Industrial Products, Architectural Applications: Hendrick embraces – and fuels – an emerging trend
by Jonathan McGaha | December 7, 2010 12:00 am
Over the past few years, a growing number of architects have turned their creativity and vision toward traditionally industrial materials, such as perforated metal and profile wire.
For an increasing number of prominent projects, perforated metal and profile wire have been bent, rolled, curved and otherwise re-imagined in dazzling applications that blend form and function – customized signage in City Center Las Vegas, innovative public art near Vancouver’s Olympic Village and dozens of additional projects.
The transformation of perforated metal and profile wire from an industrial staple into a tool for the architect’s creativity has, in turn, led to the creation and rapid growth of Carbondale, Penn.-based Hendrick Architectural Products, an affiliate of the Hendrick family of companies, founded in 1876.
Until several years ago, the Hendrick companies focused on manufacturing perforated metal, screens and other metal products for industrial applications: mining, automotive, HVAC, intake screens and many others.
Today, Hendrick Architectural Products has helped bring dozens of high-profile projects to fruition, enjoying phenomenal growth during its six-year history. The company enables architects to take full advantage of the decorative and structural properties of products from Hendrick Manufacturing, Hendrick Screen Company and Hendrick Metal Products
– products once manufactured primarily for industrial use.
In fact, the story of Hendrick Architectural Products illustrates how one innovative company can both capitalize on an emerging trend
― the use of industrial metal in architectural designs ― and, at the same time, fuel that trend by offering cutting-edge technology and building a highly trained, highly specialized staff.
Discovering – and serving – an architectural niche
About 10 years ago, Hendrick Screen began providing stainless steel grating and floor mats through a European partner. When the company’s leadership travelled to Europe to review applications of the company’s products, they were amazed by the resourceful designs of European architects, who had made ingenious use of what had been commonly used industrial materials.
“The marriage of the industrial and traditional had been an ongoing evolution in Europe,” said Mike D. Drake, CEO of Hendrick Manufacturing. “We knew American architects would quickly bring their own artistic brush to this phenomenon.”
As the company predicted, architects on this side of the Atlantic began to develop inventive applications for perforated metal, profile wire and other industrial materials. Through its experience in Europe, Hendrick had learned what capabilities were important to forward-thinking architects. The company acquired new manufacturing equipment and hired architectural and fabricating professionals to expand its service offerings.
By 2004, the company’s perforating and screen division was experiencing a rapid increase in the number of requests for perforated metal and profile wire for uses in cladding, infill panels, decorated walls, ceiling panels and ventilating grilles and grates.
That division, rebranded as Hendrick Architectural Products, has continued to add equipment and human resources, enabling Hendrick to keep pace with increasingly innovative designs crafted by architects and manage annual growth of 10 to 20 percent.
Unique qualities, endless possibilities
Perforated metal and profile wire offer significant structural and aesthetic advantages
– advantages that architects have used to create new forms that blend function with art.
Perforated and screen designs reduce the weight of metal, enabling a developer to select a material that retains its inherent strength, offers superior durability and results in a low-maintenance structure. These traditionally industrial metals also provide architects with a means for controlling visibility, sound and the flow of air. And, with the current emphasis on sustainability, many metal panels use recycled content – and can be recycled at end of a structure’s lifecycle.
Over the past several years, architects and designers have explored the myriad of aesthetic properties of perforated metal and profile wire ― materials that can be easily rolled, manipulated and customized. Designers can specify the size of the wire or the pattern of perforations – customization that can create a complex interplay of light that changes throughout the day.
“The potential applications for perforated metal and profile wire are virtually endless,” said Drake.
In fact, according to Drake, during the past several years, architects have engaged in a vigorous exploration of the structural and aesthetic potential of perforated metal and profile wire. For example, architect Anik Jhaveri created an unorthodox feature wall design for the United Unions Inc., Building in Washington, D.C., that blends layers of perforated metal, corrugated perforated metal and glass.
Antonio Branch, a designer on the project who was with architecture firm Mancini Duffy Winstanley at the time, said he was “profoundly impressed by the audacious and radical concept.”
