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ALUCOBOND, manufactured by 3A Composites, brings a superior metal panel image to any project. ALUCOBOND, known for its lightweight qualities, also has other desirable attributes such as a rainbow of consistent color and finish options, the ability to form textures or curves or the option to create modules. When you need to present an exceptionally flat, high-tech metal panel image, ALUCOBOND allows you the ease of mind that you have chosen the proven leader.
ALUCOBOND® PLUS has been developed exclusively for the higher requirements of the fire regulations in architecture. Due to its fire-resistant core ALUCOBOND® …
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This post is brought to you by Alucobond® On a busy intersection in Sydney, Australia, you’ll find the 580 George Street Lobby, enticing passersby with its captivating design. The lobby’s upgrade is inspiring, utilizing the expertise of the geometry specialists at AR-MA in collaboration with...
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The University of Texas (UT) at Austin opened its 2021 Texas Longhorns football season Sept. 4 by debuting its new approximately $175-million 240,000 square-foot south end zone expansion that not only fully encloses the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium for the first time in the 97-year history of the previously horseshoe-shaped sports arena but includes an industry-first team logo carved into the new seating bowl. Highlights • Key to that brand visibility – and keenly noticeable in aerial images – is the Longhorn-shaped seating balcony, which reflects the team’s iconic bovine brand in both its unique shape and cladding with ALUCOBOND® PLUS aluminum composite material (ACM) by 3A Composites USA in the custom UT Burnt Orange finish. • “We spent a lot of time in color matching the metal cladding,” said Martin. “We made sure that we drilled down to the exact Pantone color, reviewing different color swatches in different lighting environments. … The Burnt Orange and Pure White panels are very attractive. The university’s iconic burnt orange and white colors are so present in the facility and are exclusive to UT." • Byrne Metals fabricated and installed approximately 900 ALUCOBOND PLUS cladding pieces and approximately 800 ALUCOBOND AXCENT trim pieces – both in a wide variety of sizes – for the project. Details Project: The University of Texas (UT) Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium Location: Austin, TX ALUCOBOND PLUS and AXCENT: Custom UT Burnt Orange, Rusted Metal, Pure White Architect: Populous Fabrication and Installation: Byrne Metals Corp. Photos: © 3A Composites USA The Project The University of Texas (UT) at Austin opened its 2021 Texas Longhorns football season Sept. 4 by debuting its new approximately $175-million 240,000 square-foot south end zone expansion that not only fully encloses the Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium for the first time in the 97-year history of the previously horseshoe-shaped sports arena but includes an industry-first team logo carved into the new seating bowl. Designed by Kansas City, Kan.- headquartered Populous, the project’s high-end, game-day enhancing amenities include two new seven-story entry towers, terraces with concession areas, a new broadcasting stage, premium seating in tower suites, three clubs, corner student patio seating adjacent to the Longhorn Network Game Show and new football coaches’ offices. “The new space will provide an electric atmosphere for fans, a new home for football coaches’ offices and an opportunity to broadcast the Longhorn brand to millions,” according to an architect’s statement. The Design Key to that brand visibility – and keenly noticeable in aerial images – is the Longhorn-shaped seating balcony, which reflects the team’s iconic bovine brand in both its unique shape and cladding with ALUCOBOND® PLUS aluminum composite material (ACM) by 3A Composites USA in the custom UT Burnt Orange finish. ALUCOBOND PLUS metal panels were selected to match the Longhorns’ iconic team colors – burnt orange and white – throughout the south end zone while ALUCOBOND PLUS in the Rusted Metal finish clads the new towers with an almost suede-like appearance evoking the state’s Longhorn cattle industry. The stadium’s new south end zone features a total of 48,200 square feet of 4mm ALUCOBOND PLUS in a combination of custom UT Burnt Orange, Rusted Metal and Pure White panels. The project also features 7,920 square feet of ALUCOBOND AXCENT™ – a solid gauge flat aluminum sheet installed as complementary metal trim – in a combination of .040” gauge custom UT Burnt Orange and .040” gauge Pure White. “Our goal was to give our