Commercial and Industrial ICF

​Most people know that insulated concrete forms began primarily as an option for residential foundations and basements. We have since seen it explode into above-grade projects. It’s now very common to see multi-story homes built with ICF to the trusses. We are seeing this because of the undeniable benefits it provides the owner: energy efficiency, resiliency, sound quality, and speed of construction. These are the exact same reasons commercial contractors and designers are moving toward ICF construction at a very fast pace.
I spend a fair amount of time on social media looking up ICF and I have been blown away at the cool projects popping up all over the internet. You will see everything from large single-story retail mall projects to movie theaters with tall walls reaching heights over 50 feet to fire stations to high-rise apartments 26 stories in the sky. They are all using insulated concrete forms for similar reasons, but the key benefits may be a little different for each project. When you talk to companies doing commercial construction, you will find different pain points than residential construction companies. When making construction method decisions, most owners of commercial projects are looking at two major concerns: return on investment and marketability.

Return On Investment
Many of the testimonials regarding the question “Why ICF?” when looking at a commercial project state that they have studied the use of the building and determined that ICF will best achieve their goals. For example, we have seen a huge jump in wineries using this method. The Bonobo Winery in Traverse City, Michigan, chose to use BuildBlock ICF for many reasons that all revolve around cost efficiency and quality of product improvements. Todd and Carter Oosterhouse evaluated a range of other options including poured walls, wood framing, and CMU, but ICFs provided strength, made the many corners in the design simple, and added value to the building. With a background in green construction and remodeling, they were convinced that whatever they built needed to be as energy-efficient as possible. This is not only to keep costs low but also to be able to create a consistent product. “We wanted everything to be energy efficient, energy conscious, and low waste,” Todd Oosterhouse stated. “When it came to choosing the ICFs, BuildBlock provided the least amount of waste on the project. ICFs have far less waste compared to wood because there are not as many costly wood cuts. BuildBlock also had the characteristics of low maintenance and the blocks fit together nicely. BuildBlock was easy to use and it was easy to work with the company itself when it came to customer service.”

With large projects, waste seems to be a bigger issue than smaller projects partly due to the large amount of materials used. One of the amazing things about ICF is that small pieces as little as 6 inches can be used in the wall. A 6-inch piece of wood would be trash and thrown in the dumpster. You can imagine how fast that saves money, which will help the bottom line of the project, not to mention you can feel good that you are helping the environment by keeping more materials out of the landfill. When designers decide to use ICF, they will usually make sure to design the project around the dimension of the block they choose. This is extremely important to maximize every inch of the block. It is also very important to get the block company reps involved very early in the project. A lot of times they may have resources to help with design and procurement.

The Orion at Lumino Park is an 18-story high-rise in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. At 110,000 square feet with 135 residential units, the project uses 1/5th the energy of a traditional high-rise and achieved Green Built Platinum. Photo courtesy of SuperForm ICF 

Recently we had Randy Daniels from Fox Blocks on our podcast and spoke about why ICF is growing so fast in commercial. He says in 2022 he did 150 bids for commercial projects, and in 2023, over 200. In North Texas, he did over 90 bids for ICF schools. But he says when potential clients see the combination of manufacturing close to an area and talented professional installers in that area, there will be a lot of growth in insulated concrete form projects. Daniels says, “As soon as a school district sees that the cost of ICF isn’t any different and they can mass walls with 5 inches of insulation for the same price as conventional, they are on board.” He also reminds us that ICF is structurally superior, thermally superior, acoustically superior, risk reduction superior, and operationally superior. THAT’S what is really driving the growth. Other than schools in North Texas, he sees the growth in churches in Arizona, megaplex theaters in Utah, and large community storm shelters in the Midwest. All of these point to a return on the investment, whether we are talking about utilities, product quality, or durability. It really comes down to “what you are trying to accomplish, and how ICF can help you achieve it.”

Marketability
Another deciding factor for many commercial projects is marketability for the end user. There are so many benefits to the end user that make ICF a huge selling point. A great example of that is the Orion at Lumino Park by Kanas Corp. in Calgary, Alberta. This Built Green Platinum project is the largest ICF building in Western Canada at 18 stories tall. Built with SuperForm ICF, this 115,000-square-foot, 135-unit residential highrise hosts commercial rental units at street level and public green space. The owners chose ICF because they care about creating a living space that is sustainable, green-friendly, energy efficient, and innovative. They were strongly motivated to provide the end user a great quality of life. Orion is an affordable rental property offering rental rates at 10% below market value. What is unusual is that tenants are not short on amenities. Renters enjoy comfortable high-tech, high-quality apartments with low operating costs — at a manageable monthly rate. Using insulated concrete form construction, cast-in-place concrete walls were sandwiched between insulation material layers to create thicker-than traditional exterior walls. “ICF is unusual in the rental world, especially going up 18 stories,” says Jason Whitfield, general manager for Kanas Corp. “This was part of our energy performance objective—creating a super-insulated building.” The energy performance of the ICF building envelope, combined with the superior mechanical and electrical systems, lowers energy costs by more than 50% compared to a typical building. This goes right back into the pocket of the end user when paying their utilities.

The Future
Where is it headed? With energy codes getting stricter and the cost of utilities rising, it will continue to be a motivation of commercial developers to find the most effective and efficient way to build their projects. The upside of ICF is undeniable and will continue to point fingers back to ICF as the best option. Randy Daniels agrees. “I see some big things on the horizon for our industry,” he says. “I see projects of scale templated, development companies adopting ICF for production facilities and large-scale multifamily. Hotel chains have adopted 100% ICF and I see more of that. You are seeing ICF manufacturers expanding production like crazy which will only help our efforts.”

This ICF potato storage facility near Soda Springs, Idaho, reduces spoilage to near zero by keeping its temperature and humidity levels constant. Photo courtesy of Fox Blocks

I firmly believe that commercial and industrial construction will be one of the fastest-growing segments of the ICF industry. Driven by word of mouth, the high visibility of some of these amazing projects we have talked about and the prolific marketing efforts of manufacturers, installers, architects, and engineers as well as the fine people at ICF Builder magazine, the sky is the limit!