To realize that design, Branch had to identify a company that could not only supply the quantities of metals needed, but also provide adequate lead times for the fabricator. He believes the selection of Hendrick Architectural Products was crucial to the project’s success. Branch said the company provided experience and technical capability, but also offered service that propelled the project forward.
“I’ve never done business with a more responsive company,” Branch said. “They gave us every sample we requested and provided extras. This generosity allowed us to build mock-ups big enough to be studied by the architectural/design team and ultimately approved by the client.”
Strategic Growth
Because of its early involvement with and continuous service to architects, Hendrick Architectural Products has grown strategically, adding services and capabilities to meet needs that the company understands well.
Since it became a distinct entity, Hendrick Architectural Products has invested in equipment and human resources every year, carefully assembling a team of associates specially trained in metal architectural applications. This focus enables Hendrick Architectural Products to provide guidance on which products and processes will best achieve a particular appearance or performance.
In addition, the company has invested aggressively in state-of-the-art laser technology and engineering software. The focus on continuous resource development enables Hendrick to fabricate even the most unusual projects, assist with engineering and design, and offer guidance based on experience.
“The value we provide often comes in the form of problem-solving and customization,” Drake said.
In fact, the company has now worked on hundreds of high-profile projects all across the United States ― projects of increasing diversity and complexity that have enabled Hendrick to expand its repertoire of capabilities.
To capture interest from the marketplace and to better reflect its capabilities, the company recently developed a new brand and tagline ― “Cutting Edge Metal Solutions” ― that distills its value for prospective clients.
In the coming years, architects will continue pushing the design boundaries of traditionally industrial materials. Drake believes that, because of how Hendrick Architectural Products evolved, the company remains ideally positioned to service what he calls a gigantic market.
For more information about Hendrick Architectural Products, visit www.hendrickarchproducts.com.
The Many Uses of Perforated Metals
City Center, Las Vegas
Modern signage
CityCenter, the ambitious Las Vegas “city within a city” that covers 67 acres, has been hailed as “transformative” and “revolutionary.” In fact, visitors to CityCenter are greeted by signage that reflects a revolution of sorts – the emergence of phenomenally creative ways that architects are reimagining industrial metals. For this aesthetically complex structure, designed by the architecture firm Gensler, Hendrick Screen rolled its Profile Bar Wire ― a proprietary product designed for superior strength ― into columns, ultimately supplying 16,000-square-feet of material.
United Union Building, Washington, D.C.
Feature wall and staircase
The layered, two-story design of this feature wall showcases perforated metals in an unorthodox way. The first layer includes perforations in three different sizes, while a second layer of corrugated perforated metal uses 1/2-inch diameter holes. The third layer of material is wall mounted glass, which increases the visual depth of the assembly. “The combination of various colored die-cut metals and exquisite attention to detail create an ever-changing moiré effect,” said architect Anik Jhaveri. He said the design is meant to remind visitors of the workmanship of the trades that achieves the level of art ― a fitting concept for the building’s occupant.
False Creek Energy Centre, Vancouver, B.C.
Smokestack screens as public art
Walter Francl Architecture incorporated Hendrick perforated metal into the design of five finger-like emissions stacks at the False Creek Energy Centre – a project now considered a “public art entity” that embodies the blend of industrial and architectural. The “fingernails” of Hendrick perforated metal help shield the smokestacks from Vancouver’s Olympic Village. But the perforated metal also serves to diffuse light from LED luminaries ― lights that change color relative to the heat output of the plant. This feature gives the stacks a human quality, reflecting the fact that heat is being transferred from one individual to another.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Va.
Architect Rick Mather made liberal use of Hendrick Profile Bar and V-wire in his highly acclaimed addition to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Mather used Hendrick Screen products in applications like ventilation grilles and exterior soffits, but also fashioned Profile into decorative screening along a staircase. This architectural application, which rises to 17 feet at its apex, covers a lighted back wall to create a dynamic effect.
Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/articles/industrial-products-architectural-applications/