student athletes and coaches the best environment possible to use as a home advantage to win,” said Drew Martin, executive senior associate athletics director for external affairs/intercollegiate athletics, University of Texas at Austin, of the new south end zone that now encloses the arena – retaining more crowd noise during games – as well as integrates a previously detached and now renovated Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletic Center into the stadium. The university also was focused on meeting the needs of fans with more premium seating in two towers offering suites and three new clubs as well as non-premium seating for students in corners of the south end zone, according to Martin, who said the stadium’s most unique structural element is the Texas Longhorns’ logo built into the seating bowl. “This is the only sports stadium to construct a logo in the actual building,” said Martin, of the Longhorn silhouette clad with ALUCOBOND PLUS in custom UT Burnt Orange. “It’s beautiful. It’s a big pride point for fans. It’s so unique to have the Longhorn silhouette built permanently into the stadium.” Martin said the university design team spent several weeks working with the architect, contractor and 3A Composites USA to color match the ALUCOBOND metal panels. “We spent a lot of time in color matching the metal cladding,” said Martin. “We made sure that we drilled down to the exact Pantone color, reviewing different color swatches in different lighting environments. … The Burnt Orange and Pure White panels are very attractive. The university’s iconic burnt orange and white colors are so present in the facility and are exclusive to UT." ALUCOBOND PLUS in the Rusted Metal finish was chosen to clad the south end zone’s two new towers that feature premium suite seating. “The Rusted Metal panels give the impression of leather and recognize the Longhorn cattle industry,” said Martin. “The finish is very complimentary to our team colors and offers an elevated aesthetic from a visual standpoint.” Design of the south end zone began in 2018 with construction starting immediately following the Longhorns’ 2018 football season. Construction was managed by the southwest district of Hensel Phelps, which is headquartered in Greeley, Colo., and continued throughout both the 2019 and 2020 football seasons. Construction was completed in August 2021. Fabrication and Installation Hensel Phelps worked with UT’s athletic department to schedule noisy construction activities around football practices and developed plans to safely control the flow of football fans around the construction site during home games, according to the general contractor’s website. Construction crews, such as Byrne Metals Corp., of Humble, Texas, did not work Fridays during game weeks but instead cleaned the job site to prepare for games. Byrne Metals fabricated and installed approximately 900 ALUCOBOND PLUS cladding pieces and approximately 800 ALUCOBOND AXCENT trim pieces – both in a wide variety of sizes – for the project. “Everything was angled in some way; this job included very few typical panels,” according to Matt Hubbell, operations manager, Byrne Metals, who said his team met these construction specifications by first field verifying and then fabricating the ALUCOBOND panels with a CNC router. “We’ve used ALUCOBOND for several years now,” said Hubbell. “These panels fabricated very well with the CNC. We had no cracking or delamination issues. It was a good experience.” Fabricating and installing the ALUCOBOND PLUS panels in custom UT Burnt Orange to clad the complex Longhorn silhouette seating bowl design -- measuring 215 feet wide by 72 feet deep – left little room for error, according to Hubbell. “Those panels angle downward; that kind of slope doesn’t let you hide any imperfections,” said Hubbell. “This area was a critical layout. Every panel on the Longhorn is tapered, so creating a perfectly straight line was crucial to make it look right. We made field modifications in that area, and installation went very quickly.” Hubbell complimented the university’s choice of ALUCOBOND PLUS in the Rusted Metal finish with Pure White accents to clad the angled twin towers. “The Rusted Metal and Pure White panel color scheme blends really well,” said Hubbell. “Rusted Metal was a great choice. The ALUCOBOND metal panels make this design stand out.” Hubbell said the new UT south end zone project was a “great opportunity” for Byrne Metals to contribute to the construction of a very uniquely designed athletic structure. “It’s been a well-seen piece,” said Hubbell. “Everybody who sees it talks about it. When they see all the angles and tapering of the ALUCOBOND panels, they know the craftsmanship that was put into this project.”
