Architect: Granum Consulting
Installation Contractor: Benner & White Construction Inc.
General Contractor: Whiting-turner
System: Custom Geolam façade system by EXTECH
Location: Wilmington, DE
Corporate Parking Structure Geolam Screen Façade
A pharmaceutical company was looking to create a “living wall system” for their corporate parking structure. The design called for an organic wood-like material that would blend naturally with the living wall plant façade components.
Wood, as a cladding material, can have long term durability and maintenance issues. EXTECH was approached to create a wood-like façade that could withstand the dynamics of a parking structure and perform overtime.
The must-haves for the 23,530 sq. ft. façade design included:
- Ventilation, required for openness percentage in parking structures
- Natural, wood-like appearance, without the potential of splitting or cracking
- Mesh with the surrounding design, including a green wall and natural elements
- Allow for deflection of the parking structure without system failures
- Rapid installation with unitized sections
The selected solution was Geolam, a resilient hybrid material made from recycled wood, plastic, and aluminum. The natural-looking cladding mimics the appearance of wood while resisting warping and splitting.
One of the challenges when designing systems for parking structures is that they experience a lot of dynamic deflection. Dynamic deflection occurs when floors or parts of the structure move from the weight of environmental factors, including:
- Vehicular weight and traffic
- Snow loads
- Lateral wind loads
Although barely perceptible, this movement can affect the structural integrity of façade elements if not properly accounted for in the design.
With dynamic deflection in mind, and the client’s request for a 2-1/2” diameter round profile size that wasn’t available directly from the manufacturer, EXTECH engineered 2 new Geolam aluminum profiles.
The new extrusion profiles were engineered to resist lateral wind loads while accommodating garage deflections and thermal movement. The larger extrusion was designed to support the dead weight of the façade system, while the smaller angle extrusion was designed to fit into and connect with the larger support extrusion. To prevent debris from entering the system, the extrusions were finished with end caps. The profiles, in ebony and teak finish, were given a natural, wood-grain texture to seamlessly mesh with the living wall design.
EXTECH fabricated several mock-ups to give the architect, owner, and contractor a tangible understanding of the system and its installation before arriving on site. Because the project was under a tight schedule, EXTECH developed a unitized panel solution that significantly reduced installation time. The prefabricated panels varied in size, up to 7’ wide by 15’ tall. The panels were then shipped to the site for efficient field erection, helping the project meet the fast-track installation schedule.
View more photos of this project on the Geolam website: https://usa.geolam.com/product/incyte-pharmaceuticals/
