In prominent hospitality markets, the building envelope has to do more than enclose the structure. Hotels must support guest comfort, manage exterior noise, maintain consistent indoor conditions, and stand up to demanding environmental conditions while meeting the expectations of owners, operators, and guests.
Those requirements made Amvic™ ICF a strong fit for the Drury Plaza Hotel in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
When Drury Development Corp expanded its property near Walt Disney World, the company added a 15-story tower built with Amvic™ ICF alongside an existing structure. Completed in December 2022, the $100 million development became Drury’s first official Walt Disney World hotel and its largest hotel to date.
The full property includes 602 guest rooms, more than 17,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space, and a range of guest amenities. The ICF tower addition accounts for 14,010 sq. ft. of floor area and approximately 36,000 sq. ft. of exterior ICF walls.
Building for a High-Profile Hospitality Market
Hospitality projects place unique demands on exterior wall systems. Guest rooms need to remain comfortable throughout changing weather conditions. Noise from surrounding activity can affect the guest experience, and the building envelope has to perform consistently across hundreds of rooms.
ICF construction addresses several of these priorities within one wall assembly.
The reinforced concrete core provides strength and durability, while the EPS layers provide continuous insulation. The mass of the wall assembly also supports sound attenuation, an important consideration for hotels in busy tourism markets.
For Drury Development, those benefits aligned with the needs of a large hotel serving guests in one of the country’s most active travel destinations.
Taking ICF to 15 Stories
Constructing the tower beside an existing building required careful coordination from the start.
One of the main challenges involved carrying ICF walls across large openings. Structural beams had to be integrated into the design without disrupting the continuity of the wall system.
The local building department was closely involved throughout construction. Inspectors reviewed reinforcing steel, quality-control procedures, and the installation process as the tower progressed.
Such level of involvement required ongoing communication between the contractor, installer, design team, and building officials. The result was a consistent process for reviewing the ICF work as construction moved upward through the 15-story addition.
The owner and contractor also relied on project-specific methods developed through previous ICF work. Their bracing system and buck system supported consistency during installation. After concrete placement, thermal imaging was used to help identify potential voids in the walls.
Installation of the approximately 36,000 sq. ft. of exterior ICF walls took 200 days within an overall construction schedule of 155 weeks.
Supporting the Guest Experience
Thermal performance and sound attenuation were especially important for this project because both contribute to the day-to-day performance of a hotel.
The continuous insulation within the ICF wall assembly helps support more stable indoor conditions, while the reinforced concrete and EPS layers help reduce sound transmission through exterior walls.
Those characteristics are especially valuable in large hospitality properties where guest rooms are repeated across multiple floors and consistent performance matters from room to room.
In a destination market such as Walt Disney World, where properties compete on comfort and overall guest experience, the exterior wall system becomes an important part of how the building performs long after construction is complete.
Durability in a Hurricane-Prone Region
COVID-related disruptions affected the project schedule, and severe weather created another challenge near the end of the build. During the final six weeks of construction, two hurricanes affected the area.
Neither storm caused complications or damage to the ICF walls or building envelope.
The reinforced concrete walls created by Amvic™ ICF makes the block well suited for projects in hurricane prone regions where structural strength is a necessity.
Architectural Flexibility for Commercial Design
Performance was only one part of the design. The tower exterior combines EIFS with reflective metal panels along the center core, creating contrast and a distinctive commercial appearance.
The ICF walls provide the structural and insulated base behind those finishes without limiting the architectural treatment of the façade.
For hotel developers and architects, the flexibility of Amvic™ ICF allows the building envelope to meet performance requirements while still supporting the visual identity of the property.
A Proven Choice for Hospitality Projects
The Drury Plaza Hotel builds on Drury’s long-standing use of ICF across its hospitality portfolio. The company has constructed more than 30 hotels with ICF throughout the United States, including several properties in Florida.
The 15-story addition became part of Drury’s first official Walt Disney World hotel and the first ICF hotel on Disney property. The project was later recognized as the 2024 Multifamily 2nd Runner Up at the ICF Builder Awards and as the People’s Choice Winner in the Multifamily category.
For large hospitality construction projects, Amvic™ ICF is proven to be the best ICF for the job. The system combines reinforced concrete construction with continuous insulation while supporting the sound attenuation, thermal performance, durability, resilience, and architectural flexibility that hotel owners and developers value.
The Drury Plaza Hotel shows how those advantages can come together at commercial scale. In a market where guest comfort, long-term building performance, and durability matter every day, Amvic™ ICF provides a strong foundation for high-profile hospitality development.
Learn more about Amvic™ ICF here. Interested in constructing a large project with ICF? Speak to a rep local to you at https://alleguard.com/account-manager-search/