The new Basketball Practice Center on UCLA’s campus is a new 30,000 sf home to both the men’s and women’s intercollegiate basketball programs. The facility houses basketball courts, locker rooms, an athletic and weight training facility, as well as other offices and amenities for the program’s use. The façade consists primarily of pre-insulated GFRC wall panels, some over 30’ tall. Clark Pacific’s engineering team was able to minimize jointing at the façade by designing a vertical racking (rather than rocking) panel. The key to our success on this project came from the unique forming we employed. The designers at KDA had a custom, irrational, modular shape designed in CAD that they wished to have the panels modeled after. We were able to take their 3D model, custom mill the shape with our CNC machines, build a positive of the panel shape, and cast a full scale negative out of GFRC to utilize as our formwork. This is a shining example of designing for manufacturing without sacrificing the architectural integrity of the initial concept.
For more information about The Mo Austin Basketball Center, visit
https://www.uclabasketballfacility.com/
