Architectural Precast: Molding Ideas

If you have taken a stroll through the Louisiana State University campus in Baton Rouge, you have seen the work of Gary Whitehead and Architectural Precast. Some of his pieces are underfoot while others are overhead. Among other projects at LSU, he makes the backings for the “Endow an Oak” program, and he completed the monument in front of the oft-photographed clock tower.

Or maybe you have visited the newly revamped City Park in Baton Rouge. Whitehead and his team made the benches, fountain, planters, and the light fixture bases. With those eleven light fixtures, there is more than meets the eye. Weighing in at 12,000 pounds each, they are the result of an intricate, patient process whereby employees worked for several hours every day for two weeks not knowing whether their efforts would be in vain. Without getting into details, Whitehead basically had one chance to get the mold right.

“It’s like opening up an Easter egg,” Whitehead says of this particular mold-making process. “You don’t know what’s inside.”

With Whitehead’s more than 20 years of experience and practice, he found perfection inside. His one chance was a huge success.

At Architectural Precast, each job—be it soffit crown molding, columns, entryways, facades, balustrades, fountains, fireplaces, or Mexican stone—is treated like an individual challenge. Whitehead meets with the client, whether residential, commercial, or industrial, to examine the job specifications, look at plans, and draw up an idea. The project may be something as simple as a few wall fountains for a residential pool or as extensive as a giant multilevel pineapple-inspired public fountain. Whatever the job, Whitehead determines what each piece will look like and how many pieces will be needed for completion.

Then he makes the mold. Depending on the intricacies and amount of detail work on the piece, Whitehead will use rubber, plaster, bondo, Formica, or fiberglass for the mold. The concrete is poured in, the mold comes off, and the piece enters a 28-day curing process. Then the pieces are readied and shipped off for installation.

As Whitehead walks me through his workspace, I see the range of projects they can create. A concrete pelican, leftover from an unfinished post-Katrina park in Chalmette, watches over the area. A 24-foot turned one-piece column—the only kind of structural column Architectural Precast offers—is almost ready for a home in Biloxi. Soffit crown molding—lighter than most concrete and more durable than Styrofoam—is almost ready for installation. Faces in the shapes of leaves stare up at me, destined to become wall fountains for a pool.

“It’s not a big deal,” Whitehead says. “We don’t build rockets here.”

“But you could if somebody wanted a rocket fountain,” I suggest.

He laughs. “We could do it,” he says. “That’s the neat thing about it. It’s always something different.” ✦

Architectural Precast
14757 S. Harrell’s Ferry Rd.
Baton Rouge, LA 70816
(225) 752-1324