Metal Building Systems Save Auditorium Project

by Jonathan McGaha | May 31, 2008 12:00 am

Built along the East River of Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada, Glasgow Square is a cultural facility unlike any other in the region. The 285- seat auditorium was considered an essential component for the ongoing redevelopment of the riverfront. While the initial round of bids exceeded the Glasgow Riverfront Society’s budget, Higgins Construction Co. Ltd., a Butler Builder in Trenton, Nova Scotia, met with the group and offered to save the project by reducing costs with metal building systems versus conventional construction.

 

Metal building systems reduced the weight of the 6,200-square-foot (576-m2) project, resulting in pass-through reductions in the pile requirements and foundation costs that pared $200,000 off the previous low quote of conventional construction. Butler Manufacturing, Kansas City, Mo., supplied custom Widespan framing systems for the pie-shaped structure that had different bay dimensions and produced a variable slope for the MR-24 standing-seam metal roof system that incorporated a composite control acoustical feature.

 

The facility design by Speery & Partners, Halifax, Nova Scotia, accommodates indoor events during colder months while featuring hangar doors that open to create a reversed stage for an outdoor venue. The rotunda form in front suggests the prow of a ship and was inspired by the former shipbuilding era of the town. A music festival, anchored by the theater, draws 10,000 to 12,000 people.

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/projects/metal-building-systems-save-auditorium-project/