2025 Award Winners and Nominees
Project Name
Linear Heights
Description
Linear Heights is a project with ultra-modern architectural elements that could not have been completed through any traditional construction means. Completed exclusively through ICF, this design consists of two pairs of concrete corner windows with the second and third floors extending over a carport on the ground floor. The completed project contains a total of eleven (11) ICF wall cantilevers at 4 corner windows and a large balcony. Additionally, the entire second and third floor spans over an open-ended carport supported by an 18’ long ICF wall with a 7’ cantilever. Ensuring the proper engineering and load-bearing capacities of these cantilevers to provide adequate support for the concrete wall openings presented an unconventional challenge for the structural engineering team. The structural engineer, Alpha Consultants, is an experienced engineering firm specializing in embracing the natural properties of concrete and was tasked with fulfilling this exceptionally challenging design.
The team worked in conjunction with the ICF walls by Fox Blocks and the ISPAN concrete composite Total Joist system, which provides an ICF-compatible floor system to expedite construction. Despite minimal site clearance, the joists and decking system and the entire concrete envelope were installed by the ICF wall installer in a total of six (6) pours culminating with what most would consider to be a cost-effective feat of concrete engineering.
Evidence
Due to the extreme complexity of the design, utilizing numerous cantilevers and suspended reinforced concrete walls throughout the entire ICF envelope, only a skilled ICF installer could be tasked with this particular project. Combining a wide breadth of experience provided by ICF Constructors and their proven prior history in working with Architectura SA, Matt Zetlmeisl partnered with Fox Blocks was the only candidate for this intricate project. With the additional advanced coordination required for ISPAN Total Joist Systems, a higher level of attention to detail was required to ensure a monolithic pour of each concrete cantilever. This was further compounded by the additional rebar reinforcement requirements at select walls to support the various wall openings and corner windows that must work together to pull off this complex and interwoven feat of engineering. Despite the challenging design conditions, all the corner windows were installed perfectly plumb and horizontal, and there are no visible signs of bowing or distortion–a testament to the ICF Constructors' expertise in installing ICF.
Linear Heights is an award-winning project recognized in the ICF Builder Awards as "1st Runner-Up" in the Low-Rise Multifamily Category and selected as "Winner" of the Peoples Choice Award in 2025. The project was mainly recognized for it's innovative use of concrete construction utilizing complex and tight engineering to achieve Multi-family Residences on an extremely compact site. The completed project is a trailblazing architecture case study that pushes the limit of ICF construction and is a design that could not feasibly be achieved by any other traditional means of residential construction. Since ICF has been around for over 55 years, there are many common mantras repeated among many naysayers against ICF construction who advocated for wood/stick frame construction…What can ICF do that traditional construction means cannot? This project is the epitome to dispel this claim as this is the perfect project to educate the general public on what ICF can do that traditional construction cannot do.
See attached link for ICF Builder Award information:
https://www.icfmag.com/2025/01/linear-heights/
NRMCA member is FOX BLOCKS under Airlite Plastics Co.
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