Building for the Future
Carpenter's Union Gets New Arizona Headquarters
By K. Robert Wendel

The new Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters Arizona headquarters would make even Tim the tool man envious.

Imagine nearly 60,000 sq. ft. of shop space with table and radial saws, shapers, borers, lathes, joiners and a host of other wood working equipment. The project will also feature a large dust collection system, a welding shop, an exposed earth area where carpenters can practice concrete formwork and high ceilings for scaffold training.

The new carpenters headquarters will train carpenters, millwrights, cabinetmakers and dry wall installers for careers in the construction industry.

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"This is going to be our flag ship," said Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters Arizona executive director for training Tom Quine. "We have the latest and greatest technology throughout the building and all of the classes are also wired."

The project is really two buildings in one. A two-hour firewall separates the shop area from approximately 70,000 sq. ft. in two stories, with offices, classrooms, an administration area and a 499-seat meeting hall. Contractors used tilt-up concrete panels sitting on a slab-on-grade foundation for the building, with a three-ply built-up roof.

The front section facing McDowell Road is where architects concentrated their design efforts, with a grand driveway and lobby that will feature the carpenter's council logo in a terrazzo floor. Architects used curtain wall systems to break the building's massing.

In the rear part of the building, designers incorporated high windows for natural lighting as well as wood glue-lam beams as a tie-in to the carpenter's trades. While the front building utilizes rooftop heat pumps allowing each work space its own thermostat, the shop area uses swamp coolers.

Work on the 139,000-sq.-ft project on 43rd Avenue and McDowell began in spring, with general contractor Kitchell Contractors starting site work on the graded industrial lot.
Morrison Majerle Inc. of Phoenix performed the civil engineering work while Speedie & Associates did soil analysis and materials testing. Although the carpenter's council wanted to construct the building with wood framing, the size and variety of functions precluded the option.

"The carpenters really wanted to do the entire structure in wood, but the size of the building as well as the uses were such that the building code really wouldn't permit it," said Michael Violette, an architect with project designer Leo A Daly in Phoenix. "We would have used a lot more wood at that site, but the codes really restricted the amount of wood, mainly because of the large conference hall."

While the use of wood was limited, architects attempted to incorporate the material wherever possible. The project features extensive woodwork as well as a monumental staircase utilizing glue lam beams as treads and risers. Since the project is really a showcase for the carpenter's council, a lot of attention is being paid to the craftsmanship.

"The wood work really has to be straight, true and plumbed, which became a challenge in a good way," said Leo A Daly project designer Greg Woods . "We have a lot of guys looking at this with a very critical eye, so each subcontractor working on this project has to watch their own work to make sure they are providing the quality craftsmanship."