Designed for a service life of 500 years, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is a 5.5-acre structural concrete mecca in the heart of Los Angeles. The church seats 3,000 and can accommodate 5,000 in its plaza. The site consists of a 64,000-square-foot cathedral with a 25,000-square-foot mausoleum; 156-foot campanile; a 56,000-square-foot conference center with gift shop, café, parish offices, and meeting space for 1,200; cardinal/clergy residence; and three levels of subterranean parking for 600 cars. The 125-million-pound building rests on 149 seismic base isolators and 47 sliders and features 645,000 square feet of architectural walls and 26,000 cubic yards of architectural concrete.

Morley Construction Company developed several unique concrete mixes, material storage methods, placement procedures, and formwork removal criteria to mitigate various site conditions. Early morning placements utilized a ready-mixed concrete made with low C3A content white cement manufactured in Denmark. A fly ash 15% substitution provided strict color consistency, while concrete was formulated with chilled water. Ready-mix trucks water-cooled prior to loading and aggregates cooled using chilled water misters were used to control temperatures. Formwork was left in place a minimum of 2.5 days after placing concrete, longer if temperature differentials were too high. A total of 59,580 cubic yards of concrete was placed on the project.