British Columbia has spectacular views of the Canadian Cascades and the inlets that surround it and Burnaby, a city just east of Vancouver, undulates over hills that reach 1,200 feet high. One of its residences, planted on top of one of these hills, offers big views of the Vancouver skyline and the majestic coastal ranges. For the homeowners, the Fedukes, making those views an integral part of their residence was important. So much so, they chose to blur the lines between outdoor and indoor living.
CHANDLER-GILBERT COMMUNITY COLLEGE WILLIAMS CAMPUS
The Vision
Chandler-Gilbert Community College, Mesa, Arizona, serves more than 16,000 students at three different locations in the Southeast Valley of the Phoenix metropolitan area. The 753-acre Williams Campus was originally created from a portion of the former Williams Air Force Base and is in close proximity to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. In December, 2008, the college completed construction of Engel Hall, a spectacular new 20,778 square-foot nursing classroom and faculty office building and 6,000 square-foot covered outdoor plaza on the Williams Campus. The first floor of the facility houses student classrooms, laboratory spaces and lounge areas; the second floor houses faculty offices.
Engel Hall was developed as part of the Williams Education Research and Training Master Plan and with an administration directive to provide the college with a new standard of design and architectural materials for future expansion projects across the campus. Achieving maximum energy efficiency and indoor air comfort by minimizing the impact of the hot Arizona sun and a minimum LEED Gold Certification were key requirements of this project. Materials and products employed in the facility were selected based on their insulative value, their durability under extreme regional weather conditions, their visual and textural intrigue, their recycled content and their regional availability.
The Airolite Look…
Architects positioned Engel Hall’s building footprint and created exterior facades to establish a revitalized street presence to the adjacent avenue. The building’s low-profile and sleek lines are visually integrated with the expansive horizon that surrounds the campus. Engel Hall’s engaging but understated exterior immediately projects a progressive, contemporary image for the college and helps support the Master Plan’s recommendation to create new space that “represents the place of this institution in its community.”
A sweeping veil of Airolite sun controls spans the entire length and height of Engel Hall’s second floor providing a very distinctive, visual intrigue to the building during daylight hours and a stunning presence when backlit from the interior at night. The stylish second floor wall of Airolite sun controls also provides a dramatic framed view of the Superstition Mountains for visitors standing in the outdoor plaza where graduation ceremonies, concerts, trade fairs and other campus events will be held. The sun controls’ Kynar 500® Pearlescent Warm Silver finish matches the adjacent storefront and ceiling systems.
That Works
Vital shading provided by the sun controls contribute to energy-efficient cooling and desired thermal comfort for faculty offices without obstructing interior views of the surrounding campus.
Six-inch Airolite airfoil blades form the continuous length and height of the second floor. Blades are arrayed horizontally at 6 inches on center with a solar orientation of 30 degrees and were delivered to the site in approximately 10 feet wide x 6 feet high factory-assembled sections. Each sun control section is secured to steel trusses which also support the overhanging second floor. In addition, the flexibility of the Airolite sun controls relative to solar orientation helped with the user’s thermal comfort, and their recycled material content helped in achieving LEED Gold Certification. Airolite’s sun controls provided shade for the faculty offices, which in turn created a more pleasing visual environment and a more comfortable thermal environment for the users. The sun controls helped contribute to reduced solar heat gain which resulted in reduced cooling and energy consumption. “Airolite’s architectural louvers provided a design element that subtly and successfully addressed the functional needs of the users, energy efficiency requirements of the building, and our own aesthetic goals as a design firm,” stated Paul Goldammer, project manager for Gabor Lorant Architects, Inc.
Eagle Academy
Eagle Academy is the first early childhood public charter school in Washington D.C., and is home to more than 900 students. When designing the school, Eagle Academy was hoping for an intellectually stimulating and sustainable environment that resembled their previous building, but its location in the South East side of the city caused a security concern that needed to be addressed in its design.
Kingspan Light + Air provided 13,020 sq. ft. of UniQuad® panels to solve the problems and concerns academy faced at their 27,000 sq. ft. facility. The panels’ advanced Removable Skin Technology (RST) allows the exterior panel to be replaced as needed in the event of vandalism and provides indefinite building envelope protection
The Eagle Academy was designed to feature a seamless glazed look without any exposed aluminum connectors, and included bi-colored panels of blue and white to show the school colors. The outside panels were matte finished for added security and daytime privacy. The UniQuad system is one of the many energy-saving measures taken by Eagle Academy to achieve LEED Silver.
