EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second in a continuing series tracking the construction progress of the Rafiki Village project and report on the energy-efficiencies and green building capabilities of insulated concrete forms on non-residential projects.

When the designers took on the task of creating a new home office complex for the Rafiki Foundation (rakiki-foundation.com), they were charged with developing a plan that would evolve the 57-acre campus in Eustis, Fla., into a working environment that blended with the natural surroundings, but also would provide sustainable, energy-efficient and safe structures to house the hundreds of volunteers and staff who spend time on the campus each year.

With the input and support of the construction management team at Mark Construction (markconstruction.com), the clear choice became to design and construct the complex using insulated concrete forms (ICFs).

The Rafiki Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit Christian ministry, founded in 1957 by Missionaries Rosemary Jensen and her husband, Dr. Robert Jensen, that builds and operates orphanages in 10 English-speaking countries in Africa, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Within these 10 countries are more than 24 million orphaned boys and girls, the innocent victims of famine, civil war and disease - mainly the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Rafiki provides housing, meals, clothing, education, Christian nurture and medical care for its children from the time they arrive at the Rafiki Villages until they reach young adulthood. It is the mission of the ministry to raise up the next generation of African leaders from among its children with the hope that they may be able to lead their countries out of the cycle of devastation that has gripped the African continent for the past three decades. Therefore children are not adopted out of their country.

Steve Kranz, Rafiki's director of home operations, said that Rafiki Foundation has constructed buildings of superior quality and energy efficiency in all its projects in Africa, so when it was time to build a new home office in the United States they wanted the same thing.

"It was a perfect fit for us to choose ICF construction, knowing that it would provide beautiful and very energy efficient buildings."

Now, with the project completing its third week of construction, the ICFs selected for the exterior walls of the 13 structures on campus will be Greenblock Insulated Concrete Forms (greenblock.com), based on the versatility and strength of the block.

"The 12-inch tall design and the web ties spaced at every 6 inches was a real deal maker for us and the architects on the project," said Todd Jorgensen, president of Mark Construction.

"We knew that the ability to design the structures around the needs of the Rafiki team mandated an ICF that is designed for superior strength as well as ease of installation," Jorgensen said.

Ease of installation is readily apparent as the ICF installer, Insulated Concrete Walls Inc. (icwalls.com) is well ahead of the scheduled installation timeline and in just three weeks has assembled, poured and completed seven of the 13 campus structures, according to Randy Abrego, project superintendent for Insulated Concrete Walls.

"The Greenblock forms are easy to assemble and hold up very well to the 3000 PSI concrete we fill them with," Abrego said. "We're able to pour multiple buildings on the same day with our crews quickly and easily moving from building to building."

The ICF being used for this project is the Greenblock 2-4-2 4-inch core product. The 2-4-2 ICF has all the strength of the wider core ICFs, but has been specifically designed to compete as an alternative to the commonly used CMUs found on many projects in the southeast United States.

John Riddle, territory manager for Greenblock, said the 2-4-2 ICF has an overall width of 8 inches, which allows designers, architects and installers to efficiently substitute ICFs into a job that may have already been designed for CMU walls.

"This ability to easily substitute, without having to redraw plans or change the design, has allowed homeowners and commercial developers to make the energy-efficient and storm-resistant switch to building with ICFs," Riddle said.
With more than 13,260 square feet of wall already constructed and working ahead of the scheduled timeline, the Rafiki Foundation and Mark Construction teams are realizing the efficiencies of concrete construction with ICFs. Jorgensen said he has suggested to other subcontractors that they should become familiar with and learn how to install using ICFs.

Installation efficiency is just one of the many advantages of using ICFs on a project.

In the July edition of Concrete Monthly, coverage will continue to track the progress of this project and report on the energy-efficiencies and green building capabilities that Greenblock ICFs are bringing to the Rafiki Village. CM