RPC

Rob Pelletier Construction, Inc. Houston Texas

AUDI DEVON DEALERSHIP

This new, two-story, 50,000-square foot Audi dealership, opened in Devon, PA in December, 2014. It’s the first flagship terminal for Audi of America in the Philadelphia market.

The owner, YBH Auto Group, wanted to make a bold, eye-catching statement since the dealership is located on a street with several luxury dealerships such as Mercedes Benz and Maserati. YBH Audi includes a showroom with reception and office space, a service and repair shop and a car wash. Minimizing sound emitted from the business was also a priority because a residential area is directly behind the dealership.

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Koll Airport Professional Center

The recently renovated Koll Airport Professional Center in Irvine, CA received a LEED Silver Certificate in 2009 from the U.S. Green Building Council for Core and Shell. In fact, the building is considered one of the nation’s very first LEED-certified office condominiums. The remarkable transformation of a run-down, two-story, 63,225 square-foot office and warehouse into an eye-catching, single story, energy-efficient, 40,000 square foot office building is the subject of much admiration in Southern California. After removing the second story from the original building, the architects split the lower level into two almost completely separated buildings, added more windows for better daylighting and created two new inviting entryways that provide access to a wide variety of office spaces.

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AvL Technologies Corporate Office and Manufacturing Center

The Vision

A single-story strip mall built on an 8-acre site in 1985 in Asheville, NC, had deteriorated to the point where a developer was ready to tear it down and rebuild. Instead the 60,000 square-foot structure–-anchored by a supermarket — was transformed in 2012 into a very attractive corporate office and manufacturing center for AvL Technologies. AvL manufactures mobile satellite communications antennae systems and positioners. Its new corporate office and manufacturing center is now part of an urban village development including contemporary shops, restaurants and residential condominiums. Small shops in the existing building became light-filled offices, and the large grocery and drug store spaces are now dedicated to manufacturing functions. The brick facade, walls, slabs, steel and bar joist structure are all original construction.

The Airolite Look…

The building appears new and designed specifically for its current use, but in reality very little is new. Several design elements featuring custom-engineered Airolite products helped create the new corporate identity desired. Vertical louvers or a brise soleil and perforated aluminum sun controls provide a contemporary and striking visual first impression—adding texture, scaling and detail to the building. A new main public entrance is identified by a sculpture and structural elements that also provide a compositional balance to the louvered façade.

The vertical brise soleil was produced with 12- inch deep extruded aluminum airfoil blades and is supported by adjacent vertical columns. This prominent structure poses bold sight and shadow lines making a dramatic statement with the new façade that reflects the state-of-the-art satellite communications technologies produced within the facility. As a complement to the monumental vertical brise soleil, a horizontal band of sun controls incorporating 0.125″ thick aluminum sheet with ½” diameter round holes spaced 11/16″ on center in a staggered pattern are canted from tube steel supports to provide contrast, texture, scaling and further detail.

That Works

The monumental vertical brise soleil shades and protects the entry to the manufacturing space. The perforated sun controls also yield thermal shading and manage glare imposed on the west-facing windows to advance the energy efficiency goals for the renovation. Tube steel structures frame each window opening and provide support for wind and snow-load forces that cannot be accommodated by the original wall construction. The louvers and sun controls were customized to accommodate the architect’s unique design intent.

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The Ashton

The spectacular new Ashton luxury apartment tower is a $96 million, 36-story multifamily development in the heart of downtown Austin, Texas. Ashton offers 259 luxury living units, including a seventh-fl oor pool deck and two-story penthouse level, as well as fi ve levels of below-grade parking for an adjacent offi ce tower and six levels of above-grade parking for residents. Overlooking Lady Bird Lake on one side and downtown on the other, Ashton is located in Austin’s popular 2nd Street District with retail, dining and entertainment venues. At 36 stories, Ashton is now one of the tallest buildings in the city and makes a bold addition to the “New Austin” skyline. The project was initiated in August of 2006 and will be completed in October, 2009.

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MIAMI BEACH CITY HALL PARKING GARAGE

The Vision

This seven-story City Hall Parking Garage in Miami Beach, Florida was completed in 2009 as the final addition to the city’s Civic Center Campus. It poses a stunning architectural statement while serving as a gateway to the city’s historic Art Deco district. The 300,000 square foot facility includes 38,550 square feet of office space and connects to the city hall administration building via a pedestrian bridge. The garage also provides event parking for the nearby Miami Beach Convention Center and Lincoln Road Mall commercial center.

 

Guildford Town Centre Expansion, Phase II

Owned and managed by Ivanhoé Cambridge, Guildford Town Centre in Surrey, British Columbia was built in 1966 and has undergone multiple expansions and renovations since then. The second phase of a five year expansion, one of the largest shopping center redevelopment projects in Canada, was completed in August, 2013 and added a dramatic new entrance, a complete refurbishment of the interior and 213,000 more square feet of retail space for 70 additional retailers and a new Food Court.