We picked a system that would give them the daylight they wanted without having to use windows. The UniQuad provides an interesting effect inside, durable material, and a great aesthetic. The school is in a zone that would be prone to some kind of vandalism. If they have a problem with it, panels can be removed one at a time. – Carlos Talero, Shinberg Levinas Architectural Design
The UniQuad is the only daylight system that can span as long as 12 ft. between structural supports. It is constructed of two independent translucent insulated panels, and is joined by a mechanically interlocking structure that eliminates the need for vulnerable wet seal and adhesives.
“We’ve had some days with heavy winds and I’ve walked into the gym to see if I can feel anything, but the panels are air tight,” said John Johnson, Director of Security/Facilities at Eagle Academy. “We haven’t had any water issues at all – no leaks, nothing.”
The panels are scalable and can be configured with various features while maintaining its integrity, including: additional insulation, sound reduction, dynamic shading, additional structural performance, military forced entry resistance, and more.
The Holdsworth Center in Houston Texas – Case Study
The Holdsworth Center is a well-known facility where educators meet to learn advanced teaching techniques, individually and in groups. Acoustics, privacy and a comfortable aesthetically pleasing environment is required. The single panel 841 steel panel face in the serving area was factory custom prepared to allow for the field installation of vertical wood brightwork pieces by the millwork craftsmen thus creating a visual focal point for the area. Necessary acoustic qualities were maintained. Acoustic Crystal Glass 242 systems were used to divide classrooms & maintain the desired “openness” of the teaching area. If custom finishes and acoustic glass wall systems are part of your requirements contact Moderco (1.800.363.3150) or RPC.
Product : Moderco Signature 840 & 841 (solid panels). Moderco Crystal 242 (glass panels)
Architect : Lake Flato Architects, San Antonio Texas
Lumen
The design choices that allowed Lumen Detroit to thrive and revitalize a faded downtown neighborhood, allowed the restaurant to stay open during much of the COVID-19 crisis. From its conception, the mission of the building was to be a part of a great public space, to be an architectural icon in the City and to encourage patrons to engage the surrounding area. Instrumental to achieving that goal was the ability to connect the building seamlessly to the park, and neighborhood that encompasses it, by opening the walls, a dramatic effect accomplished by two extensive NanaWall sliding glass wall systems. This choice has since proved to be prescient during the Covid-19 crisis.
DONALD M. PAYNE, SR., SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY
The Vision
The construction of the Donald M. Payne, Sr. School of Technology brought a new level in career technical education to Newark, New Jersey. Named for the late educator and congressman, the school offers students classes that serve as steppingstones to programs offered by local colleges and universities.
More than 1,100 students attend the school. Its three-story footprint is 320,000 square feet and holds 58 traditional classrooms and 30 larger spaces for specialized programs including the building trades. Students can choose from a wide variety of technical programs that include music production, cyber security, culinary arts, forensic sciences, green energy, and cosmetology.
The facility’s size required several rooftop air handling units to meet the ventilation needs. Wanting to maintain
a clean look for the rooftop, specifications called for using louver screens to hide the equipment from view. The contractor selected Airolite’s inverted blade louver screen, model ENCB609 to hide the equipment from view and offer an attractive appearance for people looking at the facility.
The Airolite Look…
The specifications called for using more than 1,500 linear feet of louver screens to hide the rooftop equipment in more than seven locations on the roof. Airolite’s model ENCB6096 with its horizontal and inverted blades and six-inch depth offered an ideal aesthetic look while ensuring people saw none of the equipment on the roof. Many sections of the louvers had varying height dimensions. The neighborhood around the school also posed a challenge to the setup and installation of the louvers. Fully-assembled louvers in shipment crates were too large to navigate the narrow streets and surrounding property. Contractors asked if the louvers could be delivered in a knocked down (unassembled) form on three separate shipments.
