Designed for its desert location, the library features 20,000 square feet of metal wall panels from Morin that changes colors thanks to the first commercial use in the U.S. of PPG Industries’ Duranar VARICool iridescent coating on the metal cladding. The Kaleidoscope colored coating harmonizes with the color-shifting desert setting. Additionally, cut-outs in the northern metal wall that floats between 5,000 square feet of upper and lower storefront glazing strips from Kawneer Co. Inc. spell out the name of the library in Morse Code and provide daylighting. The Kawneer curtainwall features glass from PPG. The library also functions as a giant shading device with a 21,000-square-foot asphalt roofing system from Firestone Building Products that features steel decking from Verco Manufacturing and extends over a reading patio, allowing patrons a chance to go outside and read in the shade.
Originally published: February 2010
Architect: DWL Architects + Planners Inc., Phoenix, and Douglas Sydnor Architect and Associates, Scottsdale
Construction manager: Haydon Building Corp., Phoenix
Metal skin/cladding installer: Total Metals LLC, Chandler, Ariz.
Roofing contractor: Progressive Roofing, Phoenix
Glass subcontractor: Milam Glass Co., Phoenix
Curtainwall/storefront: Kawneer Co. Inc., Norcross, Ga., www.kawneer.com
Iridescent coating & curtainwall/storefront glass: PPG Industries, Pittsburgh, www.ppg.com
Metal skin/cladding: Morin, Fontana, Calif., www.kingspanpanels.us
Photovoltaic panels: BP Solar, Frederick, Md., www.bp.com
Roofing system: Firestone Building Products, Indianapolis, www.firestonebpco.com Steel roof decking: Verc
