DESCRIPTION

As the brand’s second green hotel prototype, this LEED Certified hotel offers luxurious rooms, complimentary internet access, a state-of-the-art fitness center, saline-water pool, business center, and other eco-friendly features.

LEED Certified

CHALLENGE

Limited geotechnical information indicated fill with large limestone boulders overlying clay, silt, sand and limestone. An attempt was made by one subcontractor to install aggregate piers but they encountered shallow refusal in the fill. Another subcontractor recommended to over-excavate the fill throughout the majority of the site, replace it with controlled fill and reinstall the aggregate piers but this method proved to be timely and cost prohibitive.

SOLUTION

Within 24 hours of receiving the distress call, a GeoStructures representative arrived on site to observe test pits to determine the extent of the rock fill. The test pits indicated that using a larger drill rig and increasing the pier diameter to 30 inches would allow for easier drilling through the rock fill. A rock breaker was also used for obstructions causing refusal. In less than three weeks, GeoStructures had completed the design, mobilized to the site and started installing Geopiers. GeoStructures worked in close collaboration with the geotechnical engineer on site to ensure that the Geopier elements extended through the fill material. The job was completed on schedule despite the fact the depth of the fill was greater than expected in some areas and an onsite modification of the rock breaker was required.