LA’s First Exoskeleton Building Officially Stands On Its Own

Another Milestone Reached

MATT Construction recently celebrated a huge milestone at the (W)rapper Office Tower Project, LA’s first steel exoskeleton high-rise, as the construction team unloaded the temporary support system, leaving the exotic building frame to completely uphold itself for the first time. This major milestone brings the team at the (W)rapper one step closer to completing this avant-garde, 17-story office building being developed by Samitaur Constructs and designed by Eric Owen Moss Architects (EOMA) and structural engineer, Arup.

A Self-Supporting Exoskeleton

Due to the daring design of the (W)rapper, it was impossible for the tower to be self-supporting until the structural steel of the building was 100% erected and welded by SME Steel Contractors. This July, the team at the (W)rapper disconnected the shoring system that maintained building stability during erection of the permanent tower, leaving the tower structure to support itself from the steel bands that “wrap” the building. This complex process required the use of dozens of high-capacity hydraulic jacks connected to a central controller, to slowly “lift” the entire building from the temporary support shims, and then lower it to engage its permanent exoskeleton frame. SME’s erection engineer, Pat Hassett Engineering, designed the temporary shoring system and the multi-phase de-shoring procedure, which resulted in a safe and smooth landing for the exoskeleton. The entire structure now sits atop a series of 20 seismic base isolators.

One-of-a-kind Design

On a typical office building, the façade is installed floor-by-floor, chasing the structure from the ground up. What’s different with the (W)rapper is that not only does the steel have to be entirely erected and welded, but also the shoring system must be fully disconnected before the window wall façade installation can even begin. As the team wraps up this chapter of construction, they will begin the installation of the window-wall façade on this one-of-a-kind building.

The (W)rapper project brings exciting innovation to the world of construction, and the team looks forward to making history in Los Angeles with the completion of this project.