The new Nils K. Nelson Bioscience Innovation Building at Purdue University Northwest has been designed not only to serve as a state-of-the-art teaching facility – housing the university’s college of nursing and department of biological sciences – but as a new “front door” to the 167-acre campus in Hammond, Ind. Highlights The $40.5-million facility features a contemporary modular design focused on technologically advanced student learning experiences. The façade’s material palette was chosen to complement the mid-century architecture on campus that features red/brown brick on buildings while also providing contrast to the heaviness of nearby structures. While the first floor is clad in brick, the upper two floors feature a lighter, more contemporary façade clad with ALUCOBOND® PLUS aluminum composite material. Shaffner Heaney created detailed shop drawings for the façade panels, incorporating two panel depths and contrasting material between the windows, according to Mark Haab, vice president of operations, Shaffner Heaney Associates, who said the company accommodated this unique metal façade design with a custom extrusion system. Project: Purdue University Northwest Bioscience Innovation BuildingLocation: Hammond, IndianaALUCOBOND PLUS: Silver Metallic, Brilliant Silver MetallicArchitect: CannonDesignFabricator: Shaffner Heaney AssociatesInstaller: Crown Corr, Inc.General Contractor: Berglund Construction Co. and Powers & Sons Construction Co. Inc.Photos: © Mark Kempf Photography The Project Located adjacent to the campus’ main parking lot, the three-story 68,000 square-foot Bioscience Innovation Building – which opened in August 2020 as the first new building constructed on campus since 1998 – was designed by the Chicago studio of CannonDesign to be “a striking symbol of forward-looking student space supporting 21st century education,” according to a CannonDesign statement. The $40.5-million facility features a contemporary modular design focused on technologically advanced student learning experiences that are showcased through glass-filled classrooms and labs, offering glimpses of today’s STEM learning to science and nonscience-focused students alike. The building’s façade design offers exterior transparency into these programs and interior views back to the surrounding campus. Design The façade’s material palette was chosen to complement the mid-century architecture on campus that features red/brown brick on buildings while also providing contrast to the heaviness of nearby structures. While the first floor is clad in brick, the upper two floors feature a lighter, more contemporary façade clad with ALUCOBOND® PLUS aluminum composite material (ACM) by 3A Composites USA and glass. A total of 24,000 square feet of ALUCOBOND PLUS – including 5,000 square feet of Silver Metallic and 19,000 square feet of Brilliant Silver Metallic both from The Classic Collection – was installed in a modular design on two planes with varying system depths that set off windows. ALUCOBOND PLUS panels were installed in a repeating pattern mixing the Silver Metallic and Brilliant Silver Metallic finishes within wide modules that span the building’s façade. Windows are punched openings within these modules. CannonDesign reviewed a wide range of silver-hued samples of ALUCOBOND PLUS in the “lighter silver range that would change throughout the day,” according to Brett Lawrence, AIA, LEED AP, associate vice president, CannonDesign in Chicago, who said several flat mock-ups were created to review the ACM samples. “This is a long building; we wanted to break up the horizontal spans by adjusting the depth of the metal panels and mixing the silver hues,” said Lawrence. “As the sun moves across the side of the building, you see a lot of shadows in the façade.” In addition to combining two STEM programs, the building was designed to meet the needs of all students who lacked interaction and study spaces on campus and to serve as the university’s new foyer, according to Lawrence. “This campus has traditionally served commuter students who would sit in their cars between classes,” said Lawrence. “We were called to create more student interaction space within this building. We were able to provide more square footage of this type of space through this program by creating nooks and crannies all over this building for students. … This building is sited at the north end of the university’s main parking lot. We wanted it to become the new front door of the university.” This new campus “entrance” is marked with “Purdue University Northwest” signature signage attached to a solid area of ALUCOBOND PLUS panels spanning the upper two floors of the building’s façade. “The sign element with metal panels in the background has been well-received,” said Lawrence. Fabrication The ALUCOBOND PLUS panels were fabricated by Shaffner Heaney Associates Inc., of South Bend, Ind., and installed by Gary, Ind.