Geofoam International kicks off this holiday season with an exciting new project at the Lexington Convention Center in Kentucky. The Lexington Convention Center, located in the heart of downtown Lexington, is a bustling epicenter for entertainment and sporting events for the Southeast and Midwest region of the United States.
The multi-purpose event facility features 66,000 square feet of dedicated exhibit space and 40,000 square feet of elegant meeting spaces for various conferences and exhibitions held year-round. Additionally, it includes a mall filled with retail boutiques, night clubs, bars and restaurants and is attached to two international hotels, the Hyatt Regency and Hilton Hotel. The Lexington Convention Center will be significantly expanded in the new year, with Geofoam International elevating the renovation with ground-breaking EPS foam block construction.
This expansion will happen under the direction of architecture firm NBBJ. NBBJ was voted 2018’s Most Innovative Architecture Firm for improving well-being through spaces by Fast Company.
The construction industry is continuing to catch on to the trend of foam block construction. This special architectural and engineering method uses expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoam to not only create solid foundations and thermodynamic insulation in buildings, but to build and expand various applications like roadways, landscapes and stadium seating. NBBJ and Geofoam International will lead the charge in using the most innovative construction methods and material in the industry. By using custom geofoam blocks, structures that boast endurance and stability will be made throughout the convention center. Due to the lightweight and flexible properties of geofoam, project execution should go off without a hitch.
Geofoam International will be providing a total of 42 trucks of custom geofoam blocks about 125,000 cu ft. to complete the project. EPS 12, 15 and 19 will be used. These foam foundation blocks have densities of approximately .70 (lb./cu ft.), .90 (lb./cu ft.), 1.15 (lb./cu ft.) respectively. One major benefit of using EPS foam is that is 100 times lighter than traditional fill materials but has unbeatable compressive strength and thermal insulation properties that make it highly efficient and more valuable that other building materials.
The new Lexington Convention Center will expand to have 100,000 square feet of exhibit halls, a 24,330 square-foot ballroom, 29,000 square feet of meeting rooms, and 44,000 square feet of clubs and flexible spaces. Its existing exhibition space will experience a 50% increase in expansion, alone.
The Rupp Arena, part of the Lexington Convention Center, will also be included in the renovation project. The arena has been host to world-renown artists including U2, Elton John, Tina, Turner, KISS, Kenny Chesney and Taylor Swift, and is home turf for the NCAA National Champion Kentucky Wildcats basketball team. Construction will consist of an expansive exterior refresh, the new building of an iconic façade, a new front door, and an expanded concourse, along with catwalk steps and seating upgrades.
Geofoam International’s EPS foam blocks will we used to raise the elevations for these new additions and expansions within the new Lexington Convention Center. With the renovation, the Lexington Convention Center will continue to be the go-to, multi-purpose event facility that provides entertainment and fuels business in Kentucky and beyond—and Geofoam International will be there for the expansion, every step of the way.
To find out more about Geofoam International and the multitude of applications for foam block construction check out our current projects.
