Wow! Poly construction progress

[KAT4DISNEY]

How was BLT constructed? In a more traditional way?

You can see some pictures from the build on DVCNews.com https://dvcnews.com/wdw-resorts/bay-lake-tower/blt-maps-photos

 

[maui22]

Just returned from PVB stay. I hope they have a quick service and a pool with a slide at the tower. Need to spread things out more.

 

[Sandisw]

Just returned from PVB stay. I hope they have a quick service and a pool with a slide at the tower. Need to spread things out more.

Plans do not show a slide.

 

[heynowirv]

I noticed all the pre-fab components from the Monorail last weekend and it made me wonder if the pre-fab approach was used because of space encroachment from existing structures.

The original rooms for the Poly and Comtemporary hotels were built off site in an assembly line and trucked to the hotel site to be inserted into the structural framework of the hotels.

I love lego's.

 

[maui22]

Plans do not show a slide.

Not sure how the main pool is going to handle all the additional guests. Feels like someone made a decision without understanding the Polynesian resort.

Our niece wanted to be at the main pool specifically because of the kids play area with the slides. She spent at least 2 hours there every evening except the last. The movie nights and pool were very busy. We typically had to share 2-3 chairs/loungers among the 5 of us.

 

[Sandisw]

Not sure how the main pool is going to handle all the additional guests. Feels like someone made a decision without understanding the Polynesian resort.

Our niece wanted to be at the main pool specifically because of the kids play area with the slides. She spent at least 2 hours there every evening except the last. The movie nights and pool were very busy. We typically had to share 2-3 chairs/loungers among the 5 of us.

I think there might be a play area, but not the big slide…it will be interesting to see how it shakes out.

 

[garegco]

This prefab technique is also the way Universal builds their lower end hotels, like the Endless Summer Resort. VDH was built more traditionally. I’m wondering if there are any negative trade offs in quality that go along with this kind of cheap, fast construction.

As a licensed structural engineer who designs buildings similar in size to these, the difference in construction types is likely due to California being in a high seismic region versus Florida where wind is the controlling factor in the building's lateral design. In seismic regions, precast concrete core walls such as we see here can only be used up to a certain building height as either a code limitation on permitted structure heights or due to the complexity of wall-panel to wall-panel connections under large earthquake forces. Additionally, precast structures tend to be heavier which attracts larger earthquake loads versus traditional flat-plate concrete slab construction. There could also be other factors at play in the selection of systems such as cost, precast supplier backlog, building height limitations (precast would require a larger floor-floor height) building department politics, etc.

Precast construction is chosen when the building's geometry lends itself to column/wall spacing that works well with it, when speed of construction is important, and also when it is priced correctly (if the precast suppliers are too busy, precast will be more expensive, if they aren't busy enough, it will be much cheaper). There is nothing low quality, cheap, or troublesome with this construction method as there are many class A office buildings (highest office building class - think office buildings with high-end lawyers and bankers) constructed from precast without issue.

From an end-user standpoint, I don't believe it would be possible for anyone to tell the difference in building quality from these systems once the construction is finished and the building's finishes are installed. There would also be almost no discernable way for the general public to tell that this was even a precast building. Also please keep in mind that the pictures you are seeing are the structure only and will have final finishes and building cladding installed/applied to them so that the grey structural precast concrete won't be visible at the end.

Sorry for the nerdy engineering talk!