-headquartered Crown Corr Inc.. General contracting services were provided by a joint venture between Chicago-headquartered Berglund Construction Co. and Powers & Sons Construction Co. Inc., of Gary, Ind. “We worked with our ALUCOBOND representative because we wanted to push the boundaries as far as metal panel sizes,” according to Lawrence, who said fabricator Shaffner Heaney “tweaked” the final façade design to achieve maximum performance from the ACM panels. Shaffner Heaney created detailed shop drawings for the façade panels, incorporating two panel depths and contrasting material between the windows, according to Mark Haab, vice president of operations, Shaffner Heaney Associates, who said the company accommodated this unique metal façade design with a custom extrusion system. “We drew joint lines at the top and bottom of the windows and recommended that the client add these joints to accommodate material expansion and contraction,” said Haab, who praised ALUCOBOND’s ability to respond to changing material needs. “The ALUCOBOND worked great on this project; we never have any issues with ALUCOBOND from a cutting standpoint because it’s very flat material,” said Haab. “Service plays a huge role for us in choosing suppliers. We appreciate ALUCOBOND because the company’s sales and customer service representatives are outstanding. That kind of service means a lot; it’s why we prefer to use ALUCOBOND.” Shaffner Heaney fabricated a total of 1,150 panels ranging in size from 14 feet 4 inches tall by 2 feet wide to 3 feet 4 inches tall by 2 feet wide. The majority of horizontal joints in the material are 1.5 inches wide while vertical joints are 2.5 inches wide – the latter to coincide with the window frame width. Installer Crown Corr provided precise measurements of the work in place to Shaffner Heaney prior to panel fabrication. Glazing had to be installed prior to panel installation and alignment. Crown Corr spent approximately six months installing the ALUCOBOND PLUS panels. “Our original challenge was upfront in the design phase,” said Devin Muzzillo, project manager, Crown Corr. “We worked with Shaffner Heaney and the general contractor to make sure that all of the windows and panels would line up correctly. Our layout had to be correct. Shaffner Heaney did a good job of marking the panels to make sure we installed the colors in the right spots.” All of the panel layout preparation paid off for the ALUCOBOND PLUS fabricator and installer. “We were slightly concerned about the complexity of the façade and the ability of the fabricator and installer to execute it efficiently,” said Lawrence. “They did an amazing job on this building. It looks fantastic. Even individuals involved in the inception of this project who doubted that contemporary architecture would be their cup of tea admit that this is a handsome design.” Muzzillo also is pleased with the completed project.“The metal panels are installed in a unique design with different colors that are really noticeable in the sunlight,” said Muzzillo. “It’s a good-looking building. … We never have issues with ALUCOBOND with any defects. It’s a sharp-looking panel.”
Designed by Penny Design Group, Jaguar Land Rover of Alexandria, DC usues their custom Brand Identity colors, JLR Gray Metallic and JLR Champagne Metallic to carry their brand throughout each dealership nationwide. Fabricated by Penn State Contracting and GC'd by Chesapeake Contracting Group.
Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 134 in Chicago celebrated the grand opening of their new headquarters and union hall in May 2018 – a renovation project that has been described in glowing terms that are reflective not only of the building’s light-filled architectural design but of its significant impact on the surrounding Bronzeville neighborhood revitalization. Highlights The $25-million project – totaling approximately 70,000 square feet – includes a 48,000 square-foot retrofit of the former Chicago Public Schools’ 1960s-era Drake Elementary School into IBEW administrative offices as well as new construction of an adjacent 22,000 square-foot wing to house the IBEW’s union hall and lobby. ALUCOBOND PLUS panels also were installed in the interior as well in areas “where we were trying to mimic some of the exterior architecture,” according to Stojsavljevic. One of the biggest challenges in renovating the Drake School was the availability of only a few existing architectural drawings, according to Stojsavljevic, who said the lack of drawings produced “some surprises” in demolition. Additionally, she said the school’s low floor-to-floor height required a great deal of detail and planning to install new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Project Name: IBEW Local 134 HeadquartersLocation: Chicago, ILALUCOBOND PLUS: Custom Ridgedale Silver, Custom Gray Velvet Mica, Bone WhiteArchitects/General Contractors: Wight & CompanyFabricator: Sobotec Ltd.Installer: Architectural Panel Systems (APS)Photography: "Before Image"courtesy of Wight & Company, all "After Images" by ©Paul Schlismann Photography courtesy of Wight & Company The Project The new IBEW Local 134 headquarters has been dubbed “the Beacon of Bronzeville” and praised for its sleek, state-of-the-art design. before photograph ©Wight & Company The $25-million project – totaling approximately 70,000 square feet – includes a 48,000 square-foot retrofit of the former Chicago Public Schools’ 1960s-era Drake Elementary School into IBEW administrative offices as well as new construction of an adjacent 22,000 square-foot wing to house the IBEW’s union hall and lobby. The school’s original gymnasium has been renovated into a new community center in which neighborhood residents can play basketball, soccer and other indoor sports for free. Additionally, IBEW 134 is partnering with neighboring Dunbar Vocational Career Academy High School to provide instructors to teach electrical courses; and, it has guaranteed program graduates positions in the union’s pre-apprentice program. Darien, Ill.-headquartered Wight & Company, served as both architect and general contractor for the project. ©Paul Schlismann Photography courtesy of Wight & Company “IBEW Local 134 sought a new home for its members – a home that would create a strong presence within a community, a home that would speak to both the history and the future of this strong brotherhood, a home that would be both inviting and inspiring,” said Milica “Mimi” Stojsavljevic, project designer, Wight & Company. “They wanted to create a gathering place that puts light on both the union’s future as well as its legacy. Local 134 wanted to build a state-of-the-art facility that would represent the future of their trade and set a precedent for all others.” ©Paul Schlismann Photography courtesy of Wight & Company This sleek architectural design’s modern façade is clad in nearly 24,000 square feet of 4mm Alucobond® PLUS aluminum composite material (ACM) by 3A Composites USA, including: 19,873 square feet of Custom Ridgedale Silver, 2,327 square feet of Custom Gray Velvet Mica and 1,747 square feet of Bone White. ©Paul Schlismann Photography courtesy of Wight & Company ALUCOBOND panels also were installed in the interior as well in areas “where we were trying to mimic some of the exterior architecture,” according to Stojsavljevic. “The Alucobond ACM panel was selected as the ‘wrapper’ of the building because it gave us a clean and modern finish that would help emphasize the massing as well as the slim profile that was crucial to the architectural concept,” said Stojsavljevic. “The module we wanted to work with was fairly large and Alucobond ACM was able to achieve this. The custom colors were so helpful; it gave us endless opportunity in color selection.” The Custom Ridgedale Silver and Custom Gray Velvet Mica Alucobond colors were selected “to create a two-tone subtle backdrop to reflect the building’s light feature,” according to Stojsavljevic. “The return response from 3A Composites for these custom Alucobond colors was spot on,” said Stojsavljevic. “We picked these very custom colors to create a silhouette around a light-filled wall. We wanted to create a bold statement in the community that would reflect the Bronzeville revitalization.” (Alucobond PLUS consists of two sheets of 0.020” aluminum thermobonded to a proprietary fire-resistant (FR) core and is manufactured in a standard 4mm thickness. Alucobond PLUS provides extraordinary flatness and rigidity, excellent formability, low weight and outstanding weather resistance. Alucobond PLUS wall panels have a flame-spread index of less than 25 and a smoke-developed index of less than 450 when tested in accordance with ASTM E 84, and have a Class A interior finish classification.) ©Paul Schlismann Photography courtesy of Wight & Company Wight & Company conducted a feasibility study of the property for IBEW 134 prior to its purchase in February 2016. Both Wight’s design and construction teams were involved in the project’s design. “The transformation of the original Drake School was going to be dramatic, which indicated early on that it would need a profound amount of collaborative effort between the design and construction teams,” said Stojsavljevic. “Wight & Company was perfect for the job as we were all one team that worked seamlessly together toward the end goal.” ©Paul Schlismann Photography courtesy of Wight & Company One of the biggest challenges in renovating the Drake School was the availability of only a few existing architectural drawings, according to Stojsavljevic, who said the lack of drawings produced “some surprises” in demolition. Additionally, she said the school’s low floor-to-floor height required a great deal of detail and planning to install new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. The existing school building serves as Local 134’s business headquarters and houses offices, conference rooms and lounges – spaces that were not complementary with the previous classroom layout. In order to achieve