Community College is Designed for Daylighting

Corrugated Cohesion

Regarding ribbed metal panels, Holly & Smith Architects APAC in New Orleans used them to give the building and overall consistent appearance. At the same time, a variety of panels applied in different ways create texture and sun-shading.

Jeffrey K. Smith, AIA, NCARB, principal at Holly & Smith, says, “The south façade with the main entry utilizes brick to relate back to the campus architecture. The horizontal ribbed panels start on the south as a solar scrim to shade the curtainwall and then extend on the other facades as a continuous texture broken by the windows and penthouse bookends. They tie the whole exterior together.”

Several types of ribbed panels with different profiles but all the same color add to the building’s identity.

“Corrugated panels are used only horizontally to help define the window elements,” Smith says. “Shallow, chevron panels are used vertically to highlight the vertical penthouse bookends. The ribbed panels are also perforated and used as a scrim in front of the curtainwall on the south façade.”

For most of the skin on the building, St. Amant, La.-based Composite Architectural Design Systems LLC installed Bristol, Conn.-based Morin Corp.’s 20-gauge steel, corrugated X-12 Integrity Series rainscreen panels coated in Kynar 500 Silversmith.

On the east and west sides of a penthouse structure and continuing to the ground, Composite Architectural Design vertically installed Morin’s 20-gauge steel W-12 chevron-shaped wall panels coated in Kynar 500 Silversmith.

Cladding Composition

In contrast with the corrugated metal panels, smooth panels are part of the façade composition as well. Additionally, vertical sun-shade fins on the south and north facades add a cadence to the texture.

“The different metal shapes enhance the massing of the building and break up the façade with shade, shadow and texture changes,” Smith says. “Scale, massing and proportion are all critical aspects of aesthetics. All of these aspects were considered as the design developed wrapped around functional needs.”

In addition to sun-shading, scale, massing and proportion, Holly & Smith used metal panels to communicate uses of different parts of the building.

“The varying metal panel shapes were used to define architectural design elements such as the penthouse, window fenestration and solar scrim,” Smith says. “They also created texture for shade and shadow interests to the façade. The chevron, vertical panels emphasize the bookends of the penthouse. The flat panels define the roof plain, ground plain and windows, and the corrugated, horizontal panels add texture between windows and are the main material linking the building together.”

For flat wall panels used as spandrel between windows and fascia, Composite Architectural Design installed Morin’s 20-gauge steel F-12 concealed fastener wall panels coated in Kynar 500 Silversmith.

Daylighting Details

Holly & Smith designed the Advanced Technology Center with careful attention to daylighting throughout the entire design. The Advanced Technology Center features a double-height atrium that serves as entry lobby and a gathering space for collaboration. The center has classrooms, faculty offices, meeting spaces and an assortment of laboratories including biology labs, CAD labs, chemistry labs, and instrument and technology labs.

As to occupants’ experience of daylighting, the building is designed with abundant natural light in the front lobby with views of a large oak tree and windows consistently spaced so that every classroom and office has one. Importantly, sun-shading metal fins control daylight on the south and north facades.

Smith says, “Daylighting was an important design feature. The planning parti stacks functional spaces with the same depth from corridors to exterior walls to allow the opportunity for windows on exterior walls. The vertical fins are located based on solar orientation to block the low angle, direct sunlight. The perforated metal scrim is on the south-facing, curved glass curtainwall and blocks 70% of the direct sunlight while still allowing a veiled view into the live oak tree. The main façade faces due south so that the sun filters into the collaboration lobby space all day and the tree shadows move across the space.”

More specifically regarding the sun-shading metal fins, Smith says, “The vertical metal fins along the south and north facades are on the west side of the windows to help block the low, harsh, western sun. On the east façade, the vertical fins on the south side of the windows help control the southern sun angles in the mornings.”

For perforated panels at front of the building, the south elevation, Composite Architectural Design installed Morin’s 20-gauge steel Y-29 exposed fastener, perforated wall panels coated in Kynar 500 Silversmith. The 0.05-inch-thick aluminum panels have 3/16-inch diameter holes by 5/16-inch spacing and 33% open area.

Campus Connection; Neighborhood Gateway

Other requirements for the project included making an architectural connection with other campus architecture, yet maintain its identity. Also, the building is an entrance gateway of sorts to the Federal City neighborhood. Holly & Smith designed the Advanced Technology Center with two floors, like other campus buildings. Other campus buildings have masonry, so the main entrance to the center has brick as well.

“Due to the distance to the other buildings on campus across the street and diagonally, the only relationship is massing,” Smith says. “Only the use of brick and scale relate back to the campus architecture.”