Sustainable Design: Mesa Community College Saguaro Building at Red Mountain Campus
by Jonathan McGaha | June 30, 2010 12:00 am
Rustic Roots: Resembling the profile and color of a desert mountain, this school building is state of the art
The desert regions of the American southwest have a particular look and feel, a particular color palette. The washed-out Earth tones are accented by burnt oranges or a color that can best be described as rust. Not surprisingly, the Saguaro Building of Mesa Community College at Red Mountain Campus in Mesa, Ariz., prominently features this rust color on its large, ribbed, perforated façade.
Boasting more than 20,000 square feet (1,858 m2) of metal products from Epic Metals Corp., Rankin, Pa., this $13.5 million instructional facility utilizes three types of steel panels in 12- to 14-gauge thicknesses, and all of the Corten finishes feature no coatings, but rather, were sandblasted for the rusted look. The three types of steel panels used were a B-deck structural profile,both perforated and non-perforated B-deck. And in keeping with the rustic look, the fasteners are exposed. On the Corten steel flat panels, a shingle pattern was used and the fasteners are concealed.
The Saguaro Building is a one-of-a-kind facility that celebrates its setting and curriculum with unique architectural and sustainable strategies. The project includes instructional life science laboratories an classrooms, as well as a multipurpose performing arts classroom and theater. The building is an iconic symbol for Mesa Community College’s Red Mountain Campus while providing a state-of-the-art venue for community and student performances.
“Creating a unified architectural solution with so many fundamentally different parts and pieces was one of our major concerns,” said Mark Kranz, AIA, design principal, Smithgroup, Phoenix, discussing the challenges this project presented. “At the same time we spent a lot of time talking about how each programmatic element could be uniquely celebrated within the whole.”
“This project really packs a punch programmatically, melding together the Life Sciences and Performing Arts, creating a new Student Union in the lobby, as well as featuring Sonoran Desert wildlife with the terrariums, bat roosts and snake wrangling pit. For an academic facility, this project really has some special moments,” he added.
The project was also envisioned to celebrate its life science curriculum. Corten steel panels were utilized to highlight the project’s other unique programmatic elements like the bat roosts and student observation decks that cantilever from the building’s second-floor classrooms. The interdisciplinary classroom is also clad in Corten panels at the ground level.
Perforated and galvanized ribbed deck is utilized significantly on the project to create shaded outdoor campus space at the outdoor performance breezeway, as well as the faculty roof deck.
Corten steel was used for its natural properties and ability to create its own protective coating without utilizing additional coatings. Its aesthetic finish also complements the campus’ namesake landform, Red Mountain. Metal was also selected for its low maintenance, durability and recycled content. The galvanized ribbed deck provided a no-maintenance product that could be perforated to allow light transmission but provide much needed protection from the harsh desert sun.
Mesa Community College Saguaro Building at Red Mountain Campus, Mesa, Ariz.
Completed: September 2009
Total square footage: 43,000 square feet
Building owner: Maricopa County Community College District/Mesa Community College
Architect: SmithGroup, Phoenix, www.smithgroup.com
General contractor: Johnson Carlier, Tempe, Ariz.,
Metal installer: Kovach, Inc., Chandler, Ariz.
Metal panels: Epic Metals Corp., Rankin, Pa., www.epicmetals.com
Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/projects/sustainable-design-mesa-community-college-saguaro-building-at-red-mountain-campus/