2024 Associate Masonry Contractors of Houston Golden Trowel Excellence Award: Block

>>> TMC3 Parcel D is part of a visionary 37-acre campus located in the Texas Medical Center.  Parcel D, is a two-phase project, with phase one being complete and serving as a medical research office/healthcare building.  Our scope of work included the supply and installation of the CMU and breeze block on this project.  The basement garage for this building consists of approximately 35,000 CMU and has direct access to the parcel C garage.  The main focal point of this project is the three-dimensional breeze block system located in the lobby.  This is a unique feature that is rarely included in our scope of work.  The system used is sold by Mutina in Italy and includes approximately 2,000 terracotta breeze blocks, wood profiles and adhesive sealant.  Installation of this system required coordination with the steel subcontractor to build the support and anchor the wood profile frame before we could set the breeze block using the adhesive provided by the manufacturer.  The end result of using this this dynamic and unique system is eye-catching artistry in the finished lobby.

The vast site had its fair share of challenges. The major obstacle was setting up the deliveries and operations with the GC due to the large amount of concrete being poured almost daily. Most of our operations were happening in the basement, and the few times the ramp was obstructed for Parcel D, we would use the Parcel C ramp to bring the material down to the basements.

The breeze block was simpler, to say the least. However, it is something we don’t typically do in masonry. It is a breeze block system sold by Mutina out of Italy. The system consists of; a terracotta breeze block, wood profiles, and adhesive sealant. Coordination was done with the steel sub to build the support and anchor the wood profile frame. After this, the breeze block was set using the adhesive provided by the manufacturer.