IBEW’s design goals for the old school, Stojsavljevic said the decision was made to demolish everything but the concrete structure and to rebuild the exterior skin and interiors. A five-foot cavity between the renovated school building and the newly constructed union hall and lobby was designed to serve as a chase for oversized ductwork running to the lobby. “We had to remove everything from the school down to its concrete structure, which included masonry and light gauge steel,” said Mark Lomeda, senior project manager and LEAN strategy leader, Wight & Company. “Our engineers then were able to verify exactly what was there.” Demolition began in January 2017 with a tight schedule requiring renovated offices to be ready in September 2017 and the newly constructed union hall and lobby completed in March 2018. “Scheduling was a major challenge to connect the new building with the existing structure while new construction was ongoing,” said Lomeda. ©Paul Schlismann Photography courtesy of Wight & Company While a thinner metal panel originally was specified as cladding for both buildings, Architectural Panel Systems, Inc.(APS), of Naperville, Ill., recommended Alucobond ACM in order to maintain the aesthetics of this modern design that incorporates very large modules. “Alucobond allowed them to keep the aesthetics and come in at budget,” said Ross Boehmer, president, Architectural Panel Systems (APS), which installed the Alucobond panels with a rainscreen system. “We could install much larger panels with joints where they wanted them. We were able to provide the aesthetics as specified.” APS turned to Sobotec Ltd., of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, for engineering and fabrication of 1,085 large Alucobond panels – with the majority measuring 5 feet by 12 feet but ranging up to 16 feet in length. “This design required very long panels,” said Vlad Sobot, president, Sobotec. “If we used any cladding material other than Alucobond, it would show a great deal of oil canning.” Sobotec developed engineering plans that included the installation of aluminum stiffeners behind the Alucobond panels. “To achieve this design properly, you have to introduce stiffeners on these large panels,” said Sobot. “That’s no easy task because they can read through. This installation with Alucobond does not. It looks simple, but it’s not.” Sobotec fabricated and delivered nearly 10 truckloads of pre-fabricated Alucobond panels in phases over three months in 2017. “Everything was pre-fabricated and formed; these large formed panels took up a lot of space on the trucks,” said Sobot. “These panels were very linear and very flat. The reason that this job looks so clean and crisp is three-fold and includes the flatness of the Alucobond material, proper fabrication and forming , and the installation. All three of these elements were of the highest quality.”“This design was very unique,” said Boehmer. “Everyone involved in this project should be proud.” Photography ©Paul Schlismann Photography courtesy of Wight & Company
South Texas College (STC) officially opened its Technology Campus expansion in McAllen, Texas, in January 2018 with a unique ribbon-cutting ceremony in which college officials wielded a blow torch to cut a steel ribbon created by welding students. Highlights The $9.3 million 72,000-square-foot STC Technology Campus expansion features offices and classrooms as well as computer, training and robotics labs and sits adjacent to the current campus. Renovating the industrial building into an educational setting required working around a load-bearing wall in the middle of the manufacturing facility as well as existing columns, bracing and roof heights not designed for classrooms. The renovation required much of the existing building’s interior to be demolished and an entrance created where there previously was none. n addition to the renovated building’s decorative design elements clad in the Custom STC Violet Alucobond and Custom STC Green Alucobond, the building’s design features a highly visible entrance to a two-story lobby that is covered by a canopy and columns clad in Silver Metallic Alucobond. Project Name: South Texas College (STC) Technology Campus expansionLocation: McAllen, TXALUCOBOND PLUS: Custom STC Green, Custom STC Violet, Silver MetallicArchitects: EGV ArchitectsProject Management: Broaddus & AssociatesGeneral Contractor: E-Con Group, LLCFabricator/Installer: Bowman Distributing Co.Photography: John Faulk, "before" image courtesy of EGV Architects The ceremony’s memorably constructed ribbon and cutting technique were befitting of the former plastics manufacturing site, which was renovated to serve as home to the college’s Institute of Advanced Manufacturing and offices of Continuing Professional Workforce Education as well as its welding, construction management, electrician technology and precision manufacturing programs. The $9.3 million 72,000-square-foot STC Technology Campus expansion features