Office Building Construction in Texas

Glass sets the tolerance on an office building. A tilt wall that carries a punched window or a ribbon of storefront has to be square, plumb and dimensionally right to within fractions of an inch, because the glazing contractor will not forgive the wall. That is the first reason office work is a different animal from warehouse work, even though the panels are poured the same way.

The second reason is the building's face. An office is judged by its elevation, and tilt-up gives the architect a wide palette: sculpted reveals, deep window returns, exposed aggregate, stone and brick inlays cast in, paint, and a cap that hides rooftop equipment. At a reasonable price, it delivers a solid, finished-looking building that holds up for years without the maintenance of a curtain wall.

We build one- to four-story offices, corporate campuses of several buildings and mixed office-warehouse headquarters across Texas. Here is what changes on the site once an office is the end use.

Everything starts at the casting bed. For an office elevation we survey the layout on the slab, set the forms with tight tolerances, place the window blockouts and reveals, and check the panel before the concrete goes in. A window opening that is a quarter inch off can ruin the install of an entire storefront run, so we verify the opening dimensions the same day the forms are set and again after stripping.

Multi-story office panels also bring loading questions. Floor framing ties into the panels, so embeds and ledgers are placed to the structural drawings, and the lift has to consider the panel's weight with openings in it. Tall, thin panels with large windows are weak until braced, and the bracing plan is more involved than for a solid wall. Our description of multi-story tilt wall work covers those cases.

Office demand in the state is concentrated in a few places. Las Colinas in Irving is a planned, mixed-use community of more than 12,000 acres centered near SH 114 and the Bush Turnpike. In Plano, the $2 billion Legacy West development opened in 2017 with Toyota's North American headquarters on 100 acres, alongside other major corporate tenants. In Round Rock, Dell is headquartered alongside more than 20 other major employers. The common thread is access to a tollway, a labor pool and a campus setting where an owner can build a signature building without a downtown site.

Not every office is a headquarters. Medical practices, engineering firms, title companies and regional service businesses lease or own smaller buildings in office parks. For those, tilt-up offers a lower cost per square foot than a steel-and-glass tower. A tenant that wants clinic space in the same park should see our medical office page. For the buildings in between, see our pages on Irving and Plano.

An office shell includes the slab, panels, roof structure, roof membrane, storefront and glazing, and often the core and shell finishes: restrooms, elevator shaft, stairs, lobby and mechanical rooms. For single-story buildings, the roof framing is joists and deck. For multi-story, floors are framed in steel or cast as concrete decks. Those choices affect panel design, crane size and schedule.

Tenant finish follows. A speculative office is delivered as a core and shell, with the tenant's build-out added later. A build-to-suit office is delivered complete. We handle either and tell the owner early which approach costs less. Our page on build-to-suit tilt wall describes the second route.

Offices bring parking, landscape, stormwater and utilities that scale with the building's occupancy. A 100,000-square-foot office needs hundreds of parking stalls, and the paving, drainage and lighting for them can be a major part of the budget. We coordinate the civil design with the building so that finished floor elevation, drainage and accessible routes work together.

Because offices attract more visitors than warehouses, the site also needs clear signs, sidewalks and safe entry for people on foot. Corporate owners often want sustainability features, daylighting, and shading devices on the south face. Our site work covers the scope described on site grading and building pads, and mixed-use owners can see how an office with warehouse space shares a structure on the flex office warehouse page.

Office buildings are the building type most affected by the energy code. The State Energy Conservation Office has elected to continue using the International Energy Conservation Code, which sets envelope, glazing and lighting requirements. Large glass areas and tilt-up mass both play into the compliance path, and we run the numbers with the architect early so that the window-to-wall ratio is settled before panels are drawn.

Accessibility is the second major review. Projects of $50,000 or more are registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation under the Elimination of Architectural Barriers program, and the Texas Accessibility Standards apply. Plan review comes before inspection, so we allow time for it. City review adds its own comments, and the municipal code base is the IBC unless the city has adopted amendments by ordinance.

We take office work in the major metros and in the growing suburbs around them: the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs, the Austin and Round Rock corridor, the Houston area from Katy to The Woodlands, and San Antonio's northern edge. Smaller cities with regional employers also need offices, and a tilt wall building is a practical fit for them.

Corporate owners often ask for a single contractor who can deliver offices and industrial space on the same campus. That is common in logistics and manufacturing headquarters. If that is you, the medical and office owners page explains how we work with the occupant from design through turnover.

Send the drawings or the concept. We will price the shell, point out the tolerance and code items that matter, and lay out the schedule from slab to certificate of occupancy.

Is tilt wall suitable for a multi-story office?

Yes, for three or four stories and sometimes more. Floor framing ties into the panels, and the lift and bracing plans are more involved. The cost advantage narrows as the height increases, so we compare it to steel and concrete frames for each project.

What finishes are available on the facade?

Paint, sealer, exposed aggregate, form liners, cast-in stone or brick, reveals, and accent bands. Because the finish is part of the casting, the decision has to be made before casting starts.

How are windows held to tolerance?

We survey and set the forms carefully, check opening dimensions at pour and after stripping, and coordinate with the glazing contractor. Frame sizes and sealant joints are designed to accept the normal tolerances of cast concrete.

Can we build the office in phases?

Yes. Many campuses build one building first, then add others as tenants sign. Site utilities and parking are sized for the full campus, and the architectural vocabulary carries from one building to the next.

Does the office need its own generator or special power?

That depends on the user. Many offices include a generator for life safety, and some for full backup. We coordinate generator pads, switchgear and fuel with the utility and the fire marshal during design.