Bonding with nature
The Kitimat Hospital and Health Centre in Kitimat, British Columbia, considered affordability, performance, and design as top factors in selecting an exterior cladding. The building utilizes 25,000 sq. ft. of 4mm Alucobond 21 Material in birch and platinum colors. By providing large expanses of glass and strategically placed windows, the building engages its surroundings and merges the interior environment with nature.
Alcan Composites.
Reader Service No. 207
Faux stone
Aluminum composite has the strength and appearance of stone, but it can be bent, routed, drilled, and trimmed. The cladding is made by bonding two thin sheets of aluminum around a thermoplastic core, creating a lightweight, durable, flexible material that provides flatness and vibration damping. The Stone Series' glossy surface is easy to clean, according to its manufacturer.
Alpolic.
Reader Service No. 203
FRP finish
Panelized exterior wall system offers a hard, aggregated, fiber-reinforced polymer finish and comes with a 10-year warranty and the appearance of a field-applied EIFS. The 2- or 4-in.-thick, factory-insulated wall panel options deliver R values ranging from 15.9 to 32.3.
Butler Manufacturing Co.
Reader Service No. 209
Just call
The Concord Telephone Company wanted its new headquarters building in Charlotte, N.C., to reflect cutting-edge technology. Its highly visible location made long lasting and good looking cladding materials crucial. Formawall Dimension Series factory-formed panels were chosen to cover more than 30,000 sq. ft. of exterior wall. Special modules, corners, and arcs achieve the architect's overall aesthetics.
Centria.
Reader Service No. 205
Fans: Enter here
The $450 million American Airlines Center in Dallas, home to the Mavericks basketball team and Stars hockey club, features arched openings that welcome fans. For the curtain wall entrances, general contractor Austin Commercial installed a ZG-2000 pressure-glazed system.
Vistawall Architectural Products.
Reader Service No. 206
Guided cladding
The Guide Corp. chose polyurethane foam insulated wall panels for its Technology and Customer Center in Pendleton, Ind. More than 30,000 sq. ft. of the polar white and regal gray-accented CF Striated panels were installed in 22- and 26-gauge thicknesses. Panels, rather than other cladding options, were specified because they were more "cost effective" and "flexible enough to allow the transition from a vertical panel to a horizontal panel at the column lines," says Brad Hitzfield of SPS Corp., a project subcontractor.
Metl Span.
Reader Service No. 202
D.C. makeover
Formerly the offices of the U.S. Secret Service, 1310 L St. in Washington, D.C., was recently transformed into a modern office building by the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. The old exterior walls were removed and a combination of windows and curtain wall, aluminum accents, and glass entrances was erected in their place. Value engineering led to the use of a shallow curtain wall system that preserves existing property lines, effectively upgrading performance and providing instant curb appeal.
Harmon Inc.
Reader Service No. 204
Stone simulation
The 125,000-sq.-ft. Gateway Exchange II office building in Columbia, Md., incorporates Model 230 Slenderwall exterior wall panels in a "buff" color. They are made of architectural precast concrete mix and finished with a light acid in order to simulate Indiana limestone. Gateway Exchange II is the third in a series of four buildings. The last two are designed to be mirror images.
Smith-Midland Corp.
Reader Service No. 208