Today, Guildford Town Centre offers over 1,200,000 square feet of leasable area with over 250 stores and restaurants. Airolite architectural louvers are featured prominently on top of the rotunda over the new entrance to the mall.

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UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO HOSPITAL

The Vision

On February 2, 2004, the University of Colorado Hospital opened the beautiful new Anschutz Cancer Pavilion on the new Fitzsimons Campus located in Aurora, Colorado. Physicians, employees and patients participated in the design of the state-of- the-art $148.8 million hospital, helping the architects achieve a functional, efficient building with spectacular views of the nearby Rocky Mountains. An important sustainability goal was to maximize the use of natural daylight, while using energy efficient controls to turn-off light fixtures in corridors and exterior areas during bright daylight hours. The reliance on natural daylight resulted in the design team’s need to control glare and heat transmitted through glazing and window systems.

The Airolite Look…

A massive curvilinear window system frames the western view of the mountains from the ambulatory care center. This ten-foot high wall of glass paints a constantly evolving image of the changing seasons evidenced in the roof garden and the majestic Rocky Mountain backdrop. At the same time, this large expanse of glass poses monumental challenges for maintaining energy efficiency. The height of the glass wall dictated a monumental horizontal sun control projection of more than eight and one-half feet to shade the windows to inhibit thermal heat transmittance and glare during peak daylight hours.

A complimentary sun control design with a comparatively modest maximum 4′-0″ projection is utilized over windows in patient rooms located in the south-facing wall to support operation of the patient-operated environmental controls. A special fascia element maintains continuity of the horizontal linear configuration across the red masonry façade.

That Works

Notwithstanding the use of extruded aluminum elements to reduce the weight of the eight and one-half foot sun control assemblies, the extended projection resulted in significant moment forces transferred to the structure by the sun controls. This problem was addressed by departing from the window supplier’s standard frame, which was not designed to accommodate the substantial moment forces transferred by the sun control outrigger. Instead, a horizontal steel member was incorporated in the exterior wall design to address the loads transferred by the sun controls. The sun control outriggers are secured to the steel member with brackets which project through painted aluminum cladding. In addition, the maximum wind design forces required the use of diagonal stainless steel support rods to mitigate the moment forces transferred to the steel member located in the exterior wall design.

The designer elected to utilize vertical extruded aluminum tubes spaced six-inches on center to achieve crisp, uniform, and sharply defined sight lines for the sun control infill. The close center spacing of the vertical tube blades yield a sun cut-off angle that prevents sunlight from passing between the blades except at its maximum height. The hollow shape dissipates heat easily and is a rigid member that can accommodate the 5′-0″ maximum span without difficulty. To alleviate the costly and cumbersome task of fabricating each tube blade to the constantly changing radius, the factory-assembled sun control sections were designed to be segmented about the curvilinear window configuration.

Surprisingly, only the fascia element is radiused to lend the perception that the entire sun control system is comprised of a series of non-linear segments. Lastly, selection of a white fluoropolymer coating enhances the sun control’s capacity to deflect sunlight, head and glare from the windows below and through windows located above the sun control to enable diffused daylight to be projected across interior spaces.

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Rain Resistant Louvers

Test Method for High Velocity Wind-Driven
Rain Resistant Louvers

Did you know that, if located in the Hurricane-Prone Region, all intake and exhaust louvers must comply with AMCA 550 (Test Method for High Velocity Wind Driven Rain Resistant Louvers) per the International Mechanical Code versions 2012 and 2015? The AMCA 550 test standard simulates external wind speeds up to 110 MPH with an external rainfall rate of 8.8 in. per hour. To pass AMCA 550, no more than 1% of the total sprayed water volume may penetrate the louver. If your state has adopted International Building Code 2012 or 2015, now is the time to ensure that all intake and exhaust louver specifications call for an AMCA 550 Listed louver, if located in the Hurricane-Prone Region.

Airolite offers a complete line of AMCA 550 listed louvers, ranging from high performance vertical blade products, dual-module horizontal front/vertical rear louvers and combination louver-dampers that will not only meet the function required, but the form desired.

Click here to view and download a list of Hurricane-Prone Region Louver Products.

Louvers

Louvers with Glazing Adapters

The design of glazing systems with louver infill has become a very popular design choice by architects. Airolite has the ability and flexibility to work within this design request by offering a louver infill with a glazing adapter that allows the louver to be installed directly into the glazing system. There are many different types of glazing systems, and the glazing adapters do not necessarily work with them all. Airolite is happy to promptly review your project details to verify they will work and make the best recommendation for your specific application.

Click this link to view and download a chart of options.