offices and classrooms as well as computer, training and robotics labs and sits adjacent to the current campus. “The existing building looked like a typical warehouse,” said Eduardo Vela, AIA, principal, EGV Architects, Inc., of Hidalgo, Texas, which served as architect of record for the project. “We had to start with a well-worn manufacturing site and turn it into a state-of-the-art teaching facility.” The STC Technology Campus’ mission is to provide students with hands-on educational experiences required to fill jobs in the area’s industries. EGV Architects wanted to maintain an “industrial” aesthetic in the retrofit as well as establish a campus identity, according to Vela. Part of that latter goal was met with the incorporation of custom STC school colors in building cladding. The project features 15,200 square feet of 4mm Alucobond® aluminum composite material (ACM) by 3A Composites USA, including: 6,200 square feet of Custom STC Green, 2,700 square feet of Custom STC Violet and 6,300 square feet of Silver Metallic. The Alucobond colored panels were juxtaposed with cream-colored brick and brown split-face block wainscot on the building’s facade. “We chose to use Alucobond as a decorative theme for the college,” said Vela. “It’s low maintenance and requires no painting. Once Alucobond is installed, it’s there – unlike stucco that tends to fade. The custom green and violet Alucobond will be there for many years with no maintenance. The Alucobond was a good fit; it makes the campus architecturally appealing.” While selecting weather-resistant Alucobond as decorative cladding may have been an easy choice, Vela said renovating an existing building designed for manufacturing into college classrooms, offices and labs was much more difficult than designing new construction. “It was a much more challenging role for the architect and design team,” said Vela. “We had to work within the limits of the building’s existing conditions. With new construction, you can do whatever you want. A renovation project adds an element of difficulty.” Renovating the industrial building into an educational setting required working around a load-bearing wall in the middle of the manufacturing facility as well as existing columns, bracing and roof heights not designed for classrooms. The renovation required much of the existing building’s interior to be demolished and an entrance created where there previously was none. “We also wanted to use as much of the existing mechanical, electrical and plumbing as possible,” according to Vela, who said new air-conditioning, ventilation and lighting systems were installed. EGV Architects was able to add 4,621 square of additional space to the existing building’s north side to serve as an outdoor welding lecture space and lab while maintaining the industrial architectural idea, according to Vela. Broaddus & Associates, headquartered in Austin, Texas, provided project management services for South Texas College. E-Con Group, LLC , of Edinburg, Texas, served as general contractor for the project. Bowman Distributing Co., of San Benito, Texas, which fabricated and installed the Alucobond panels with a rain screen system, began work with EGV Architects in the design stage. “We recommended Alucobond because of the product’s overall quality and the high quality of the paint that would be used to manufacture the custom colors,” said Juan Marchan, member manager, Bowman Distributing. “We received approval for the first set of custom-colored Alucobond samples that we received. Normally, when we request custom colors of Alucobond, they are spot on and offer consistent quality.” Processing all three Alucobond colors simultaneously presented challenges in maintaining proper sizes for each color, according to Marchan, who said the majority of the Alucobond was installed on the building’s exterior. Bowman Distributing fabricated approximately 1,358 Alucobond panels, including: 742 Silver Metallic panels, 471 Custom STC Green panels and 145 Custom STC Violet panels. Alucobond panel sizes ranged from 9 inches by 2.5 feet up to 3 feet by 5 feet with a standard-sized panel measuring 2.5 feet by 4 feet. “It was also a very challenging project because of the large span of bridge walls and the overall size of the project,” said Marchan. In addition to the renovated building’s decorative design elements clad in the Custom STC Violet Alucobond and Custom STC Green Alucobond, the building’s design features a highly visible entrance to a two-story lobby that is covered by a canopy and columns clad in Silver Metallic Alucobond. “The entry to the campus is very visible to the whole area,” said Marchan. “We’ve received very positive comments from the architect about this project, and the school loved it. We’re very pleased with the outcome of this project.” “I’m very impressed and satisfied with our work,” said Vela. “We’ve heard comments that there’s no way this could be the original manufacturing site. It’s a wonderful building.”
