Pedestrian Tunnel Adds Active Wall System

Philadelphia’s multi-phased, $59.65 million SEPTA Downtown Link features an innovative glass block “active” wall system. This past summer, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) completed the first phase of the Downtown Link, its Center City concourse improvement program to upgrade the underground pedestrian tunnel network. Significant architectural enhancements were made during this phase including an innovative, backlit, glass block “active” wall system. The Downtown Link connects six subway stations, two regional rail systems, and provides access to many businesses, offices, historical points of interest and other destinations.“O

Advances

Stone/Masonry

Are you a Blockhead?

Precision-manufactured Comfort Block concrete masonry units fit together so tightly they can be assembled into walls using masonry adhesive, rather than mortar. When paired with matching EPS inserts, they also create a highly efficient wall system with an estimated effective R-value of up to 30 or higher.

Case Study

Stone/Masonry

College Hits High Note with Acoustics

Mesa Community College’s re-dedication to music and the arts gave birth to a new performing arts center, acoustically fine-tuned with an inner and outer shell of sound-reflective masonry. The transformation of the Mesa Community College (MCC) Performing Arts Center began when the college purchased the Harkins Movie Theatre, a vacant movie house built in 1979, to drive student interest in the arts and offer a broad range of musical, dance and theatrical performances. Designed by Jones Studio of Phoenix, the $10.3 million, multi-purpose facility, opened as the MCC Performing Arts Center in 2014. This rebirth and rededication into the arts found the center in need of some acoustic fine-tuning,

Advances

Glass Walls/Partitions

The Sliding Glass Door Solution

In order to bring light deep into the floorplate, AZ TV, Arizona’s channel 7 selected floor-to-ceiling sliding glass door solutions. Enabling the full office to experience the buzz of the news room in these open, yet enclosed spaces, a strip of frosted glass runs across the glass panels to both lend a nice aesthetic and ensure safety.

Case Study

Exterior Panels/Cladding

Team Effort at Practice Facility

The Advocate Center, the new practice home to the Chicago Bulls, needed a resilient envelope due to Chicago’s seasonal weather changes. The metal panels chosen feature high-performance thermal efficiency and moisture control. After holding practices in Deerfield, Ill. since 1992, the Chicago Bulls moved into their new Advocate Center practice facility in downtown Chicago in early 2015. Situated directly next door to the United Center—where the Bulls play their home games—the new practice facility eliminated what had previously been a half-hour commute for the players, coaches and team staff . Features such as two full-length basketball courts, media and weight rooms, a mini

Advances

Plumbing Fixtures

All-in-one WashBar Elevates Washroom Design

Bradley’s WashBar featuring touchless clean+rinse+dry hand washing technology is changing the trajectory of commercial restroom design. Comprised of a single piece of stainless steel housing all hand washing elements, the WashBar captures the user’s attention while its ease and functionality refreshes their hand washing experience.With LED lighting and easy-to-identify icons, the WashBar keeps soap, water and dryer in close reach. The dryer and bowl work in tandem to keep water from splashing outside the basin. Its cohesive design enhances the user's experience while adding sophistication to any restroom.The WashBar is available with Bradley’s strea

AP ProductWire

February 13, 2019 by Megan Mazzocco

Shifting Sands

As we quickly approach the third decade of this still new, yet rapidly changing, tech-driven century, Architectural Products Magazine is excited to announce the re-launch of its website www.arch-products.com. Taking to heart an old journalistic principle, the “KISS” credo—Keep it Simple, Stupid—the new site elegantly delivers what we feel readers want the most from our enterprise: product information and products in application—with an abundance of inspiring imagery. To make it easy to find what is relevant to your work, we’ve tagged each item with its category, be it related to resiliency, health + well-being, energy efficiency or materiality—the same icons used in the magazine to denote AIA’s priority focus categories. Or you may simply search by keyword. Our goal, in the end, is to provide a user-friendly place to visit, to easily find specific product information or just casually browse to see what’s new or interesting. Here is a sampling of latest products from the new site and one sneak peek from the forthcoming March issue.

Advances

Plumbing Fixtures

And the Award Goes To...

Winners of the 2017 GOOD DESIGN from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and European Centre for Architecture, Spectra+ Touch, Spectra+ eTouch showerheads and ActiClean self-cleaning toilet have been recognized for design excellence. The Spectra+ Touch changes spray patterns when users touch the showerhead’s outside ring and the Spectra+ eTouch showerhead uses a mountable remote for easy user access to the controls.

Case Study

Flooring

Flooring Revitalizes School Fitness Center

According to Dana Ridenour, director of Advancement at Calvary Christian Academy (CCA), a pre-K3-12 school located in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., “Everything starts with the flooring. Then you can start building and painting, but you have got to have a great floor first.” The surface of the entire fitness center, which is housed inside a former warehouse adjacent to the campus, was concrete. Four surfaces provide safety, ergonomic and acoustic properties for the 3774-sq.-ft. space, which is used by more than 200 students and student athletes daily. The academy had 1482 sq. ft. of Monster Roll installed in the weight lifting area, which features 14 racks with custom, in-laid platforms

Advances

Concrete

Versatility of Design

Design flexibility is achieved by aggregate, cement color and finishing processes. Precast concrete can mimic man-made & natural finishes while providing long-lasting durability and cost-efficiency. Bump outs, reveals and detailing are only limited by imagination, including multiple finishes on the same panel. PCI’s Color & Texture Guide lists 24 colors & 500 textures. Surface patterns, and shapes, can be achieved by casting with form liners. A large pattern plays with light & shadow. A fine texture offers subtle elegance. Customized designs are available, even photo engravings that turn the façade into a canvas. Even more compelling is SlenderWall’s thermal quali

Architectural Products

Pedestrian Tunnel Adds Active Wall System

Read the Digital Edition

Jan/Feb ’19

Are you a Blockhead?

College Hits High Note with Acoustics

The Sliding Glass Door Solution

Team Effort at Practice Facility

All-in-one WashBar Elevates Washroom Design

AP ProductWire

Shifting Sands

And the Award Goes To...

Flooring Revitalizes School Fitness Center

Versatility of Design