Image-conscious retail giant Lowes was looking for an attractive parking structure design to complement its spectacular headquarters campus. The company settled on the high-quality finish provided by hot-dip galvanizing. Originally focusing on a concrete structure, a proposed design utilizing "smart" (or castellated) beams was not only aesthetically attractive to Lowes, but delivered a $300,000 initial cost savings over pre-cast concrete.

 Almost 1,700 tons of hot-dip galvanized structural columns, fascia beams, concrete embeds, lintels, handrail, and castellated beams were used on the project. Some of the "smart" beams were over 60 feet long, posing a process and handling challenge to the galvanizer. Construction was fast-tracked because of galvanizing's quick turnaround time and deliverability in any type of weather. Considering the long-term corrosion protection provided, hot-dip galvanizing maintenance costs are negligible compared to the regular maintenance required by concrete structures. It is not often that a parking structure is viewed as an attractive piece of a building complex, but, in this case, the aesthetic value of a castellated beams building elevates this Lowes structure to an integral element of its appealing surroundings.