Redwood City, CA, January 2019 – QCP’s recent addition to the roof deck of the new Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in Redwood City, CA is a case study for how the Southern California precast firm’s hands-on approach can be transformative to the end results.

A visually striking series of integrated planters and benches that beautifully balance industrial and organic sensibilities, QCP’s installation reflects the CZI’s mission to use technology to elevate all aspects of human life. However, the project on paper began far differently from the concrete elements that were eventually cast and installed. The way the project evolved from inception to installation is indicative of what a collaboration with QCP—with its vast range of expertise at all levels of production—can look like.

"We never take a project and say, 'Hey, here’s the blueprint. Let’s get it done and get it shipped,'" stated Neil Elenzweig, Northern California Regional Sales Manager for QCP. "We want to understand all of its challenges in a 360-degree kind of way. Then we step in where we can to offer guidance throughout the design and production processes."

Case in point: when the talented team at Reed Gilliland Landscape Architects came to QCP about producing their new rooftop planters and benches for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, they had an entirely different material and concept in mind. Elenzweig and his team were able to identify potential challenges right off the bat, suggesting the switch to QCP’s Lite Crete (GFRC) ideal for rooftop applications—and a modified design that combined the benches and the planters into a single unit.

"A lot of times, the challenge isn’t just the design, it may relate to the installation lifting it and setting it," said Elenzweig. "We saw where issues could arise early on and had suggestions that ended up making things a lot less complicated for production and installation, while still being satisfactory to the designer’s overall vision."

QCP’s involvement at the conceptual stage is further enhanced by the team’s 3D modelling and CAD capabilities, which help address challenges posed by the designer’s 2D plans before costly and time-consuming full-scale prototyping is involved. QCP’s investment in technology and talent in this department paid off when tackling the complex Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

"Our 3D modelling capabilities are a huge advantage on jobs like this," said Elenzweig. "It helps us work out all the little details that are unresolved on the plans. How do these transitions work? How do these pieces really fit? Our CAD people and engineering department really help us solve those riddles early on when it can make a big difference."

Above all, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative shows that no precast concrete project is created in a vacuum, and that partnership is everything.

"Designers come to us knowing our unique capabilities," said Elenzweig. "They have confidence in what we say and what we do, and that’s a major factor in a successful project like CZI."