Project Name: Lincoln Park Centre Project Location: Chicago, Illinois Alucobond Materials: Alucobond® Plus NaturAL Brushed Stainless Architect: Weiss Architects Fabricator: Sobotec Ltd. Installer: Architectural Panel Systems, Inc. General Contractor: Ernie Loberg Construction Photography: Paul Biasco and Architectural Panel Systems Lincoln Park Centre – a 61,000-square-foot retail shopping center located at the highly trafficked intersection of North and Clybourn avenues on Chicago’s north side – has undergone the kind of major changes in just a few short years that have made it a real-estate investment company’s dream venture. When White Plains, N.Y.-based Acadia Realty Trust acquired the urban retail property in April 2012 for $31.5 million, Lincoln Park Centre was suffering from tenant losses, including the shuttering of the Borders Books and Music store that had occupied its 25,000-square-foot anchor space. In January 2015, Acadia announced its sale of Lincoln Park Centre to The Georgetown Co., LLC, of New York, for $64 million – more than double its purchase price. Key to that investment success was an approximate $5-million renovation, including an extensive redesign of the shopping center’s light-hued brick-and-stone exterior façade with a modern metal look that focused on creating a custom, contemporary image for new tenant Design Within Reach Studio. The home furnishings and decor merchandiser opened in July 2014 in Lincoln Park Centre, occupying the second story of the vacated Borders anchor space. The renovated façade was clad in a combination of uniquely ribbed-and-curved aluminum composite material (ACM) wall panel sections, U-shaped ACM panels and rectangular zinc panels. This building’s contemporary metal image included 9,652 square feet of 4mm Alucobond® Plus naturAL ACM in the Brushed Stainless finish. The Alucobond panels were fabricated by Sobotec Ltd., of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and installed by Architectural Panel Systems, Inc., of Naperville, Ill., utilizing Sobotec’s SL-2000 Dry Joint Rainscreen System. Ernie Loberg Construction, of Rolling Meadows, Ill., served as general contractor for the project. Steven Weiss, FAIA, LEED AP BD+C, principal, Weiss Architects, LLC, of Chicago, was hired by Acadia Realty Trust to complete this renovation project, incorporating Design Within Reach store schematics by New York-based Sayigh + Duman architects. The Design Within Reach anchor space occupies a large curved building facing the intersection of North Avenue and Halsted Street. “This building features a big curve and faces into a street corner; it’s very visible,” said Weiss, who was the architect of the original Lincoln Park Centre development in 2004. (Weiss Architects provides architecture, urban design, planning and interior design services for a wide range of clients and project types, including a retail specialty.) Sayigh + Duman architects created an updated image for the Design Within Reach Studio that required removal of the building’s third-story curved tower that had featured Borders corporate identity signage – bringing the building down to the level of the parapet all the way around. Completing this streamlined, contemporary update was uniquely ribbed-and-curved metal cladding. “We looked at corrugated steel in a ribbed material,” said Weiss. “But you can’t bend a formed material into this curve. … Alucobond is so workable. You can make curved panels. The ribs are fastened from behind so that this cladding looks like it’s carved from a block of steel.” “When we looked at corrugated steel panels, the costs were high and the material could not achieve the desired look,” said Ross Boehmer, president, Architectural Panel Systems, whose company has completed several projects with Weiss Architects. “Alucobond was by far a better option. The radius of this building is not uniform; it changes. All lines featuring the Alucobond had to perfectly line up with the louvers, and they do line up perfectly on this job.” Both Architectural Panel Systems and Sobotec were brought in for consultation during the renovation project’s design phase. “When we learned that the architects wanted curved metal panels with ribbing, we provided solutions using Alucobond,” said Vlad Sobot, president, Sobotec. “We knew we could create ribs with the Alucobond and install those ribs in panel sections in the shop. These were not just straight, flat panels; the majority of panels were curved.” The unique radius of this building’s profile was its “key feature,” according to Sobot. Sobotec fabricated approximately 1,400 Alucobond ribs – either curved or flat – that were shop-installed with concealed fasteners into 200 wall panel sections averaging 4-feet by 8-feet. Additionally, Sobotec fabricated 24 U-shaped 4-by-5 foot Alucobond panels for installation around first- and second-story windows on the retail center’s anchor space. “These wall sections were easy to install in the field with hidden fasteners,” said Sobot. “We’ve completed many projects in this manner. By assembling these panel sections in the shop, labor costs are reduced because labor is much more expensive in the field. The controlled shop environment also allows us to match all of the ribs from one panel section to the next.” Weiss credits the cladding’s exact fit to precision engineering by Sobotec. “Sobotec engineers are geniuses,” said Weiss. “They really engineered this cladding incredibly precisely and were extremely detail-oriented. They got the reveals exactly where I wanted them, and there were no exposed fasteners. This building looks like a finely-crafted museum. Everything fit together incredibly well.” The Lincoln Park Centre renovation project was one of the first to utilize the Alucobond naturAL in the new Brushed Stainless finish. “The Alucobond brushed stainless finish is spectacular,” said Weiss. “It looks like brushed steel.” The successful sale of the shopping center – which now is home to new tenants Design Within Reach, Eddie Bauer and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams as well as legacy tenants Sur La Table and Carter’s – may be the best endorsement for this renovation project’s design. “We were very happy with this project,” said Sobot. “The fact that the retail center sold so well speaks to the quality and image that Alucobond can give a building when it is fabricated and installed correctly.” Photography © Paul Biasco and Architectural Panel Systems
