Balancing project aesthetics, budget, sustainability, resilience, and the owner’s requirements are central to any building design and doubly so when it’s the envelope system.
What are the exterior wall imperatives? Design versatility? Sustainability? Speed to market? In all likelihood, it’s a combination of “all the above,” along with a few more for good measure.
They are questions architects at Duvall Decker, West and Stem Architects, and Ayers Saint Gross had to resolve on their respective projects. The solution each firm selected may help inform your decisions on an upcoming project. A brief look at the projects and outcomes:
Duvall Decker (Jackson, Miss.)
- Project: Three-story, 55,600-square-foot U.S. Courthouse in Greenville, Miss.
- Envelope Challenges: Poor soil conditions necessitated a lightweight envelope system to help avert foundation issues while maintaining a high-end, Class A look and targeted LEED Gold certification.
- Outcome: Project is now under construction, having met all U.S. General Services Administration design and engineering requirements and local code permitting. Delivery is expected later this year.
West and Stem Architects (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
- Project: Nine-story Class A office tower adjacent to a minor league baseball stadium in Greensboro, N.C.
- Envelope Challenges: Match the masonry veneer of the baseball stadium within a compressed delivery schedule and constricted worksite.
- Outcome: Matching brick façade enclosure achieved in five weeks, three to four months faster than traditional construction methods.
Ayers Saint Gross (Baltimore, Md.)
- Project: Nine-story, 118,500-square-foot hospital built in the 1970s, part of the Johns Hopkins Hospital campus in Baltimore.
- Envelope Challenges: Over-clad a failing brick structure with a lightweight resilient and sustainable envelope system that matches the campus Endicott brick aesthetic.
- Outcome: Successful over-cladding required no superstructure or foundation remediation, added R-21 insulation to a previously uninsulated envelope and maintained the campus’ distinctive brick aesthetic.
Each project features the same composite envelope system, one that integrates four proven components: Architectural precast concrete that’s 66% lighter than conventional precast panels, hot-dipped galvanized welded wire, insulated Nelson anchors, and G90 gauge galvanized steel or stainless-steel studs.
Result? A one-and-done, drywall-ready cladding system that reduces building foundation and structure costs, transport fees, installation time, and expense while adding thermal efficiency of up to R-21 and a wide range of standard, custom, and proprietary finishes, colors and textures.
It’s a patented system that architects have been specifying for over 30 years for healthcare, hospitality, institutional, mixed-use, office, and multifamily projects nationwide, explains Matthew Smith, vice president of Smith-Midland, developers of the Slenderwall Architectural Cladding Panel system.
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
“Because of labor shortages and faster project delivery times, it’s no secret many architects and owners prefer off-site panelized systems,” Smith says. “Slenderwall installation simplicity, minimal site disruption, energy efficiency, wide design versatility, and off-site manufacturing quality means more confident project outcomes and owner satisfaction.
“Local sourcing, less concrete, reduced waste, and larger panel size works well with LEED goals and lives up to reduce, reuse, and recycle.”
For building projects requiring 20,000 square feet or more of exterior cladding, a proven turnkey envelope solution like Slenderwall merits serious consideration.
Learn more about how a lightweight precast panelized system may be right for your next project.
