Wells Fargo Center
Project Details
Location
Charlotte, North Carolina
Owner
Wells Fargo
Architect
Engineer
General Contractor
Precast Manufacturer
Lightweight Concrete Supplier
Lightweight Aggregate Supplier
Stalite Lightweight Aggregate
Description
The 48-story Wells Fargo Center in Charlotte, NC, rising 764 feet, is one of the tallest buildings in the world to utilize precast, prestressed concrete double tees as its primary floor system.
Originally developed as the Wachovia First Street Office Tower and later known as the Duke Energy Center, the 1.4 million-square-foot tower includes a nine-story podium and an eight-level below-grade parking structure extending 95 feet below street level.
The tower and podium use 12-foot-wide lightweight concrete precast, prestressed double tees with a lightweight concrete topping slab. Spanning 43 feet from the perimeter frame to the shear-tube core, the system creates large, column-free floor plates while accelerating construction — allowing a floor to be completed approximately every four days.
By incorporating Stalite expanded slate lightweight aggregate, the design team reduced structural dead load, improved fire performance, and achieved a one-inch reduction in topping thickness for significant material and cost savings.
This project highlights the structural and scheduling advantages of lightweight concrete in high-rise construction.
