Masonry Magazine May 1975 Page. 32
Flying Form System Used
In New Jersey Project
A "flying form" technique was used to construct a 23-story condominium in Cliffside Park, N.J. The $12-million apartment complex the Greenhouse-was designed by architects Daniel, Mann, Johnson & Mendenhall of Los Angeles, and Gruzen & Partners of New York City, with Irwin G. Cantor of New York City as structural engineer and Herbert Pomerantz & Associates as mechanical engineers.
The term "flying form" sounds like one of Ohio State's football formations, but it's actually a construction platform which "flies," via one large crane, from floor to floor as construction workers perform their respective trades. "The work schedule was impressive," according to the International Masonry Institute, "with a new floor completed every three days."
The Greenhouse is a residential high-rise built in Bergen County (N.J.) by Kaufman & Broad Condominium Communities, Inc., a division of Kaufman & Broad Homes, Inc., Los Angeles. It is the first condominium high-rise for the firm in the U.S. and more may be on the way, since the firm opened a national office for condominiums in Fort Lee, N.J.
Jack O'Mara, who is in charge of construction for K&B, told the Bergen County Masonry Council, an affiliate of IMI, that the superstructure was begun last May 13 and completed August 21, thanks to the flying form concept. General and mason contractor for the job was Frank Briscoe Co., Inc., East Orange, N.J.
Using only four points, a crane carries this 85-ft. long "flying form" into place on The Greenhouse, a 23-story condominium in Cliffside Park, N.J. These forms are used to pour a floor, after which columns are built and another floor is poured.
The forms are platforms on aluminum trusses 75 ft. long (with a 5-ft. overhang on either side of the building) and 16 to 20 ft. wide. They are prefabricated and assembled on the ground, and the crane hoists them up and drops them into place. They're placed on jacks which are screwed up to the proper level.
After the concrete is poured on the platform above and allowed to cure, the jacks are lowered, and the platforms are rolled to the interior of the building. The crane then lifts them one floor above for another sequence.
The flooring is shored up with 8-ft. 4x4's. About 16 forms are used per floor. After the deck is poured, the columns are poured the next day. The day after, the steel, electrical conduits and mechanical-electrical openings are placed.
Twelve masons and 24 bricklayers were on the job to close in and finish what is considered a showcase structure in the New Jersey community.
There are a few, if any, jobs in which ability alone is sufficient. Needed also are loyalty, sincerity, enthusiasm, and cooperation.