and repeatable finish. Aristeo went the extra mile and hand mixed the concrete for the bars to ensure consistency. To further achieve a perfect end result, the team also used the same crew on both bars to eliminate any possible inconsistencies.
In addition to providing highly technical concrete work, we were also faced with a complex installation of flat concrete benches that required great attention to detail. Because the bench design placed it flush with the concrete, there was zero room for lifting straps to be used and easily removed during the installation. Aristeo developed an innovative plan to place the benches on top of ice cubes, creating space to use/remove the straps, and then let the ice cubes melt away – leaving the benches perfectly in place.
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