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 The 21,200 cubic yards of concrete weighing some 84 million pounds
(38,200 metric tons) was hauled to the site by a fleet of over 200
trucks making a total of 2,120 trips in a continuous 19-hour
operation ending at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, said project spokesman
Sean Rossall.
The foundation is expected to take two weeks to completely harden,
during which cool water will be pumped through a network of tubes
embedded in the massive slab to absorb heat as the concrete cures.
The New Wilshire Grand tower, designed to include 900 luxury hotel
rooms, 400,000 square feet (37,200 square meters) of offices, plus
retail space, is slated to be completed in late 2016 and open in
early 2017, Rossall said.
The $1 billion project is being developed by Korean Airlines, which
also owned the old Wilshire Grand building that was demolished to
make room for the new tower.
The marathon effort to lay its foundation was certified by the
Guinness World Records as the largest continuous pour of concrete
ever by volume, surpassing by just 200 cubic yards the previous
record set at the Venetian hotel and casino in Las Vegas, according
to Michael Empric, the Guinness adjudicator for Sunday's event.
The Venetian, he said, was completed in 1999. Rising 73 stories
into the Los Angeles skyline, the New Grand Wilshire tower will
measure 1,100 feet (335 meters) high, including a spire affixed to
the top of the building, in a design that developers boast will make
it the tallest building west of the Mississippi.
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That distinction currently belongs to the U.S. Bank Tower, located a
few blocks away in downtown Los Angeles.
Michael Marchesano, general superintendent for Turner Construction,
the general contractor for the Grand Wilshire project, said he was
most proud that no one was injured during the complex,
round-the-clock concrete pour.
"With that many workers and that many trucks, it can be very
dangerous if you don't have a plan in place, but we really had a
team effort and a plan," he said.
The continuous pour for the building's foundation was a construction
design characteristic called for by the project's structural
engineers, he said.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman; editing by Eric Walsh)
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