Escambia County Central Office Complex, Pensacola, Fla.
Posted
01/11/2012
The new Escambia County Central Office Complex in Pensacola,
Fla., became the first government project in Escambia County to
qualify for LEED status when it was completed in the summer of
2010. "It was a tight budget and the county wanted the most
cost-efficient building possible with the least maintenance,"
according to Steve Jernigan, FAIA, project architect, at Bay Design
Associates Architects, Pensacola.
As a result, Milton, Fla.-based West Coast Roofing installed
approximately 30,000 square feet of 24-gauge, unpainted Galvalume
Plus Snap-Clad Panels and Flush Panels from Petersen Aluminum
Corp., Elk Grove Village, Ill., and distributed by Roofers Mart,
Pensacola. "We concluded that the unfinished snap seam panel best
met our requirements," Jernigan notes. "It was quick from a
construction standpoint and offered low maintenance and a high
recycled content. The cost was 
definitely attractive too."
The Galvalume Plus panels offer a recycle content of 32.7
percent, of which 25.5 percent is post-consumer. The building also
features an extensive 33,000-square-foot vegetative roof system,
believed to be the largest of its kind in Florida. As a result,
both factors contributed to the building's LEED Gold
certification.
Jernigan also noted that the Petersen profiles were in keeping
with the aesthetics that Bay Design wanted. "It's a functional
building housing construction and building related departments of
Escambia County. The look and feel just seems right for those types
of entities," said Jernigan. "And since the building is not
particularly tall, the ribbed panels gave us nice verticality along
with dimension and shadow patterns."
The design team at Bay Design worked closely with West Coast
Roofing on the project. "They were extremely helpful in making sure
we had all of the detailing done properly," Jernigan says. "They
made numerous mock-ups of various trim details for our review."
The roof construction proved to have some challenges as Brad
Davis of West Coast Roofing explains, "The greatest challenge was
definitely the flashing details-the side walls, head walls, seal
conditions. It was an interesting project. Everything was field
verified and every wall was hand measured. The whole building is
metal and it has a really clean look. We get compliments on it all
the time. And we're in the building a lot because that's where we
go to get our permits!"
The 79,000-square-foot facility houses departments responsible
for building inspections, environmental enforcement, fire safety,
animal control, engineering and transportation services.
Previously, these departments were located in three separate
buildings. Now the departments are centralized allowing county
employees and citizens of the Pensacola community to enjoy greater
access to multiple and important government departments.
Petersen Aluminum Corp., www.pac-clad.com