The May issue of Structures Magazine, a print and online publication for structural engineers, featured an article about masonry and a record-breaking project in Tucson, Arizona. The tallest post-tensioned masonry building in the United States was completed last year in Sentinel Plaza, an Independent Senior Housing Development. The building is six stories high with 139,000 square feet and 143 individual units.

Four exterior wall systems were evaluated and considered for this project, including masonry, concrete, steel studs, and insulated concrete forms (ICF). The general contractor, W. E. O’Neil, suggested post-tensioned masonry as an alternate system for several reasons: durability, ease of construction, and similar insulating characteristics. Throughout the building’s construction, all lines of communication ran through the architect, so that all consultants would remain coordinated. Thanks to the thorough coordination effort during the design process, field coordination issues were kept to a minimum. With this practice in place, the award-winning Armory Park project was successfully completed ahead of schedule.

Below is a video via the City of Tucson Youtube channel interviewing a future resident:

To read the full article, you can visit Structures Magazine’s website or download it in a PDF format.