Commercial Architecture January/February 2016 - (Page 32)

PROJECT exteriors Exterior Provides Complete System With air-barrier certification, IWR Building Systems encloses the exterior of a children's hospital. I A 90,000 sq. ft. Shriners Hospitals for Children in St. Louis uses a unique building-enclosure system that provides moisture resistance, thermal insulation, fire retardation, and efficient water drainage. 32 COMMERCI A L A RCHI T EC T URE JAN/FEB 2016 commercialarchitecturemagazine.com WR Building Systems, St. Louis, a specialty assures the building owner that the enclosure will contractor focusing on building enclosure sys- provide an adequately insulated seal against the tems, served as the exclusive contractor for the elements. entire exterior of the city's new Shriners Hospitals The geometric details of the project, including for Children at 4400 Clayton Ave. The compa- rounded building edges and a rotated-square met- ny is certified by the Air Barrier Association of al-panel façade, have resulted in a more complex America (ABAA), Walpole, MA. exterior than any building in St. Louis. The "This project was a great opportunity to pro- unique design required the panels to be assembled vide our clients the unique service of being a com- with a challenging gasketed track rather than plete enclosure solution," said Todd Staley, general caulked joints and the same gasketed joint rather manager of IWR. "As opposed to exterior contrac- than bull nose on the corners. During installation, tors who only take responsibility for one aspect of one panel placed slightly out of alignment would the project, we are offering our clients the option cause spacing and alignment issues with subse- to rely on one contractor to manage the installa- quent panels, causing the entire façade to fail. In tion of the entire building exterior." addition to the rounded edges of the building, the The 90,000-sq.-ft. facility with the latest ame- out-of-plane and off-radius walls had to be includ- nities for patients and their families replaced a ed in the overall design and compensated for 50-yr.-old building. Located on 3 3/4 acres, the when installing the panels. Strenuous pre-plan- project is the third Shriners Hospitals for Chil- ning, including a laser scan of the entire exterior, dren facility in St. Louis since 1924. Features in- was necessary to accurately map the location of clude 12 inpatient beds, three surgical suites, 18 each panel before installation. clinic examination rooms, nine rooms for outpa- One area of the building that presented a signif- tient family housing, an interactive and education- icant challenge for IWR installers was the dramat- al activity area, space for a clinical research center ically angled window on the southeast corner. Af- for metabolic bone diseases, space for collabora- ter a laser scan of the building once the studs were tive research with scientists, and more room for in place, data were sent to Universe Corp. for the same-day surgery patients. panels and mounting rails to be precisely fabricat- The building exterior consists of 3,600 rotated- ed. This strategy proved significantly effective on square ACM metal panels that required precise the angular southeast corner, which required the craftsmanship to install due to the intricate geo- panels to be folded in half rather than cut to metric details of the building surface. A high level achieve the specified look. of difficulty was presented by the reveals on the "On the Shriners Hospitals for Children proj- panels flowing around the building and some ect, IWR Building Systems had the responsibility walls being out-of-plane and off radius. Universe of providing virtually the entire exterior building Corp., Bridgeton, MO, custom fabricated the enclosure. The complex building skin of this proj- 0.04-mm ACM panels with a fire-retardant core ect required a single source to successfully inte- supplied by ALPOLIC-Mitsubishi Plastics Com- grate the several exterior systems," said George posites America Inc., Chesapeake, VA. The panel Crow of building-enclosure consultant Heitmann system was engineered with a pressure-equalized & Associates Inc., Chesterfield, MO. "IWR's pre- rain screen design that allows a drainage cavity cise layout and installation of these panels created behind the panels. Having a weather-resistant bar- an exquisite appearance. Not only did IWR pro- rier installed by an ABAA-certified contractor re- duce an aesthetically pleasing building exterior, http://www.commercialarchitecturemagazine.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture January/February 2016

The Architects
Healthcare Design: Back to Nature
Missoula Aquifer Cools Cancer Center
HVAC & Plumbing Products
Reclaiming The Industrial Past
Interiors Products
Exterior Provides Complete System
Exteriors Products
Plant Gears Up With Skylights
Windows & Doors Products
Jewel Of The Bay
Lighting & Electrical Products
The Whitney Is Wired For Sound, Video
Building Technology Products
Showcase
Index
Portfolio

Commercial Architecture January/February 2016