Tackling Complex Designs and Limited Space at Avidor Apartments

The Avidor Apartments in Evanston, Ill., are part of a vibrant community 12 miles outside of Chicago. The premier community is located in the heart  of Evanston, meaning limited space on the jobsite and therefore equipment storage is difficult. The project includes a complex staggered-balcony design and parking garage slabs with slopes both on top and underneath.

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To meet the challenge of the parking levels’ double-sided sloping slab, the contractor, Concrete Structures of the Midwest, first used Dokaflex, a floor-slab formwork system with flexible grid that is adaptable to any shape, layout and slab thickness. The contractor then switched to Superdek drop head slab formwork for the residential floors. Crews were able to install the handset system quickly and easily, enabling the contractor to work within a four-day cycle.

Superdek allows for a much cleaner and safer jobsite. Workers were able to store equipment under the shoring without shoring legs getting in the way. With less equipment laying out in the open, workers had more space to safely move around. Additionally, because Superdek is assembled and disassembled from below, the risk of injury from falls and falling tools is reduced significantly.

The balconies change locations every two floors. The contractor used 10k shoring and cantilevering C8 channels to create the work decks below. The 10k system is ideal for shoring slabs at a wide range of heights, and it is especially effectively for heights over 18 feet. At 50 pounds, the Doka Prop SD 350 has the same lightweight design as other Doka props, but offers increased capacity—up to 13.5 kips—regardless of extension.

“Compared to other systems, the Superdek upgrades are souped up on steroids! It's nice to be able to do everything from underneath the decks,” said Chad Czerwinski, Superintendent, Concrete Structures of the Midwest Forming Slabs at Avidor Apartment Complex in Evanston.

Concrete Structures was the first contractor in the Midwest to use Superdek. The Avidor Apartments development in Evanston, Ill., is the contractor’s second project using the handset system.