This seven-story luxury condominium
built on a white sand beach overlooking Mexico’s beautiful Sea of Cortez, is a remarkable example of engineering, education, and sustainability. La Paz, Mexico, located in southern Baja California, is a world-class destination. With white sand beaches, friendly locals, and first-rate services, it’s becoming the location of choice for vacationers and retirees alike. In the early years of the 20th Century, the city was known for its black pearls. Today, a new treasure can be found on the beach: La Concha Pearl, “The Pearl of La Paz.” The seven-story luxury condominium project is built to the highest sustainable building standards and makes extensive use of Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs). The story begins nearly five years ago, when developers Dan Shore and Robert Hefner purchased 45,000 sq. ft. of beachfront real estate in La Paz. The California-based developers spent more than a year researching the best way to develop the land, eventually settling on a luxury condominium suited for vacation or retirement living, with elegant interior finishes and a modern design, which would still blend into the Colonial Mexican architecture that surrounds it. They also decided to take advantage of cutting-edge, energy efficient technologies to make it as environmentally-friendly as possible. “I fell in love with the people and waters surrounding La Paz about five years ago,” says Hefner. “I felt that with this opportunity to live in paradise came critical responsibilities in regards to protecting the environment that could not be overlooked merely for the sake of additional profit. As my partner Dan Shore and I watched the sun set over the Bay of La Paz one evening, we made a commitment to minimize our impact wherever we could in hopes we may set an example of what can be done using leading edge technologies.” Shore made the decision to build La Concha Pearl with ICFs. After meeting with New Tek, the Mexico Quad-Lock distributor who has pioneered ICF use in Mexico, the developers were sold on the system. Les Zwaryck, owner of New Tek, spent a few months redesigning the building to optimize it for ICF construction. New Tek also did the ICF install on the job—no small feat considering it used 60,000 sq. ft of wall forms and 80,000 sq. ft of EPS decking. Shore is no stranger to the sustainable building movement, having worked for environmentally-conscious clients such as Yahoo! and Adobe. But, Shore believes safety and practicality should come first. That’s why he chose ICFs over earthen blocks. ICFs also have advantages over the traditional post-and-beam-with-CMUinfill construction common in Mexico.
They offer seismic strength exceeding Zone 4 earthquake standards, the ability to withstand a Category 5 hurricane, and climate comfort. The Quad Deck Flooring System virtually eliminates any interior noise between residences.

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