Di Cara | Rubino Architects designed a retrofit and renovation project for Essex County West Caldwell School of Technology in West Caldwell, N.J., that included a modern exterior. The scope of the project included a two-story addition to the front of the school, retrofit of the exterior with metal panels and other materials, outdoor courtyard, retrofitting interior spaces and renovating classrooms, laboratories and cafeteria. The existing building was formerly a factory converted into a school in 1976. A multipurpose gymnasium was added in 2002.
Allison Sroka, AIA, NCARB, principal at Di Cara | Rubino Architects, says, “After a series of discussions and a feasibility study, it was determined that the most efficient and effective plan was to renovate the existing building with multiple building additions including a new two-story addition along Passaic Avenue at the front of the building. This addition along the main road through West Caldwell was a significant opportunity for the school to make a statement to all that pass by. The elevation was a focal point that we wanted to take advantage of to bring attention to West Caldwell Tech.”
The building is oriented northeast/southwest. Passaic Avenue, a main thoroughfare, is at the front, northwest side of the building. A combination of CENTRIA’s metal panels in several colors contributed to project goals for aesthetics.
Sroka says, “The CENTRIA metal panels allowed the Passaic Avenue facade to convey to the community that this is a technology school for the 21st century student. There is a special detail at the corners of the main two-story block where panel options CENTRIA offered allowed for the integration between the corrugated panels and the CS trim penetrations. We were also able to allow the transitions between the various sizes of corrugated panels, creating a seamless design.”
Dodge Drive, a side street, runs along the southwest side of the school. Sroka says the design team specified exterior finishes and materials that complemented existing brick on the northwest elevation. “This involved a combination of materials: brick, thin brick, cast stone, masonry, curtainwall, storefront, as well as metal panels, both flat and corrugated,” she says.
Pravco Inc. installed CENTRIA’s Formawall Dimension Series (DS) 3T insulated metal panels (IMPs) with 22/26-gauge steel in six modules in Duragard Plus Regal White and five modules of the same panels in Duragard Plus Pewter. Pravco also installed Formawall DS60 3T IMPs with 22/26-gauge steel in Duragard Plus Arabian Blue and Duragard Plus Pewter, and Formawall DS58 3T IMPs with 22/26-gauge steel in Duragard Plus Arabian Blue.
Craig Miller, project manager at Pravco, says, “All of the panels and mitered corners were CENTRIA shop fabricated. Some modifications were completed in the field to accommodate field dimensional discrepancies. The challenges on this project were simply dealing with the many panel modules by the architectural design. Field crews had to pull panels from multiple packaging crates to assure the correct panel modules were installed in accordance with the CENTRIA shop drawings.”
In addition to the IMPs, Pravco installed Construction Specialties Inc.’s model 200-4 horizontal sunshade system in Bone White. Miller says, “The sunshade installation detail with the DS60 and DS58 panels was a high-tech element for this project. It added a nice accent to the overall appearance of this structure.”
Architect: Di Cara | Rubino Architects, Wayne, www.dicararubino.com
General contractor: Dobco Inc., Wayne, N.J., dobcogroup.com
Installer: Pravco Inc., Rahway, N.J., www.pravco.net
Metal wall panels: CENTRIA, Moon Township, Pa., www.centria.com
Sunshade: Construction Specialties Inc., Lebanon, N.J., www.c-sgroup.com
