While removing a building’s original façade and replacing it with a new one is no small feat, there are many reasons why a building’s façade may be retrofit. From correcting issues with the original construction, to creating a more energy-efficient building, Metal Architecture looks at three recently completed projects that have undergone a façade facelift.
A Building Modernization
Built in 1965, the Pierre Federal Building is the only federal building in Pierre, S.D. The 94,600-square-foot building is five stories and is home to 13 different federal agencies, including the Courts, U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Probation and U.S. Postal Service.
Completed in 2012, the building underwent a major renovation that allowed it to achieve the status of a high-performance green building. The goal was to modernize the building by replacing the existing curtainwall system, mitigating water infiltration issues and repair stone soffit panel connections, while updating the building’s architectural appeal. The previous windows, granite spandrel panels and associated interior finishes were removed. A new curtainwall system with high-performance glazing and insulated spandrel panels was installed and any affected interior finishes, mechanical and electrical systems were reinstalled or replaced. Also as part of the project, the building received a new entrance canopy. Throughout the project, the perimeter offices remained occupied.
The new curtainwall system will improve energy efficiency by a minimum of 20 to 30 percent, exceeding ASHRAE 90.1-2007. It will also increase daylighting, therefore lowering energy consumption and operating costs while improving occupant comfort. Additionally, the water infiltration and repaired soffits will increase safety and reduce maintenance. The project’s overall goal was to bring the building into the 21st century, and position it to be functional and efficient for decades to come.
Funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the project was part of the U.S. General Service Administration’s (GSA’s) Design Excellence Program. Robert Siegel Architects, New York City, was the architect, and Sheehy Construction Co., St. Paul, Minn., was the general contractor for the project. Harmon Inc., Bloomington, Minn., supplied the curtainwall for the project, while Dallas-based Curtainwall Design Consulting advised on the curtainwall detailing, and San Francisco-based WSP Flack+Kurtz was the engineer.
Correcting Water and Mold Problems
The Frank H. Mazza Pavilion in Pittsburgh is a senior living community made up of 30 apartments, a private outdoor courtyard and communal space in the main lobby area. Designed to improve the quality of life for its senior citizens and disabled residents, the building’s exterior was designed to blend with its surrounding neighborhood.
In 2008, it was discovered that faulty building materials had led to an irreversible mold problem that threatened the safety of the apartments and tenants. The building’s fate was in the balance for more than a year while the city of Pittsburgh’s housing authority searched for a solution. In February 2010, money was allocated for a complete renovation of the structure and by August 2010, the building was stripped to its steel frame and was rebuilt from the ground up.
For the project, architect Rothschild Doyno Collaborative, Pittsburgh, and general contractor Franjo Construction, Munhall, Pa., utilized nearly 14,000 square feet of Moon Township, Pa.-based CENTRIA‘s Formawall Dimension Series metal wall panels to cover the exterior of the four-story building. While the building’s original exterior insulation finishing system (EIFS) required seven separate components, including a rainscreen, air barrier, exterior gypsum sheathing, fiberglass insulation and vapor barrier, CENTRIA’s Formawall Dimension Series minimizes insulation gaps by being manufactured as a single panelized component. Manufactured with CENTRIA’s Advanced Thermal and Moisture Protection (ATMP) technology, Formawall Dimension Series provided optimal thermal performance while protecting against water infiltration, a key goal of the building team.
CENTRIA supplied 3,900 square feet of 22/26-gauge Formawall Dimension Series 3-inch horizontal metal wall panels in Medium Gray with a smooth Sundance AM coating; 3,000 square feet of 22/26-gauge Formawall Dimension Series horizontal metal wall panels with a 1/2-inch reveal in Champagne Pearl in smooth Sundance Mica coating; 2,500 square feet of 22/26-gauge Formawall Dimension Series horizontal metal wall panels with 1/2-inch reveal in Copper with a smooth Sundance Mica coating; 2,200 square feet of 22/26-gauge Formawall Dimension Series horizontal metal wall panels with 1/2-inch reveal in Copper Metallic with a smooth Sundance AM coating; and 2,200 square feet of 22/26-gauge Formawall Dimension Series horizontal metal wall panels with 1/2-inch reveal in Champagne Bronze with a smooth Sundance Mica coating. A.C. Dellovade Inc., Canonsburg, Pa., was the dealer and installer for the project.
