Masonry Construction Project of the Year: TAPARCHITECTURE'S Brownstones at Maywood Park

12/1/08

The Brownstones at Maywood Park, based on a concept formulated by a group of University of Oklahoma architecture students is a community of 127 high-end row homes in downtown Oklahoma City. The partners have made an effort to create a real "Oklahoma product," not just a duplicate of Dallas or Kansas City. "We have Oklahoma roots," said Ron Bradshaw of Colony Partners. "We want to continue the heritage and honor of the original developers of Oklahoma City. They had urbanism down." The Brownstones are a hybrid of history and progressive thinking that is revitalizing the lifestyle opportunities for Oklahoma.

The long tested template of high end urban communities being comprised of row houses, or Brownstones, brings the New York feel to Oklahoma City. The Brownstones at Maywood Park will ultimately comprise more than 120 two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half story units. The Brownstones at Maywood Park in the historic Maywood section of Downtown Oklahoma City are designed and constructed as individual homes. There are no shared stairwells or parking area. Each unit has its own garage and entrance. Instead of sprawling outward in typical suburban style, each individual home is constructed vertically, up to three and a half stories technology in construction, insulating concrete forms (ICF).

In addition to forming an incredibly durable structure, ICF also inhibits the travel sound. It is the choice in LEED certified construction and creates an energy efficient structure. The Brownstones embrace "green" sustainable building technologies, will endure for literally centuries with very low maintenance or upkeep costs. These "legacy" homes can truly be expected to be passed from generation to generation.

The exterior of the units are enveloped by the finest brick in designer colors to highlight the unique design of the townhomes. The Brownstone's rich components of slate tile, cooper, and wrought iron clad the Brownstone's unique Build Block ICF concrete substructures, along with the finest masonry brick exteriors. Building with Build Block ICFs saves trees and the enormous reduction in energy use saves our natural resources and reduces the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.

Build Block ICFs contain no HCFC, formaldehyde, asbestos, or fiberglass, and no harmful CFCs are used in their manufacture. ICFs combine one of the finest insulating materials, Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), with one of the strongest structural building materials, steel reinforced concrete. The result is a wall system of unmatched comfort, energy efficiency, strength and noise reduction.

Al Slattery Masonry, Inc. of Oklahoma City was the Contractor for not only the masonry exterior, but also the ICF in four of the nineteen units in the initial phase. This project was one of the first in the city to use the ICF on a multi-family facility.

-Masonry Construction November/December 2008