Project Profile
A Seamless Integration of GFRC Columns, FRP Cornices & PVC/FRP Railings
In February of 2019, UNCW announced the groundbreaking of its $147M investment in a new student village. That event marked the beginning of the construction of four buildings, with enough rooms to house up to 1,814 students in these state-of-the-art residence halls. The University selected Balfour Beatty as the general contractor to oversee construction.
Each of the buildings includes a striking open entrance with lattice-covered walkways supported by Georgian-style columns. Impressive cornices crown each column, building, and each entranceway. Balfour Beatty contracted with Precisions Walls out of Wilmington, NC for installation of the columns and cornices, and Edon Composites, based in Horsham, PA was selected for the fabrication of each piece.
Erik Asher, General Manager with Precision Walls, commented, “Our challenge was to work with three different types of materials and bring them together to form one continuous piece. Edon fabricated each of the column covers using GFRC. The cornices were made from FRP and the railings were fabricated via a mixture of PVC and FRP.” He continued, “The transition from the GFRC to meeting the FRP cornices and then tying into the PVC/FRP railings appears seamless.”
UNCW’s new student village project was completed in June of this year.“Overall it was a great experience. There were a lot of components, parts, and pieces, and we were very pleased with Edon’s product quality, their technical capabilities, service, and turn-around time, especially in the challenging time of COVID.”
General Contractor: Balfour Beatty, Philadelphia, PA
Sub-Contractor: Precision Walls, Wilmington, NC
Fabricator: Edon Corporation, Horsham, PA