Alcoa's Kawneer Architectural Products Help in the Design of "Green" Building
Source: Alcoa Inc.
Published: Thursday, March 15, 2007
Published: Thursday, March 15, 2007
Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced that a wide range of the company’s Kawneer architectural aluminum products and systems were used in the construction of a new "green" headquarters building designed for Heifer International, a non profit organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas. Kawneer teamed with the architect and glazing contractor to construct the building with careful consideration for the U.S. Green Building’s Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards.
Heifer International provides livestock and plants as well as training in sustainable agriculture for disadvantaged families worldwide. The organization needed a larger headquarters, but wanted the project to remain true to the earth's resources. Heifer identified a long-abandoned railroad yard in Little Rock’s old warehouse district, an environmentally dirty site, known as a brownfield, and made the decision to transform it – the "green" way.
Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter Architects, Ltd. developed the building’s design, capturing every opportunity to achieve LEED points. Glazing contractor ACE Glass Company, Inc. and product manufacturer/design engineering team from Kawneer North America were called in to collaborate on the project. Completed in March 2006, the project is expected to receive its LEED certification in 2007.
The project showcases a range of Kawneer products, which is part of Alcoa's global Building and Construction Systems (BCS) business unit headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
Design Highlights
The curved shape of the building served to take advantage of the solar orientation by stretching in an east/west direction and maximizing sun exposure. To block excessive sunlight, the team integrated sunshades into the exterior, while Kawneer’s InLighten (light shelves) were installed on the interior of the wall to "bounce" natural light up to the ceiling and reflect it into the building.
Deeper, custom sun shades were created to be hung vertically between the punchouts, a unique design feature that served to be both aesthetically pleasing and functional, as they protect the interior from both east and west sun exposure.
The combination of the building's narrow floor plate and the curtain wall allows natural light to penetrate to the center of every floor, while strategic interior glazing continues the indoor/outdoor aesthetic and keeps individual offices bright and open. Fixed and storefront framing systems, in conjunction with swing and sliding entrances, were used throughout the interior offices and conference rooms. In addition, clean glass, and white frost and green glass added to a light and modern aesthetic.
Challenges
The complex design required the customization of several existing Kawneer products, and the curved building footprint complicated fabrication.
The increased focus on recycled materials (per the Materials & Resources category under LEED) required the coordination of a sizeable order of secondary aluminum billet necessary for the project. (In fact, 97 percent of the building materials used for the project contain recycled content.)
Featured Kawneer Products
1600 Wall System 1, 1600 SunShade, Inlighten (light shelf), Trifab Framing System, 350 Medium Stile Entrances, 1010 Sliding Mall Fronts, 990 Sliding Doors
Heifer International provides livestock and plants as well as training in sustainable agriculture for disadvantaged families worldwide. The organization needed a larger headquarters, but wanted the project to remain true to the earth's resources. Heifer identified a long-abandoned railroad yard in Little Rock’s old warehouse district, an environmentally dirty site, known as a brownfield, and made the decision to transform it – the "green" way.
Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter Architects, Ltd. developed the building’s design, capturing every opportunity to achieve LEED points. Glazing contractor ACE Glass Company, Inc. and product manufacturer/design engineering team from Kawneer North America were called in to collaborate on the project. Completed in March 2006, the project is expected to receive its LEED certification in 2007.
The project showcases a range of Kawneer products, which is part of Alcoa's global Building and Construction Systems (BCS) business unit headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
Design Highlights
The curved shape of the building served to take advantage of the solar orientation by stretching in an east/west direction and maximizing sun exposure. To block excessive sunlight, the team integrated sunshades into the exterior, while Kawneer’s InLighten (light shelves) were installed on the interior of the wall to "bounce" natural light up to the ceiling and reflect it into the building.
Deeper, custom sun shades were created to be hung vertically between the punchouts, a unique design feature that served to be both aesthetically pleasing and functional, as they protect the interior from both east and west sun exposure.
The combination of the building's narrow floor plate and the curtain wall allows natural light to penetrate to the center of every floor, while strategic interior glazing continues the indoor/outdoor aesthetic and keeps individual offices bright and open. Fixed and storefront framing systems, in conjunction with swing and sliding entrances, were used throughout the interior offices and conference rooms. In addition, clean glass, and white frost and green glass added to a light and modern aesthetic.
Challenges
The complex design required the customization of several existing Kawneer products, and the curved building footprint complicated fabrication.
The increased focus on recycled materials (per the Materials & Resources category under LEED) required the coordination of a sizeable order of secondary aluminum billet necessary for the project. (In fact, 97 percent of the building materials used for the project contain recycled content.)
Featured Kawneer Products
1600 Wall System 1, 1600 SunShade, Inlighten (light shelf), Trifab Framing System, 350 Medium Stile Entrances, 1010 Sliding Mall Fronts, 990 Sliding Doors