Metal Composite Material (MCM) had all the answers for Sherwood Middle School. The building required cladding that would insulate and protect, even with the extreme temperature swings of Massachusetts.

Read All About It >

Case study courtesy of CENTRIA, 3A Composites USA & ATAS International, Inc.

Enclosing the Terrapin football team’s bold new home for athletic performance and football operations with Insulated Metal Panels (IMPs) proved a smart offensive move. Employing these single-component panels was vital in creating an iconic home for the team and helped the project succeed, cutting down labor costs by limiting the number of trades needed on-site. That’s a win all around.

See the case study >

Case Study and Photos Courtesy of MCA Member: Kingspan Insulated Panels

Joining Architectural Digest’s coveted 2022 Works of Wonder list and earning the first place slot in MCA’s 2022 single skin metal panels category, the new Park Union Pedestrian Bridge is a 250-foot-long, curved steel bridge spanning over an active railyard and serving as a key urban link for Colorado Springs.

Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), the unique double-curved geometry rises from opposite and opposing sides of the bridge, meeting at interlocking open loops in the middle where pedestrians are afforded framed views of downtown Colorado Springs, the adjacent U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum (USOPM), the railyard below and the Rocky Mountains in the distance.

“The bridge is an exercise in fitness – both in terms of material and geometry. The hybrid steel structure system functions as an arch and a truss, elegantly preserving views from downtown to the majestic mountain ranges of Pikes Peak,” said DS+R Partner-in-Charge and Lead Designer Benjamin Gilmartin, AIA.

Fabricated and installed by MG McGrath, the flat and curved panels are made from a 25-inch aluminum plate material with a 3-coat fluoropolymer finish. Close to 2,000 square feet of the custom panels were installed on bridge’s interior near the deck and around the circular oculus. The panels were designed and engineered to withstand extensive wind and live loads, in addition to accommodating the movement of the bridge structure.

Metal was selected as an elegant way to connect the America the Beautiful Park with USOPM. It also achieved the design intent for a modern bridge that blended well with USOPM’s metal facade, also designed by DS+R and fabricated/installed by MG McGrath.

The futuristic-looking bridge takes its inspiration from the gravity-defying motion of Olympic athletes with its steel structure appearing to float above the railyard.

“Metal beautifully matched the modernity and awe of the museum while being flexible and customizable enough to fit the curves and geometry of the arching overhead slopes,” said Allison Gladkowki, marketing specialist, MG McGrath.

The bridge was prefabricated in a Houston shop and assembled in a staging area. Next, a full fit up was conducted to ensure a continuous geometry. The bridge was then delivered to the site in sections, assembled, and welded together on the ground next to the rail yard. The full fit out included an 8 ½-inch concrete walking surface, parapets and architectural finishes.

The full 300-ton superstructure was then driven into place using self-propelled modular transporters to place the bridge on its abutments within an eight-hour window to minimize outage for the rail lines and yard later. 

The bridge’s generous width supports both pedestrians and bikers with access by stair and a glass elevator.

Join us and connect with peers in-person in Clearwater, Florida. Get the latest industry news, attend council and committee meetings, and learn about emerging and hot topics in the metal construction industry. Get the information and contacts you need to make the new year filled with success!

Reserve Now >

Hearkening back to the architectural beauty, patterning and façade detailing of the early 20th century is the 2022 MCA Metal Design Award-winner, the Art Deco-inspired 45-story Rose Hill in Manhattan’s NoMad neighborhood.

Developed by the Rockefeller Group, the high-rise houses 123 condominiums with approximately 230,000 square feet of interior space. Common areas include a lobby, underground pool, squash court, gym, 37th floor meeting room and a spacious terrace.

“The building features an expressive glass and metallic bronze façade, accented with chevron patterns, intricate detailing and expansive windows, referencing a classically Gotham aesthetic interpreted in a modern vocabulary,” said John Cetra, FAIA, founding principal, CetraRuddy Architecture, New York, in a Metal Architecture article.

The façade form features a rectilinear series of bronze-colored metal panels and glazing. On the ascent up the tower are a number of setbacks designed to meet City regulations.

 Distinguishing the skyscraper from a typical Manhattan building are the bottom-lit chevron reliefs and beautiful detailing continuing all the way up the façade.

Offering some historical context, award judge Lee Calisti, AIA, lee CALSTI architecture+design, Greensburg, Pa., explains, ”One problem with 20th century tall towers is they don’t have any detail beyond ground level as our predecessors did. The fact that they [the architect] has this detail all the way up the building really says something.”

