Wire mesh Eco-rock wall blends with hospital features
When New Milford Hospital in New Milford, Conn., completed a $12 million, 11,000-square-foot renovation and expansion of its emergency department, the hospital added an outdoor garden known as “The Healing Garden.” The area provides a respite for visitors, patients and families.
The garden’s location near the new emergency department’s circular drive entrance, and adjacent to the hospital’s brick generator building, presented challenges that required creative thinking and resourcefulness.
The planners needed a dual-purpose solution: an attractive backdrop for the 30- by 40-foot garden and a screen to shield the view of the mechanical building. Complementing the surroundings was key. The team went in search of a sturdy product that would blend with the concrete elements of the emergency department expansion, the brownstone façade on the retaining wall that circled the driveway entry and the granite bollards that help define the boundaries of the driveway.
The architect–The SLAM Collaborative (SLAM) of Glastonbury, Conn.–especially wanted a material that would consume less space than a conventional brick wall while expressing the same sense of permanency.
“We needed a visual solution that gives the area immediate aesthetic appeal and is far more interesting than a traditional wall,” says Tom Swale, project landscape architect with SLAM.
With sustainability, low maintenance and compatibility to the surroundings a priority, SLAM found the answer in Tampa, Fla.-based
McNICHOLS Co.‘s ECO-ROCK, a durable metal wire mesh product that takes screens and walls to a new level.
Swale describes ECO-ROCK as a sturdy way to construct a thin wall that “has benefits over masonry because the system allows for movement of the air.”
Assisted by contractor Guerrera Construction of Danbury, Conn., and McNICHOLS, the team created the 70-foot-long ECO-ROCK screen system comprised of a series of two-sided galvannealed wire mesh panels and metal frames. Powder coated in texture black, the frame and wire mesh fasten at strategic points to metal posts measuring 4 by 3 by 1/4 inches, which are secured to cement pillars.
The result is a series of virtual wire mesh containers or boxes, each measuring 5 feet wide by 4 inches thick by 8 feet high. The team chose wire mesh that is 0.148-inch in diameter and has 1-inch square openings, small enough to hold 140 cubic feet of high-quality rounded blue and grey stone, each measuring 2 to 2.5 inches.
Once installed and secured, the construction workers used 5-gallon buckets, to haul and pour the greyish-blue rock into the 4-inch opening at the top of the wire box.
While ECO-ROCK can hold a variety of materials, including glass and recycled concrete, SLAM liked the way the smooth, multi-hued stone harmonized with the color and material used in the hospital expansion.
ECO-ROCK wire mesh is made with an intercrimp weave and is available for breadths of 4 to 12 inches, heights of 3 to 8 feet and panel widths of 3 to 5 feet, with custom sizes possible. As at The Healing Garden, the decorative, gabion-style metal wire containers can be installed and filled on-site. The system can be applied to either interior or exterior settings where partitions, room dividers and seating areas are needed to create an environment look.
ECO-ROCK is available in wire diameters including 0.148
(9-gauge), 0.192 (6-gauge) with bulge wire diameter of 0.105
(12-gauge) to 0.148 (9-gauge). The material selection is plain steel, galvannealed, 304 stainless steel with finishes that include mill, bare (sandblasted to be weathered), and powder coated. Wire openings can be 2 by 2 inches, 3 by 3 inches, 1.5- by 1.5-inch, or 1- by 1-inch.
The Healing Garden installation took about a week, including hand filling the rocks, says Mike Norkowski, project manager for Guerrera Construction.
Swale says the team worked with McNICHOLS, “to come up with right product and the proper way to detail it.”
While ECO-ROCK is used for decorative purposes, the gabion concept is a centuries-old method of controlling erosion, forming the foundation for construction and other industrial applications. Gabion comes from the Italian gabbione, which means big cage. It describes a container that can be filled with stones, rock or other material for landscaping, civil engineering and military purposes, among others uses.
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Mary Estes, principal of Tampa, Fla.-based Estes & Co., is a freelance writer who contributes articles to trade journals in industries including metal supply and manufacturing, health care and technology. To learn more about Tampa-based McNichols Co., visit www.mcnichols.com.