Education

Altro Orchestra and Altro Wood Comfort’s combination of aesthetic appeal, underfoot comfort and acoustical performance aligned perfectly with the vision behind the project renovation.
Case Study
Flooring

Acoustic and Comfort Challenges at Historic School

Newman Architects select resilient flooring that is comfortable and manages sound to deliver quality learning environment. Creative Minds International Public Charter School partnered with Newman Architects to transform the historic building they occupy into a modern space for learning. The school is located in the Sherman Building on the Armed Forces Retirement Home campus in Washington, D.C., a site that began serving as the first permanent retirement home for enlisted soldiers in 1852. This renovation occurred in a 6,000-sq.-ft. space in the unoccupied south wing of the building and included the addition of three new classrooms, an activated common area and other support spaces.According

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Defendr Door System
Advances
Doors/Entry Systems

Line of Defense

The Defendr Door System protects building occupants by slowing down an active attacker or shooter. Defendr is built with the strongest components: a Masonite architectural door with extra heavy-duty particleboard, structural composite lumber core, and Armoured One 5/16-in. tactical security glass. Tested in partnership with Special Forces experts to perform in a variety of scenarios, including an active shooter attack, the Defendr can resist up to 237J of force after bullet degradation, the equivalent of a 10 lb. sledgehammer dropped at 22.9 mph.During most active shooter attacks, the shooter attempts to enter a locked classroom by shooting through the glass or lock area and then trying to f

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Bifold Liftstrap Doors
Case Study
Doors/Entry Systems

Bifold Doors Give University of Illinois Renovation Project a View from the Top

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign finished building its new 107,650-sq.-ft. world-class football performance center, which included access to a rooftop terrace. The Henry Dale and Betty Smith Football Performance Center is a $79.2 million facility that serves as a world-class home for the Fighting Illini football program. A standard of excellence permeates every square foot—from the state-of-art sports medicine suite to the strength and conditioning complex and the player’s lounge, complete with a bowling alley, game room and barber shop.On the third floor, the rooftop terrace required an incredible level of consideration to maintain this carefully curated, high

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Unifying Plaid Design: The wood look provides a warm focal point for the room, and the red and black accents throughout offer a contemporary spin on the classic plaid design—a unifying design theme that’s carried throughout the building.
Case Study
Ceiling Systems

University of Kentucky Off-Campus Apartments Honor City Equestrian Heritage

In addition to showcasing Lexington’s equestrian heritage with a custom plaid design, the architect solved installation challenges with a versatile aluminum ceiling and wall solution that offered convincingly real wood finishes. With a total enrollment of almost 30,000 students, the university relies on residence life and housing as key elements of its student experience, both on- and off-campus.Therefore, when Core Spaces—an integrated company focused on developing and managing real estate for colleges and universities—began exploring ideas for a new project in Lexington, Ky., the company focused on creating a warm, welcoming off-campus apartment building th

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Onsite technical high school named the East Aldine Satellite Center
Advances
Exterior Panels/Cladding

East Aldine Satellite Center

The Lone Star College system, with multiple campuses in the Houston metropolitan area, takes this approach a step further with its own onsite technical high school named the East Aldine Satellite Center. The 64,000-sq.-ft. facility features a contemporary design with a restrained palette of façade materials, including eye-catching metal panels in two distinctive finishes. Lead architect IBI Group’s designers specified Petersen’s PAC-CLAD architectural cladding for all the metal work, which included three separate products from the company’s line-up. Approximately 20,000 sq. ft. of Precision Series panels in the Highline S1 profile were used for the walls, while another 18,0

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Beloit College's Rec Center
Advances
Exterior Panels/Cladding

Decommissioned Power Station Turned Rec Center

A century-old decommissioned coal-burning power station located along Wisconsin’s Rock River is now the site of a new student recreation and wellness center for Beloit College. Called the Powerhouse, the Studio Gang-designed adaptive reuse project features a light-filled, impact-resistant and high-performance translucent lightwall system from EXTECH. Utilizing a design-assist approach, EXTECH was brought in early and therefore able to help the architect customize the interlocking wall system.“We don’t simply walk into the architect’s office and slap down a product catalog,” explains EXTECH’s Director of Product Application and Development Kevin Smith, RA.

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Thaden School, Bentonville, Ark.
Advances
Coatings & Finishes

Reels and Wheels

Designed to recreate the green-gold metallic finish of a 1967 Mustang Shelby Cobra GT500 sports car, Sherwin-Williams created a customized coating per Marlin Blackwell Architects’ specifications for Thaden School in Bentonville, Ark. Featuring the “Reels” film and production studio, and the “Wheels” physics and mechanics building, rainscreen metal panels from Morin are finished with the Fluropon SR—a 70% PVDF resin-based architectural coating with solar-reflective pigments. The specialty coating helps resist heat absorption and supports the buildings’ energy efficiency ENERGY STAR, LEED and Cool Roof Rating Council program criteria.The campus also to

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Advances
Acoustics

Wood Aesthetic That Absorbs Sound

When Plunkett Raysich Architects designed the new building for the Madison Area Technical College’s Goodman South Campus, they selected a linear metal ceiling system that offered a biophilic design-friendly wooden aesthetic and effectively managed sound in the bustling corridors and common areas. The Planar linear metal ceiling from Rockfon has the look of a wooden ceiling, without the weight and maintenance issues associated with an actual wood ceiling. The design team at Plunkett Raysich specified the ceiling system in its oak woodgrain finish. Beyond beauty, this ceiling system is also adept at absorbing soundwaves and can satisfy design requirements that necessitate an NRC value of

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Project Frog’s new metal building is a 4,000-sq.-ft. structure with four classrooms
Advances
Modular Buildings

A Kit of Parts

Project Frog’s new metal building is a 4,000-sq.-ft. structure with four classrooms. Two of the four classrooms can be converted into a single, larger space. Architects can freely design both the interior and exterior façade as desired, contributing to the design flexibility of the solution. DSA pre-check approval is expected in the coming months.This new building is part of the company’s componentized Kit-of-Parts system enabling the design and deployment of buildings in short time frames, ideal for the limited build windows associated with schools.Project Frog’s light gauge steel wall panels are flexible and forgiving to work with, making them easy to assemble while still

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The metal panels stand out on the traditional campus, reflecting the investment being made in students’ futures.
Case Study
Exterior Panels/Cladding

Texas Campus’ Traditional Palette Updated

The University of Texas at Tyler created plans to add a STEM and business building to its expanding campus to attract students from across the country. The architects at SmithGroup, Dallas, recognized the significance of the STEM and business building for the University of Texas at Tyler campus and the need for a façade with a bold statement. The building is a 140,000-sq.-ft., four-story facility for the university’s science, technology, engineering, math and business programs. It houses the Soules College of Business and has a 135-seat auditorium, classrooms, labs, faculty offices, dean’s suites and study areas.The University of Texas at Tyler created plans to add a STEM an

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