In its design featuring curved façades on HealthPartners Neuroscience Center, BWBR Architects Inc. specified multicolored metal panels to create patterns inspired by limestone bluffs in the region. MG McGrath Inc. installed 23,928 square feet of Dri-Design’s 0.08-inch aluminum wall panels in Basket Beige, Believable Buff, Elle Gray and Whole Wheat.
James Davy, AIA, LEED AP, principal at BWBR Architects, says, “Metal panels supported a flowing feeling with a multicolor natural buff tones palette reminiscent of the limestone bluffs so common in the upper Midwest river valleys and lakeshores. The horizontal variegation of the colors was intended to recall the horizontal striations within natural limestone.”
To simplify the framing structure for the curved surfaces, smaller panels were used. Jono Semlak, director of project management at MG McGrath, says, “In order for us to achieve the look the architect wanted, we needed to split the panels into two and reduce the standard vertical joint so they appeared more like one large panel. If we didn’t do this, the building would have looked more segmented. This worked well and we were able to achieve the desired look the architect intended.”
The four-story, 130,000-square-foot center houses laboratories and patient-care areas. Design features to aid in navigating the building include large, wall-mounted monitors and textured walls and graphic elements. Outdoor spaces include a garden with seating, ramps, paths and stairs for patients.
