When Lamar Construction Co., a general contracting firm based in Hudsonville, Mich., needed a new headquarters, it decided to build a visually captivating and environmentally friendly building that illustrates its expertise in innovation and sustainability. The company, which specializes in commercial design and construction, project management, certified steel erection and facility management services, built a 46,000-square-foot facility consisting of a 30,000-square-foot shop attached to 16,000 square feet of office space. The building’s focal point is its second level, an approximately 6,500-square-foot structural steel cantilevered office.
Steven Davis, marketing director at Lamar Construction explains that the decision to build a cantilevered office came from the company’s owners at conception. “Our company was growing, so we already knew we needed to build a new headquarters,” he says. “Why not take the opportunity to showcase our expertise?”
The project, which sits just off of Interstate 196, utilized a total of 256 tons of structural steel, made up of both conventional steel fabricated by Van Dellen Steel Inc., Dutton, Mich., and pre-engineered steel from Nucor Building Systems, Waterloo, Ind. The supporting tower and cantilever were constructed from 236 tons of structural steel, and features approximately 6,800 square feet of glass curtainwall from Lakeshore Glass & Metals, Zeeland, Mich. The cantilevered office portion measures 125 feet long by 52 feet wide, and is supported by two 16-foot-deep and 112-foot-long trusses that were fabricated in three sections and assembled on-site.
“Aside from being impressive to behold, a cantilever of this size, with inherent challenges associated with its construction, demonstrates Lamar Construction’s skill in the field of structural steel erection, and, more broadly, Lamar’s capacity to tackle complex projects,” explains Davis.
Lamar’s award-winning headquarters has one of the largest occupied structural cantilevers in the United States. While Davis explains that the national and international attention is beneficial, “nothing-not even the most amazing of buildings-can substitute for building relationships with our clients. Obviously, there is a certain ‘wow factor’ that our building provides to potential customers, but we view this as something to complement our overall experience and the level of service and expertise we are able to provide.”
By utilizing a closed-loop, in-floor heating system, along with lighting and building management systems, the environmentally friendly building has received a SERF certification from the Society of Environmentally Responsible Facilities, for demonstrating its mission of Practical Environmental Stewardship.
Lamar Construction Co. Corporate Headquarters, Hudsonville, Mich.
Owner/general contractor/steel erector: Lamar Construction Co., Hudsonville
Architect: Integrated Architecture, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Structural engineer: Structural Design Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich.
Conventional steel fabricator: Van Dellen Steel Inc., Dutton, Mich.
Curtainwall: Lakeshore Glass & Metals, Zeeland, Mich., (616) 395-8555
Metal building system: Nucor Building Systems, Waterloo, Ind., www.nucorbuildingsystems.com