Community integration was a major design goal of the retrofit project. The building team redesigned the facility specifically to blend with the existing Brookline neighborhood of Pittsburgh, its business district, while at the same time keeping with the city’s goal to modernize public housing.
Deep Energy Retrofit
When faced with a completely outdated, energy-devouring building and a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, the Castle Square Tenants Organization (CSTO) of
Boston’s Castle Square Apartments acted aggressively, applying the nation’s largest “deep energy retrofit” strategy to a 1960’s affordable housing development, beautifying the neighborhood in the process, and retaining low- and moderate-income rents for its residents. Additionally, not a single resident was displaced during the extensive construction, and the total energy savings will amount to more than 72 percent, according to CSTO.
Deep energy retrofit, or DER, is an industry consensus term referring to building renovations that attempt to return energy savings to at least 50 percent, typically by focusing on improving the enclosure’s insulating value, sealing against air leaks, and scaling down heating and cooling equipment.
The project represents a successful partnership between CSTO, the majority owner in the Castle Square Apartments, and Boston-based WinnCompanies, a developer that owns the minority share. Of the seven-story building’s 500 units, 192 were involved in the project, making it the biggest such effort in the United States.
Developed by Elton + Hampton Architects, Roxbury, Mass.; Building Science Corp., Somerville, Mass.; Biome Studio, Boston; Petersen Engineering Inc., Portsmouth, N.H.; and Pinck & Co., Boston; the façade reskinning, along with air-sealing, reduces Castle Square’s heating needs by 61 percent and cooling needs by 68 percent.
“As an owner/tenant multi-housing project the best way to optimize the energy efficiency of the building envelope was to reskin the building exterior,” says Paul Bertram Jr., FCSI, CDT, LEED AP, director of environment and sustainability, and Douglas A. Nye, regional sales manager, Kingspan Insulated Panels North America, Deland, Fla. “An exterior EnvelopeFirst approach maximized the thermal performance and airtightness of the building envelope while realizing minimal disruption for the occupants living in the units during construction.”
The new insulated metal cladding, made up of Kingspan’s Mini-Wave and Micro-Rib panels installed over a mineral-fiber blanket backed by a fluid-applied air and moisture barrier, was attached directly over the building’s original walls of uninsulated brick and concrete. The new overcladding will help deliver the lion’s share of the uncommonly high energy savings while also beautifying the neighborhood.
To accomplish the deep energy retrofit’s enclosure goals while furnishing the building with a beautiful and durable new façade, the 5-inch Kingspan panels are applied directly to the original brick-and-concrete envelope with a liquid-applied air barrier and a layer of mineral fiber, providing an insulative value of R-41-twice what the codes require.
“In cost estimating this project the developer and architectural team felt that even with a 30-year payback on the recladding, it was still a better investment than applying renewable solutions such as photovoltaics, as they lose approximately 1 watt per year and would need to be replaced at the end of the 30 years,” Bertram and Nye explain. “Insulated metal panels (IMPs) would be cost neutral at that point.”
Opting for a “wrap” of Kingspan’s insulated metal panels, the project team helped solve several challenges at once: adding exterior insulation and air barriers greatly improved the thermal comfort without having to vacate residents during construction, and achieving a sleek, modern look that pleased residents and neighbors alike.
Expected to receive LEED Gold certification, the project also includes new high-efficiency boilers, solar collectors for heating water, extensive air sealing within the apartments and central exhaust system, and new refrigerators and light fixtures.
The project was partly funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus, through the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources High Performance Grant Program, as well as through the U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Housing and Urban Development Green Retrofit Program. Additionally, the project won the Mayor’s Sustainability Award for Boston, and earned praise from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.
Photo credits: Pierre Federal Building:Robert Siegel Architects; Castle Square: Damianos Photography