Rows of pierced metal panels drape down the sides of a parking garage like delicate streamers flowing to and from the structure. The articulated facades on the building resemble the texture of a woven basket.
At night, downlighting creates a pattern of enlightened and shaded planes on the screen-walls. During daytime, inside the garage, daylight glows through laser-cut openings and forms dazzling patterns of light and shadow across surfaces.
Peter Blitstein, architect at Blitstein Design Associates, Coral Gables, Fla., says, “The result is a very lacy, undulating facade that gives a large, rather nondescript building a unique and visually exciting look and feel. The fact that these very coordinated panels go back and forth visually against each other creates a beautiful concept. The sawtooth panels tend to give it a sort of technical effect, which breaks the typical long monotony of a parking garage. The lighting reinforces the difference that each successive row creates. When it’s lit, it twinkles.”
With respect to design, engineering and construction, precision was required to execute the complex, highly customized project, which is located in in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
First, a hot dipped galvanized steel structure with steel beams and columns was attached to a precast concrete structure. Then, laser cut, anodized aluminum panels were fixed to the
steel structure.
“Each row of metal panels was drawn up separately in order to fit with the existing metal structure of the garage,” Blitstein says. “The tolerance of the dimensions was very tight, so each panel was custom designed and needed to fit exactly; it was like a puzzle.”
Beyond aesthetics, the screen-walls are designed for functionality as well. For example, to avoid requirement of a mechanical system and, concurrently, maximize daylighting and ventilation, the aluminum panels have 50 percent open area.
“There were a series of specific sizes for each row of panels due to the fact that the exterior column grid was a given,” Blitstein says. “We could only remove less than 50 percent openings for each panel due to the strength needed for each to be installed properly. All of the backing and laser cuts created were meticulously detailed so that each panel could be cut using our patterns. Every panel was numbered so that it was installed exactly as drawn. The end result matches our drawings exactly.”
In contrast to the parking garage’s two long, articulated facades, two end-walls are fitted with vertical aluminum fins. Additionally, the end-walls, one of which has an entrance, to the garage, have painted metal panels and multi-colored LED lighting.
Importantly, the vertical fins differentiate the end-walls from
the articulated facades, draw attention to the entrance, and met
budget requirements.
“The vertical aluminum members with added horizontal, colored aluminum panels are mostly a pragmatic solution to costs,” Blitstein says. “They do, however, allow for the longer facades to be much more articulated and feel like a totally different solution. Colored LED vertical lighting gives the entrance a constant feeling of change and color.
Parking Garage, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Owner: 2184647 Ontario Ltd., Kitchener
Developer: Perimeter Development Corp., Kitchener
Architect: Blitstein Design Associates, Coral Gables, Fla., www.blitsteindesign.com
General contractor/fabricator/installer: Newton Group Ltd, Guelph, Ontario,
www.kiwinewton.com