The staggered delivery schedule required coordination between Airolite and the contractors to ensure the louver screens were available when needed. Airolite coordinated the special crating, sequencing and labeling for a smooth and easy install. Since the screens were unassembled, the blades needed to be snapped in place on the louver “tree,” long brackets on which the blades are attached. This assembly required precise placement to maintain the continuous straight lines created by the louver blades. The contractor used a laser to ensure the lines of the louver blades were straight.
That Works
Airolite louver screen ENCB6096 is a versatile, horizontal and inverted blade louver screen that functions extremely well as a sight and security barrier. Its inverted blades help deflect sound upward and away from the surrounding neighborhood, keeping rooftop equipment noise to a minimum.
The completion of the Donald M. Payne, Sr. School of Technology was on time and under budget. Several factors contributed. Many cited Airolite’s ability to work with contractors and deliver the louver screen in the knockdown form. The well-marked, knockdown crating allowed for on-time delivery and easy assembly without overwhelming the assembly area because of narrow streets and limited space. Others mentioned the long spans of the screen. They remarked how it not only hid rooftop equipment but added to the sleek design of the building.
Wilmington Sports Center
The goal for the new 14,000 sq. ft. Wilmington Sports Center was to provide thousands of underserved youth in the area new sports programming opportunities, with natural daylighting playing a huge role in the basis of design for its health benefits and reduced energy costs. Rosetti Architects wanted to replicate the feeling of playing outside, but without the heat and glare.
The multi-purpose sports complex and youth training center features 23,580 sq. ft. of our UniQuad translucent wall system to achieve this feeling, reducing glare and heat gain in the process and providing an abundance of natural daylighting in the arena portions of the building. Our system features bold graphics on the ice white matte and blue-glazed panels, highlighting the new home for the 76ers Minor League affiliate basketball team, the Delaware Blue Coats.
The recreation center houses three basketball courts, two full-size soccer fields, retail and office space, and a physical therapy and orthopedic clinic for community members.
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The Glasshouse- Moderco
The Glasshouse, Manhattan New York – Case Study
The Glasshouse is a 35,000 sq. ft all exterior glass wall event space overlooking the Hudson River in Manhattan. The Design Team wished to maintain this exterior view from within by using a 15’ tall moveable acoustic glass wall system: let the outside in. This design objective required solid acoustic panels and glass panels that could be interchanged freely in order to configure the meeting areas as dictated by specific requirements. This need required the design and installation of a fool proof grid of intersecting overhead track & intersections (2200 lineal feet), special width solid and glass panels (3 widths) and a flexible expandable panel closure system. As an overhead track structural steel was not part of the initial project design the Moderco distributor, Value Added Group, designed and installed a complete steel strut support system.
V&A Dundee
Scotland’s first dedicated design museum blends architectural expression with energy conscious design. Home to curiosity, innovation and learning, the £80m building is situated on the edge of the majestic River Tay.
Commissioned by Dundee City Council, the iconic landmark is the first building in the United Kingdom that has been designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and was built by BAM Construction. The visually-striking structure provides a new social and cultural hub, comprising 1,650 m2 of exhibition space connected to the historic riverfront. Inspired by Scottish cliffs, the angular form of V&A Dundee immediately demands attention.
The building also celebrates the best in energy efficient design achieving a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ Rating. Kingspan utilised the air source heat pumps in combination with geothermal energy to improve energy conservation. The V&A features thirty 200-metre deep bore holes to heat and cool the building. To ensure rainwater is effectively channelled off the flat roof, Kingspan’s tapered roofing design team created the detailed layout and specification for the final roof insulation scheme. These solutions address the potential heat loss from the museum’s expansive flat roof and also provide drainage management to prevent long-term maintenance issues. All three Kingspan Insulation products installed at the museum have been assigned the highest possible BRE Green Guide Summary Rating of A+.
On the second-floor circulation, foyer and galleries, Kingspan Access Floors supplied an RMG600 medium grade system for the museum. Finished with Attiro magnetic engineered timber flooring, this provides a high specification overlay finish with the benefits of a functional design which allows for easy access to the service void below. With 500,000 visitors expected in the first 12 months, the flooring solution also ensures durability.
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Tucker’s Point- Nana Wall
Product: SL73
Applications: Hurricane Zones, Hotels Exterior, Recreation and Entertainment Exterior, Hotels, Recreation and Entertainment
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