Fred Nolan of NOW Specialties Inc.
Recently The Metal Initiative sat down with Jim Halliday of Contrarian Metal Resources, to discuss the solar reflectivity of stainless steel, and its many applications in the building envelope.
TMI: You recently reminded us of something we all seem to know intuitively: that stainless steel has a very low thermal conductivity. Continue reading Stainless Steel: A Cool Option for Building Exteriors
As mentioned in our last post, over the coming weeks we’ll be introducing more information and articles about the Metal Construction Association’s Chairman’s Awards winners. The natural place to start is with the “Overall Excellence” winner: the Chihuahua’s Businessmen Foundation (FECHAC) Regional Office in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
We’ve just posted a new case study about the project that provides more details about how the design process unfolded, and how the architects overcame obstacles to achieve the design that best suited their client’s needs and represented their client’s values. The Metal Initiative offers a library of more than 60 case studies featuring many inspiring project that reflect the benefits of building with metal.
The MCA judging panel chose this project because it incorporates metal into many parts of the building. They were fascinated by the architects’ ability to use metal to represent rock. Lights on the building were incorporated to make the metal look different in summer and in winter.
Reynobond Composite Aluminum Panels from Alcoa Architectural Products were used in the design. The architect for the project is Grupo ARKHOS
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By: Todd Miller, Isaiah Industries, Inc.
In my metal roofing and construction work, I am frequently asked about what types of property owners choose metal to protect and enhance their buildings. This is a great question but, to be honest, I believe matchmaking is best left to the personal dealings of online dating services. However, there are certain hallmark characteristics of property owners who gravitate toward metal, including having:
To find out whether building owners are compatible with the use of metal, I suggest asking them what they wish to accomplish and then having them prioritize their goals. For example, do they seek durability? Energy efficiency? Fire safety? Beauty? As they work through this process, metal will likely appear the logical choice for their building material.
Todd Miller is president of Isaiah Industries, Inc., Piqua, OH.
by Ted S. Miller, Miller Clapperton
When you hear the term “ivy covered walls” your mind almost automatically shifts to a university campus, with masonry buildings in collegiate gothic style with ivy expanding up the walls surrounding a grassed quadrangle. Can’t you smell a grill cooking meat for the tailgating party before the football game?
I have visited two (2) university campuses this week and I can report to you that much of the new construction on these campuses has a new feature element and it is not ivy on masonry anymore. What I have seen is attractive uses of metal, sometimes the entire wall in metal but most commonly metal walls are being used as the featured element of the building.
Continue reading The New Ivy Covered Walls
