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Smith-Midland Receives Prestigious Award for SlenderWall Project

Midland, Va. - Officials at Smith-Midland Corporation were the recipients of a prestigious award for a building project recently completed in Washington, D.C. The company’s submission, for a SlenderWall project at the 10-story, 292-unit Jefferson at Thomas Circle, located at 1301 M Street, N.W., garnered a second-place award in the National Precast Concrete Association’s Creative Use of Precast (CUP) awards program.

The CUP awards program is an annual competition for NPCA Members, recognizing projects promoting innovative and cost-saving advantages of precast concrete over competing materials. This year’s winners were announced at the Salute to Excellence Awards Dinner during the Manufactured Concrete Products Expo, MCPX, and Annual Convention on Feb. 25 in Anaheim, Calif.

Architect Maurice Walters and owner Aaron Liebert, JPI, created a strong, functional and cost-effective mid-rise luxury condominium complex in downtown Washington made entirely of precast concrete using the SlenderWall Architectural Precast Concrete Panel System. The use of SlenderWall reduced the cost and duration of the construction project while allowing the new structure to blend in with existing residential buildings nearby.

SlenderWall was largely chosen for the project because of the ability to combine the aesthetic qualities of a Class-A brick finish with the advantages of a panel system. The panels used in this project were made of precast concrete, featured a custom, high-end brick finish and incorporated design features, such as cornices and window sills, which looked like the traditional limestone accents found on nearby structures.

Due to SlenderWall ’s exclusive “lift-and-release” panel landing system, installation time and costs are reduced compared to traditional construction. For this particular project, the construction schedule was accelerated by 45 days. SlenderWall also reduces heating and cooling costs for the completed structure because of the system’s low thermal transfer rate.

The precast concrete architectural panels feature 2” of precast concrete secured to a heavy gauge galvanized steel frame by epoxy-coated stainless steel Nelson anchors. The integrated steel wall studs allow for maximum usable space within the building. SlenderWall is the only panel system that offers the latest DuraFlex 360º technology. This technology allows isolation, of the building frame, from the exterior precast concrete skin and the structural stresses associated with wind loading, structural steel movement, expansion & contraction, and seismic shock. DuraFlex 360º is the only 2” wall connection that meets AAMA 501.4-2000, the Interstory Differential Movement vertical and horizontal displacement test.

Smith-Midland Corporation is a publicly traded company (OTC BB: SMID, SMIWC; Boston Stock Exchange: SMM, SMM/W). Smith-Midland develops, manufactures and sells a broad array of precast concrete products for use primarily in the construction, transportation and utilities industries. Smith-Midland has two manufacturing facilities located in Midland, Va., and Reidsville, N.C. Easi-Set Industries, a wholly owned subsidiary of Smith-Midland Corporation, licenses the production of Smith-Midland developed products around the world. For more information please call (540) 439-3266 or visit www.SlenderWall.com.