Building envelope provides canopies and sunshades via a zinc rainscreen system
Every college needs a hub for student life. A place with gathering areas and services where students can get the answers they need to ensure their success. The Learning Resource Center at the Los Angeles Trade Technical College in Los Angeles has recently undergone a complete transformation to become this. It even has a new name: Mariposa Hall. This multifaceted complex houses a diversity of programs and supporting organizations for students, faculty and staff, including a library, offices and computer labs.
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| Photo courtesy of RMA photography |
This latest renovation, developed out of necessity, was designed not only to improve functionality and efficiency, but also to refresh its look as the centerpiece of campus. Stripped down to its bare bones, the structure was upgraded to current code compliance and new infrastructure systems were installed throughout. The renovation included enclosing ground-level spaces beneath second-floor overhangs, converting second-floor perimeter open space and second-floor interior atrium space. This increased the existing structure’s usable square footage from 81,807 to 99,565 square feet.
On All Four Sides
To enhance the facility’s appearance and functionality as the campus’ focal point, the building façade was redesigned to better connect with its surroundings on all four sides. With this in mind, the building envelope, a zinc rainscreen system, fabricated by Peachtree City, Ga.-based MetalTech-USA, was conceived by the project designer Michael Bulander of Los Angeles-based Harley Ellis Devereaux (HED).
A series of undulating ribbons jut out beyond the existing floor structure and run horizontally around the four sides of the building. They bend out where the program grows beyond the existing floor plate or to mark main entrances. The ribbons integrate building elements such as canopies, sunshades and exterior lighting into an undulating and cohesive design for the building exterior. They also provide a building identification that is integrated into the architectural design.
Encompassing the whole building, the ribbons produce a building with no backside. Their undulation expresses a lively energy generated by the visible display of activities that radiate outward to the four corners of the campus. The ribbons will also reappear in other areas of the building; as interior elements to support wayfinding and program identification, and as undulating garden walls in the sunken courtyard on the south side of the building.
Think Zinc
The distinct patina of the building’s zinc contributes to its lively appearance in its central campus location. “We looked at various metals for the ribbons but zinc quickly became the preferred alternative because of several aspects,” says Bulander. “Zinc was selected for this project for its organic character and the slight variations in the finish as it develops a matte patina overtime. As it gets older, it becomes even more beautiful.”
Bulander mentions zinc’s self-healing attribute as another important quality for a community college environment. As the protective patina develops, scratches and imperfections will self-repair over time. The building envelope consists of 34,000 square feet of Woburn, Mass.-based RHEINZINK America Inc.’s 18-gauge, 1.2-mm PrePATINA Blue-Grey Zinc Flatsheets and Interlocking Reveal Panels. The design specifications required perforations measuring 5-mm holes at 7-mm on-center staggered, and 5-mm holes at 8-mm on-center staggered.
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Photo courtesy of RMA photography |
With large areas of cladding, oil canning is sometimes a concern and the architect wanted to keep this visual characteristic to a minimum. Eric Simonsen, MetalTech-USA vice president and project manager, worked closely with Los Angeles-based Tinco Sheet Metal, the installing contractor, during the initial contract phases to make sure the material thickness was not compromised. MetalTech made several job-site visits working with the installers to provide feedback and ensure the architect’s intended result. Los Angeles-based Suffolk Construction was the general contractor.
Sustainability
Sustainability is an important project building goal and it is targeted to achieve LEED Gold certification. The zinc panels have helped these efforts via a high-performance building envelope that is energy efficient, maintenance friendly and aesthetically pleasing. Also, daylighting reduces energy needed for artificial lighting. A large atrium brings filtered light to the center of the deep floor plate. Large window openings to the north provide daylight to open space areas. Exterior sunshades combined with interior light shelves reflect natural light deep into the space without creating glare. Skylight openings on the top floor and light tubes for the lower floors transport light into deeper floor zones.
Other sustainable attributes include:
- High-efficiency mechanical equipment and controls
- High-efficiency lighting and controls
- Waterless urinals
- Roof-mounted photovoltaics from Sharp Electronics Corp., Mahwah, N.J., provide renewable energy
- Collection and storage of recyclable materials
- Use of low VOC-emitting materials
- Use of materials with high recycled content
- Ventilation requirements to meet district standards
- Maximize daylight harvesting though the use of windows, light tubes and monitors
Perforation Properties
An interesting design aspect and challenge of the design was the use of perforation. The design team had two different perforation patterns to be used in different locations as canopy and window screens.
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| Photo courtesy of RMA photography |
“To fit the perforated screens into the horizontal ribbon design concept without having to introduce new trims and framing systems to go from rainscreen panels to traditional screen panels, we integrated the perforation patterns directly into the Interlocking Reveal Rainscreen Panel System,” says Bulander. The result was a rainscreen panel system with blended screen wall elements that rendered it nearly impossible to distinguish where one panel type ended and the next began.
In a more traditional application where solid panel met windows, there would be very noticeable jamb flashings and panel termination. By maintaining the same panel system, those elements were minimized allowing the solid panel to flow directly into the perforated panels that ran directly over the top of windows creating screens. During the system engineering, careful attention was paid to the panel systems sub-framing structure to ensure that both the solid and perforated zinc panels met the design performance requirements for the project.
This careful attention and progressive design, in conjunction with MetalTech’s sustainable cladding, realized HED’s goal of the center becoming a “true functional and symbolic centerpiece of the academic campus.”
Sidebar: Los Angeles Trade Technical College’s Mariposa Hall, Los Angeles
Architect: Harley Ellis Devereaux, Los Angeles
General contractor: Suffolk Construction, Los Angeles
Installer: Tinco Sheet Metal, Los Angeles
Fabricator: MetalTech-USA, Peachtree City, Ga.
Structural engineer: Saiful Bouquet Structural Engineers, Pasadena, Calif.
Photovoltaic inverter: SMA Solar Technology AG, Niestetal, Germany, www.sma.de
Photovoltaics: Sharp Electronics Corp., Mahwah, N.J., www.sharpusa.com
Zinc panels: RHEINZINK America Inc., Woburn, Mass., www.rheinzink.us.com