While we match candidates with nationwide jobs it is easy to lose track of the extraordinary projects driving construction innovation, technological advancement and providing unique job opportunities for all trades.
I realized this as I unplugged for a few moments to study two construction projects that have pushed large-scale construction to a new, higher level. These projects are not only ridiculously interesting and important, but they will also drive the qualities workers need to satisfy the future positions that we will be attempting to fill.
Project #1: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Location: Hollywood, FL
Project Budget: $1.5 billion
Use: Center for entertainment near Miami, Florida.
Opening: October 24, 2019
Googling the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino construction will provide you some fantastic progress reports of the world’s first Guitar Hotel – check it out!
The Guitar Hotel is aptly named. Yes, crews have completed a hotel that appears to be two, back-to-back guitars expanding 450-feet into the air and showcasing over 650 guest rooms. The grounds of the new facility are equally luxurious – including a private lagoon called Bora Bora, night clubs, fine dining and, of course, an entertainment/stadium venue for shows.
The beauty of the Guitar Hotel will have you quickly forget the intense planning required to have the design come together. From 2013, in fact, plans were conceived in 5D – with a keen focus on time and schedule to the standard 3D given Miami’s hosting of Super Bowl 2020.
Over 36,000 yards of concrete were installed with embedded curtain walls, edging, plumbing sleeves and precise mechanical openings. The complexity of the project could not sacrifice speed, and, by design, one floor was completed each week through meticulous planning, tight attention to detail and an unforgiving schedule driving accountability of the trades.
Project #2: Allegiant Stadium
Location: Las Vegas, NV.
Project Budget: $1.9 billion
Use: Future home of the Las Vegas (formerly Los Angeles) Raiders and U.N.L.V.
Opening: 2020
A recent article appearing in the Las Vegas Review Journal details the “ultimate high-wire act” of crews erecting the roof of the stadium during August – a task that took six weeks and 100 stainless steel cables. Ironically, these massive cables will be invisible to spectators for the field level.
How did the crews raise the roof? The answer: choreographed hydraulics.
Hydraulics were used to, in five feet increments, to raise the flexible cables to a height of 150 feet over the playing field. What’s more, the planning of this use of hydraulics used over 23,000 individually scheduled tasks and computer simulation to test the viability of such a concept.
After the steel cables are installed, the crews will next turn their attention to raising and attaching EFTE panels from the outside of the facility. This time, giant cranes will be used to place each panel like a gigantic puzzle.
Not only is the scale of the planning required massive, the project currently employs 1,600 laborers working two daily shifts.
The coordination, scale, notoriety, and use of cutting-edge technology at work in the construction of the next Las Vegas showcase is spectacular.
The massive and innovative projects currently underway in the U.S. prove that the construction trades will be the home for talented, engineering-savvy young workers. And, daily, we are working to connect great workers with these state-of-the-art projects.
Through the hard work of each day – whether at a job site, or, in the office – it is alright to take a breath, look at the big picture and marvel at the extraordinary outcomes of hard-working people, working with the best technology under a solid project plan.
Need help building a team for your future project? Contact Goliath today!