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A cost breakdown of these three locations will usuallyillustrate that the lowest wall square foot cost is forthose on the typical floors because of the volume andrepetition. If the unit cost of either location 1 or 3 appearsexpensive in relation to location 2, a review maybe useful, unless the areas involved are insignificant inrelation to the overall area of the building. The elements

which may be considered in such a review of locations1 and 3 follows:Walls for lower level floor(s)The optimum solution for a ground floor would be adesign that allows the precast concrete units to be castin the same master mold as contemplated for the typicalfloors. This holds true even with the larger openings,doors, or entrance areas normally required for such afloor. The illustration in Fig. 2.1.2 is a good example ofthis. This convention hotel has a 7-story podium and a27-story hotel tower. An important design criteria wasto create an image for the building compatible with

the highly textured and detailed finishes on adjacentlandmark buildings. Panel configuration varied fromcolumn/lintel stickconstruction and framed flatpanels at the building podium public spaces to singleand double flat panels with openings for field-installedwindows. Typical window panels are horizontal, doubleopenings at the flat tower face and vertical, doubleopenings at the curved turrets with false joints in eachpanel to create the appearance of stone constructionand uniformity of panel sizes. Panels were configuredto the maximum size that could be transported bysemi-trailer and to the maximum weight that could behoisted by crane.

If the ground floor design does not lend itself to themaster mold concept in relation to typical floors, it is oftenthe simplest solution to use precast concrete solelyas cladding consisting of flat sections with returns onlyas necessary. One flat mold can be the master moldand modifications can be obtained by relatively simpleadjustment of bulkheads. Flat panels may also be economicalbecause the layout of a ground floor oftenprecludes much repetition.A cladding solution with flat panels and minimum returnsmay lead to numerous, and fairly small, panelscontradicting later recommendations in this manual.

Smaller flat units in large numbers may still be moreeconomical than larger units with little repetitionand high tooling costs. Erection of the larger numberof units may be partially offset by the use of smallcranes or forklifts, which are often adequate for lowerelevations.A cladding solution for a ground-floor level designoften allows the choice of more expensive finishes forthis area only. Consideration should be given at theground-floor to the proximity of the units to pedestriantraffic. In some cases accumulation of snow or dirtagainst ground-floor panels may influence choice offinish such as natural stone veneer-faced precast concrete,

because ease of cleaning becomes an importantfactor. The finish requirements for the typical floors