H3 Construction recently completed a structural concrete project at Energy Plaza in downtown Dallas. Our crews worked with Outside the Lines, a fountain company based in California, and general contractor Brassfiel & Gorrie to complete the structure needed for a tree and water feature. 

Project specifications and process

Our expert commercial concrete crew installed formwork to create a structural concrete ring to house a future tree. The finished ring was twenty feet in diameter and three and a half feet deep. H3 Construction Vice President Cesar Ortiz II reported, “The tree is well over 40 feet tall and is a key landmark and icon of this downtown Dallas block.” 

H3 Construction also created formwork and installed the concrete for structures that included three-and-a-half-foot walls for multiple steps for grates and a basin for the water feature overflow where water is collected and recycled through the fountain. 

H3 Construction’s final contribution to this project included creating abstract trenches within the base to accommodate LED fixture lighting around the structural ring to provide uplighting at night.

The crew began the project by excavating the interior basin, then constructed the formwork and poured concrete for the ring. “After we completed the concrete lower basin, the general contractor brought in fill dirt, mulch, and compost and used a crane to install the tree. Once the tree was in place, the H3 Construction team created the top basin with the lighting feature,” said Ortiz. 

Overcoming challenges

The primary challenge of this project was creating a structural concrete foundation on top of a suspended slab. Ortiz explains, “The project is above a parking garage. Because of the structure where we were working, we had to adhere to a strict weight capacity limit.” This challenge didn’t stop the H3 Construction commercial concrete crew. “We couldn’t bring concrete trucks near the pour area. Instead, we used a 65-foot boom pump to bring the concrete to where we needed to pour.”

The fountain feature and tree project also included extensive amounts of waterproofing. The crew had to carefully work around all waterproofing elements when creating formwork to avoid punctures and maintain structural integrity.

H3 Construction are your structural concrete experts

The concrete feature work we completed at Energy Plaza is another example of the attention to detail H3 Construction gives to every project. We consistently identify and overcome challenges to deliver quality work supporting and leading technical construction projects. 

Learn more about our services and how we expertly leverage our in-house equipment to complete various projects to meet any commercial concrete need.