Gathering place
Shreveport convention center finally rises above problems

By Sam Barnes

Structural steel roof trusses weighing 110,000 lbs. each are being systematically lifted and placed from west to east for the new two-story Shreveport Convention Center.

Yates Construction of Philadelphia, Miss., broke ground at the $65 million site in December after being awarded a contract that had already changed hands twice. The first contractor went bankrupt and the second attempt was thwarted by contract problems.

"This is the third time around," said senior project manager Greg Herriott.

The Shreveport Convention Center will reach approximately 355,000 sq. ft. when completed in December 2005 and will house a main exhibit hall on the first floor and a ballroom and meeting areas on the second floor.

A 1,200-car, four-story parking garage will be connected to the convention center's lobby by an overhead sky bridge.

Mike McSwain, a principal with architect Slack, Alost, McSwain Associates, Shreveport said flexibility was the main design goal for the convention center.

"The 100,000-sq.-ft. main exhibition hall will be capable of supporting multiple group functions and can be subdivided by operable partitions into three smaller exhibition halls," McSwain added.

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Structural steel roof trusses weighing 110,000 lbs. each are being systematically lifted and placed from west to east for the new two-story Shreveport Convention Center.

Yates Construction of Philadelphia, Miss., broke ground at the $65 million site in December after being awarded a contract that had already changed hands twice. The first contractor went bankrupt and the second attempt was thwarted by contract problems.

"This is the third time around," said senior project manager Greg Herriott.

The Shreveport Convention Center will reach approximately 355,000 sq. ft. when completed in December 2005 and will house a main exhibit hall on the first floor and a ballroom and meeting areas on the second floor.

A 1,200-car, four-story parking garage will be connected to the convention center's lobby by an overhead sky bridge.

Mike McSwain, a principal with architect Slack, Alost, McSwain Associates, Shreveport said flexibility was the main design goal for the convention center.

"The 100,000-sq.-ft. main exhibition hall will be capable of supporting multiple group functions and can be subdivided by operable partitions into three smaller exhibition halls," McSwain added.

On the second level, an 18,000-sq.-ft. ballroom will seat 1,000 for a banquet or up to 1,600 for lectures or presentations. For smaller events, the room can be divided into three equal spaces with individual lighting, sound and temperature.

The 29,000-sq.-ft. lobby will be at the primary public entry space, equipped with three exhibition hall entries and a main public entry.

"The convention center's dramatic entry, designed of stone and glass, will have the Shreveport skyline as its backdrop and will feature 30-ft.-high ceilings and terrazzo flooring," McSwain said.

Herriott said fabrication and erection of the convention center's trusses has been the most critical phase of the project so far.

"About 5,200 tons of steel are being fabricated by Belton Services/Prospect Steel Co. (a joint venture) of Little Rock and erected by Peterson-Beckner Industries Inc. of Houston," Herriott said.

Due to a limited laydown area, the trusses are delivered directly to the site in three 60-ft.-long, 20-ft.-deep sections.

"They're lifted from the truck and bolted together on the ground beneath their final locations," Herriott said. "Each 180-ft.-long truss is then lifted by two cranes onto structural steel support columns."

Two limestone roads built on the west and east sides of the jobsite support the cranes.

"We're simultaneously placing the trusses for the first and second floor roofs as we move down," Herriott said. About 40 trusses will have been erected by steel completion this fall.

Site clearing had been finished as part of an earlier contract when Yates crews mobilized at the site, enabling subcontractor L. G. Barcus & Sons Inc. of Kansas City, Kan., to immediately begin foundation work.

Barcus placed about 2,500, 60-ft.-deep, 18-in.-dia. auger cast piles as foundation for the convention center and parking garage.

Crews followed by forming and pouring pile caps and excavating for 10 elevator pits, six in the convention center and four in the parking garage. Retaining walls were constructed in the loading dock area on the north end of the building.

De De Masonry Ltd. of Houston began erecting concrete block this summer for the convention center walls, which are covered by a veneer of brick, limestone, granite and precast concrete.

"The veneer pattern incorporates a row of precast, a row of brick and a row of limestone and granite. It's mixed throughout," Herriott added. The fascia of the building will be made of glass fiber reinforced concrete panels.

Glass curtainwall will comprise the remainder of the building's exterior, most notably in the building's south entranceway.

"There are three towers at the entrance that have curtainwall all the way up," Herriott said.

On the southeast corner of the building a rotunda will be clad in GFRC and curtainwall, and capped with a domed roof.

"The dome is made of curved steel beams and a metal deck. On top of the metal deck we've got a layer of shotcrete," he said. Terry's Roofing of Bossier City installed the roof system.

Inside the building, the exhibition hall area will have exposed concrete flooring measuring 11 in. thick.

"There's about 80, 2-ft. by 2.-ft. plastic floor boxes in that slab, networked with PVC conduits that will transport telecommunications and power," he added. "So they'll be able to set up phones and have Internet access."

Interior walls will consist of concrete block and drywall.

"We've also got some glass fiber reinforced gypsum wrapped around the steel columns," Herriott said. The large steel columns that support the trusses are located between a pre-function area and the exhibition hall.

An extensive mechanical system being installed by Red River Air Conditioning of Shreveport consists of chill water and hot water piping, numerous air handler units, chillers and boilers.

"We have mechanical rooms located in the back-of-house area of the convention center," Herriott said. "Duct reaching as large as 84 in. dia. will be exposed in the exhibition hall ceiling."

A structural steel pedestrian bridge will connect the convention center to a four-level, poured-in-place concrete parking garage.

"The 155-ft.-long bridge will be completely enclosed," Herriott said, "and will extend from the second floor of the convention center to the fourth level of the parking garage."

The parking garage is made of 6-in.-thick post-tensioned slabs and will have a precast and brick veneer.

Townsell-Hill Inc. of Little Rock, Ark., is forming and shoring the columns and elevated decks for the garage.

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For a live shot of the Shreveport Convention Center jobsite, go to: http://www.ci.shreveport.la.us/Convention%20Center/WebCam.htm