Organic Architecture · Est. 2010 · Los Angeles, CA

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FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT JOHN LAUTNER CONCRETE LOS ANGELES ABOUT CONTACT PRIVACY POLICY

Post Tensioned Concrete Slab Pour

The 8-Hour Pour: Engineering the Sheats-Goldstein Infinity Court

Construction / Post-Tensioned Concrete / Goldstein Residence
Time-Lapse — Continuous Concrete Pour, James F. Goldstein Entertainment Complex

The time-lapse above documents an eight-hour continuous concrete pour for the post-tensioned slab at the James F. Goldstein Entertainment Complex—one of the most consequential single construction events in the project's history, executed by Nicholson Architects.


Why Continuous — and Why It Matters

In post-tensioned concrete construction, the pour cannot be interrupted. A monolithic slab must cure as a single, unified solid: any cold joint—a seam where poured concrete meets concrete that has already begun to set—introduces a structural discontinuity that the post-tensioning system cannot bridge. Eight hours, start to finish, no breaks.

A cold joint in a PT slab isn't a cosmetic flaw. It is a plane of weakness running through the heart of the structure—precisely where the cables are trying to act as one.

Once the concrete reaches its design compressive strength—typically around 3,000 psi—the internal post-tension cables are hydraulically stressed. This process pre-loads the slab, compressing it from the inside out and allowing it to achieve the dramatic cantilevers and thin profiles required for the iconic infinity tennis court that appears to hover over the canyon below.

Post-tensioned concrete slab pour in progress The pour in progress — a continuous operation from first truck to final screed
Project Team

Architect: Nicholson Architects

Structural Engineer: Andrew Nasser, Omnispan Corporation

Construction: Ostermann Construction

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