Affordable rainscreen
The facade of Zimmerman Construction Company’s new precast-concrete headquarters building in Kansas City, Missouri, utilized 3,200 square feet of Dri-Design wall panels, a dry-joint, pressure-equalized rain-screen system. The .050'' aluminum panels were finished in Kynar metallic Cooper Penny and installed in a diamond pattern. The system was suggested by the project’s architect, Gould Evans Associates, when the client requested a more affordable system. The client installed the panels with technical assistance from the manufacturer. Dri-Design, Holland, Mich. www.dri-design.com [ Reader Service February 2007 # 229 ]

Forget the ivy, this is stone clad
A new library at Baltimore’s Morgan State University, designed by Design Collective and Sasaki Associates, features 28,000 square feet of quartzite cladding attached with the Fischer Advanced Curtainwall Technology system. The facade system features a stress-free stainless-steel undercut anchor suspended on an aluminum subframe consisting of horizontal and vertical members with specially designed wall holders. The substructure is wrapped in a 1¼2'' continuous layer of insulation and then 2'' of rigid insulation, resulting in minimal penetrations to the insulation envelope. Probe Stone Facade Systems, Wayne, N.J. www.probestonefacadesystems.com [ Reader Service February 2007 # 230 ]

Hospital gown
The facade of a new six-level parking garage for Community Hospital North in Indianapolis is composed of more than 40,000 square feet of Cambridge Architectural metal fabric in the Scale pattern. The system’s 60' x 15'–wide panels offer ventilation, fall protection, and security. At night, the structure’s exterior lighting illuminates the mesh. Cambridge Architectural, Cambridge, Md.
www.cambridgearchitectural.com [ Reader Service February 2007 # 232 ]

Drawing them into the showroom
Loeber Motors Mercedes-Benz of Lincolnwood, Illinois, selected Petersen Pac-Clad composite wall panels as a key design element for the dealership’s new facility. Approximately 1,800 square feet of .16'' Reynobond Pac-Clad panels finished in Anodic Clear finish help create a dramatic soffit/fascia that highlights the showroom, designed by Chicago-based Valerio, Dewalt, Train Associates. The caulked-joint panel system utilizes a composite material comprising a thermoplastic core bonded to aluminum skins. Petersen, Elk Grove Village, Ill. www.pac-clad.com [ Reader Service February 2007 # 231 ]