The design is also unique in that the first scaling back of the façade can be easily viewed at street level whereas high-rise designs typically require the pedestrian to look up to view such detailing. Consequently, Centra describes his firm’s design as a “statement to the street.”

Above the lobby level, a screen with zigzag details lend aesthetics and cover the mechanical, electrical and plumbing components of the building. Continuing upwards, passersby can see a series of balconies connected to their adjoining apartments.

During the planning phase, terracotta and other contemporary materials were considered for the façade. However, cost and load considerations led to the selection of metal paneling. To compensate for the typical flat look lent by metal, the raised chevrons add depth to the façade as does the corrugated metal banding every four stories which create a grid with the panel columns.

The aluminum in the vertical pilasters appear as a warm, sueded bronze finish, which blends into the neighborhood context and offers a dynamic appearance based upon the sun’s position throughout the day and year. The aluminum was also easy to work with in the creation of the details through a combination of extruded shapes and corrugated panels.

The building’s insulated metal panels for the north shearwall are Kingspan Insulated Panels Inc., Deland, Fla., the exterior soffit panels are made with 4-mm ALUCOBOND PLUS aluminum composite material from 3A Composites USA Inc. Davidson, N.C., and Construction Specialties Inc., Cranford, N.J., supplied RSV-5700 Stormproof Louvers.

To support the building’s tall windows, the architects specified a unitized aluminum-and-glass curtain wall with the chevron pattern repeating up the length of the vertical pilasters.

“The chevron motif was an important way for us to emphasize the verticality of the building, reference the building’s design inspiration and respect its richly detailed context,” said Cetra. “Working with the façade manufacturer, we were able to develop a bent metal process to replicate the design at scale and make it feasible to implement across much of the façade of the building.”

Beginning on the third floor and extending until the roof, W&W Glass-installed the hybrid-wall unitized curtain wall system with custom chevron IMP infills from Sotawall Inc. The system is made from 3003-H14 aluminum alloy coated in Duranar Sunstorm Chocolate Bronze from PPG Industries.

“The system was chosen over other façade systems due to its high thermal performance values as well as the flexibility of the exterior appearance,” explained Cetra. “Additionally, a unitized curtain wall system is much better at handling wind loads and seismic loads in such a tall and thin building. No exterior caulking is required in a system like this, which sped up completion of the envelope to meet construction schedule requirements.”

Breathing new life into a predominantly working-class Latino neighborhood, CannonDesign and JGMA selected bold metal colors and shapes for the Daley College’s Manufacturing, Technology and Engineering Center (MTEC).

Metal panels, glass and exposed steel combine to create an industrial, high-tech aesthetic, drawing attention to the modern façade. Silver, yellow, orange and red panels appear as fins, blocks and geometric shapes throughout the 57,000 sq. ft.  exterior and interior, creating a bright, attractive look. A bold yellow metal panel highlights the underside of the overpass, acting as a prominent entry point.

“The bright yellow of the overpass represents the use of caution colors in manufacturing and draws the community’s eyes to the facility even more dramatically,” wrote Metal Architecture Editor Paul Deffenbaugh. “The hope is that while young people drive past the school and see the dramatic reveal of the manufacturing equipment, their interest will be piqued.”

Large expanses of glass draw the eye to the colorful machines and equipment inside the advanced facility. As expressed by the architects, “the seamless fluidity to the building’s form was inspired by the constant and linear flow of the manufacturing process.”

The natural flow of the building brings students and visitors through a series of exterior and interior learning spaces, and acts as a new front door for METEC and campus itself.

Located near Midway Airport, the new building raises the former one-building college into a more prominent role within the community it serves. The technical education offerings are aimed at generating high-end manufacturing jobs for Chicago residents to boost the local economy and promote development in the West Lawn community.

“The CENTRIA Formawall paneling especially gives the building a contemporary feel, and the varied angles and shapes and three-dimensionality showcase a design philosophy that is forward looking, and not representative of a historically grimy manufacturing sector,” said Deffenbaugh.

Recipient of an MCA Chairman’s Award in the (college and university category, the architectural design incorporates a number of seating areas, platforms and alcoves, to support socialization and incidental learning outside of class.

MCA judge Steven G. Blye of Legat Associates comments, “this is an outstanding project. The triangular motif is expressive, and they really showcase the use of metal, which plays up the school’s curriculum.”

In all, 28,000 sq. ft. of architectural metal panels were specified for the project.