The metal ceiling market is a bright spot in the construction industry these days. The reason can be attributed to a wide variety of factors, including strong activity in the kinds of projects for which metal ceilings are particularly suited, transportation, health care, university work and other public spending projects.
But, according to Edward Williams, business unit manager of metal ceilings for Chicago Metallic, based in Chicago, the growth can also be put down to increased market share. Why is the industry improving its position? Metal ceilings have a great story to tell about functionality and design.
Williams says, “People like metal ceilings because of the decorative nature. You can get a lot more finishes with a metal ceiling than you can with any other ceiling. With a metal panel, you can have it painted. You can have bright, shiny brass and chrome. You can have wood finish that can take the form of a laminate or an actual wood veneer.”
Statement spaces and customization
This versatility and strong design strength make metal ceilings a great product for architects looking to add drama and excitement to interior and exterior spaces. “In the past, the ceiling was just to cover the plenum,” says Nick Taraborelli, product manager for the architectural specialties division at Armstrong Ceilings and Wall Systems in Lancaster, Pa. “To cover up all the pipes and electrical that’s up there in that plenum. Today, the trend is moving toward making the ceiling the focal point.”
“Designers now use a variety of materials in different shapes and sizes, employ curves and unique angles to draw the eye upward and define a space. Often, it is a certain part of the building that gets the most attention-a statement area. We do a lot of curved ceilings in elevator lobbies, cafeterias and public spaces,” says Williams.
“When you walk into a space, there are statement areas,” says Taraborelli. “In those statement areas, a great ceiling can make it look great. In the past, you might have done it with some artwork or a light fixture or different things like that. … Not every project has the budget to do the entire project in a metal ceiling. But they probably have the budget to do a metal ceiling in the statement areas.”
Budget is a consideration that can decide whether the project is customized or standardized. Williams sees a lot of custom projects coming through Chicago Metallic and identifies this as one of the stronger trends in the industry. “Architects are looking for more design elements. Custom colors. Custom finishes. Custom shapes, such as triangular panels, trapezoidal panels. We just had a couple of jobs with radial panels. A starburst kind of thing with random perforations. People are asking for more customization. Customization for perforation patterns, the size of the panels. People like large format panels,” he says.
Taraborelli also sees the same desire to create customized spaces. “We use a standard product to portray a custom look. … When the ceiling becomes the focal point, there’s a lot more thought in what kind of one-off, project-specific look it should have. They don’t always have the time and money to go with something that is 100 percent custom and made for them. What we’re really seeing is standard products used in unique ways.”
Using standardized products for custom solutions has three defining reasons, according to Taraborelli.
First is lead time. “You’re going to get a standard project faster. With jobs today, everything is fast track,” he says.
Second is cost. “When you’re talking about cost, you talking about product cost and labor cost. There’s a good chance with a standard system the contractor has installed it before, so there’s not a big learning curve, which translates into less time on the job and less labor costs,” he says.
The third reason is also on the labor end. “All of our standard systems have installation instructions. When you need to meet certain codes and different compliance regulations, we’ve pretested most of our systems to meet those needs,” he says.
“When talking about using standard products to answer some custom solutions, customers are looking for installation instructions. They’re looking for details. ‘How do you this? Give me information to put into my set of drawings,'” says Taraborelli.
Controlling costs is a significant issue in the industry today. Metal ceilings cost more than acoustic and other options, which is one reason why they appear more in statement areas than throughout a project. But to control costs even more, architects are specifying mockups for custom solutions.
Williams explains. “Where the architect has done something unusual, we’ll do a mockup. We’ll take an area 20 by 20 and do a mockup. It makes sure everyone is on the same sheet of paper. The projects can be so big and there are no small problems on a job like that.”
Ceilings to walls and wood on metal
One of the most prominent methods for making statement spaces is to readdress the connection between the wall and the ceiling. Architects are adding in curves, placing gaps or making the transition completely seamless. “In the transition from ceiling down to the wall, designers are looking for solutions on how you do this,” says Taraborelli. “We’ve really spent a lot of time over the last year working on that, and we see it out in the marketplace today. … We’re taking that product that has been in the ceiling for many years and figuring out what you need to do to attach it to the wall. What challenges is that product going to run into now that it’s on the wall as opposed to the ceiling?”
A durable solution
While metal ceilings may be more costly in some instances, it is primarily an upfront cost. In many projects, metal may be the more economical solution and that is primarily due to its durability and ease of accessibility.
“The metal panels are hard,” says Williams. “They’re very cleanable and they’re long lasting. In something like an airport, where the ceiling is 40 feet up in the air, you don’t have to be up there replacing panels. People also like the accessibility. If you have to get in and out of that ceiling it won’t show wear and tear very quickly.”
For that reason, Williams stresses involving the maintenance people in the design process. “They’re the ones that have to live with it after the building is turned over,” he says. “We’re very involved in that. A successful ceiling project is going to incorporate the design elements that the architect wants but also accommodate the needs of the maintenance people.”
“If you think of a metal ceiling, the first thing that pops into your mind is not necessarily acoustics,” says Nick Taraborelli, product manager for the architectural specialties division at Armstrong Ceilings and Wall Systems in Lancaster, Pa.
“The acoustics are very good with metal panels,” adds Edward Williams, business unit manager of metal ceilings for Chicago-based Chicago Metallic. “When you perforate a metal panel and you put a little non-woven backer on it, you absorb about 65 percent of the sound that strikes it. Or we can perforate it and put on a more conventional kind of insulation and it will absorb about 95 percent of the sound.”
Perforating metal ceiling panels to add acoustic value has had an additional effect. Architects and designers now use the perforation patterns as strong design elements, giving depth and texture to the ceiling. Combining dynamic lighting designs, metal ceilings now provide greater intrigue and engagement in what previously would have been mundane spaces.
