OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE CATHOLIC CHURCH – 2016

Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church utilized tilt-up to achieve significance in its design and architectural features. Similar to many tilt-up religious structures, the unbraced heights at Our Lady of Guadalupe were typically very high, ranging up to 40 feet. The 85-foot-tall, unstacked bell tower was constructed of two tilt-up panels. This was also a perfect medium for the 30-foot-tall, intricate designs perfectly cast into the tilt-up panels. Construction features the innovative use of medium-density foam as a formliner, and tilt-up panels vary from 7 to 16 inches thick. The oval-shaped chapel representing the Virgin Mary's womb was redesigned from masonry to elliptical tilt-up panels. Adding to the complexity of the radius panels was the ribbed formliner used to give the building a rustic finish. A panel facing the turnpike is adorned with a 26-foot-tall, Italian mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe, constructed by hand from Venetian glass mosaic tiles.