Gables Republic Square & Hotel ZaZa

Words: Dawn Kornegay
Photos: Camarata Masonry Systems, Ltd.

Gables Republic Square / Hotel ZaZa is a 24-story mixed-use boutique hotel and urban residential tower with street-level retail located on a 0.75-acre site in downtown Austin.

Camarata Masonry Systems, Ltd. (CMS) was responsible for the supply and installation of the masonry, as well as the installation of the Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) panels on this project. The materials included 750,000 king-size field brick, 135,000 CMUs, and over 600 panels of GFRC and cast stone that were incorporated into the design as caps, sills, and inset panels.

The project site is bordered by three busy city streets and one alleyway in downtown Austin. Material and equipment deliveries were only allowed via a street closure that provided a single-lane entry into the site and one exit for all trades working on the project. Without a place to store materials onsite, coordinating, tracking, and scheduling the materials and equipment had to be planned out well in advance.

Large GFRC panels were installed in many areas on level one and integrated through level seven. The design incorporated numerous profiles, many of which became focal points. The GFRC cladding used a multitude of attachment methods, some of which had to be revised as the building was being erected to minimize downtime while waiting for surrounding materials to be installed or corrected by other trades. The limited-access site created additional challenges when installing the large panels. With work over 300 feet in the air, loading and access were always an issue.

The north side of the building was separated from existing structures by a narrow alleyway. The existing structures included a high-rise condominium building with balconies that extended into the alley, along with commercial businesses that used it for deliveries and waste disposal. To minimize disruption to the residents and businesses, the alleyway could only be shut down for a few hours at a time. All trades had to coordinate their use of the alleyway during the scheduled shutdown times. In addition, while working above the alleyway, CMS assigned flaggers to direct pedestrians and vehicles below, ensuring maximum safety.

To access the structure for the masonry and GFRC installation, CMS utilized multiple types of scaffolding and hoisting equipment, including tubular welded frame, mast climbers, multi-point heavy suspended stages, lightweight swing stages, tube and clamp, system scaffolding, various-sized extendable boom forklifts, and manlifts.

In order to complete the brick pilaster work between the units above level seven, CMS had to span the balconies with scaffolding, as there was no practical way of dropping a stage small enough to fit between them. This extraordinarily difficult technique is rarely utilized and requires additional engineering and safety precautions.

One of the interesting design elements of the new building was the incorporation of salvaged bricks from the Ginger Man Pub that originally stood on the site. The pub was torn down in 2014, and the bricks were stored off-site for several years. CMS culled through them, separating the usable product, which was cleaned and palletized. As a tribute to the pub, the salvaged units were installed on the street entrance to the hotel’s Perfect Strangers lounge in a pattern that mimics the original pub’s front facade, surrounded by black accent brick.

The fast-paced project required a large crew and a significant amount of internal and project team coordination to complete. CMS utilized a full-time safety representative and supervisors for both the brick and GFRC crews. The lower level’s classic architecture of brick, GFRC, and cast stone provides a facade in keeping with Austin’s historic past, setting it apart from the typical glass buildings that surround it.

Gables Republic Square & Hotel ZaZa

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