Insulated metal panels clad building protecting state-of-the-art printing press
by Jonathan McGaha | November 30, 2009 12:00 am
Lynchburg, Va.-based newspaper, The News & Advance, recently concluded a two-year, $26 million expansion project based around the installation of a state-of-the-art German-made color printing press. According to Publisher Terry Jamerson, the modernization project brings the daily paper to the forefront of newspaper production technology.
The project utilized more than 18,000 square feet (1,672 m2) of Lewisville, Texas-based Metl-Span’s CF Architectural insulated wall panels in Sandstone to clad the five-story addition to the newspaper’s existing building. The majority of the 3-inch (76-mm) panels were installed horizontally with a 1-inch (25-mm) reveal.
The newspaper needed a five-story structure because the press was designed specifically for the tight site and is oriented vertically with paper being fed through printing towers. The press itself sits on a massive table that contains 4.5 million pounds (2,025,000 kg) of concrete.
The horizontal panels on the addition are installed above split-faced textured block and complement the masonry on the existing building. They also interface with translucent panels to provide natural light to the interior work area. The wall panels also provide an aesthetically pleasing transitional look for the addition, according to Frank Graninger, project manager for the installer, C.E. Thurston & Sons Inc., Roanoke, Va.
“We used a mitered corner detail with an outside corner with minimal exposure to still give the effect of a continuous horizontal reveal that saved some costs,” reports Graninger.
The tight site required a high level of coordination between the various contractors. “The biggest challenge was coordinating the timing and delivery of panels since there was such limited on-site lay down areas. Metl-Span produced the panels in two phases with panels for specific elevations delivered according to when they would be installed. Metl-Span did a great job of getting panels to us when we needed them,” Graninger said.
Dario Designs Inc., Marlborough, Mass., was the architect, and Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., Baltimore, was the general contractor.
Metl Span
Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/projects/insulated-metal-panels-clad-building-protecting-state-of-the-art-printing-press/