Tilt-up, in which concrete walls are poured into giant frames on a job site and left to harden before being tilted up to form a building, was used last year on an all-time high of 309 million square feet of walls in the United States, according to the Tilt-Up Concrete Association. The group’s director says the growth has been fueled by increased use of the method in office and retail.
The Raleigh, NC News & Observer recently reported that office developers in the Raleigh area are less inclined to object to resulting aesthetics because they realize they can save time and material costs by using tilt-up. At the same time, more practitioners of tilt-up are adding design techniques including brick and glass accents, different shapes and different colors.
Some brokers estimate that tenants can save 15 percent on rents in buildings constructed using the tilt-up method.
That's particularly important to office developers who are exploring ways to undercut competitors as surging construction costs cause rents to rise. Many say they can save up to 15 percent by using tilt-up, which reflects the recent rise in the costs of triangle steel, construction labor and gasoline.