Homerun Success for SlenderWall in Greensboro

CHALLENGE:

Located adjacent to the First National Bank Field, home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Owner and Architect were tasked with designing a building that would capture both the traditional appearance of the existing ballpark with the more modern aesthetic of the surrounding commercial district.

SOLUTION:

Smith-Midland’s SlenderWall panelized wall system was chosen to provide the traditional appearance desired by the project team.

Targeting a traditional aesthetic, West and Stem Architects chose masonry to blend in with the façade of the existing ballpark. “The challenges and limitations of utilizing traditional masonry veneer construction at mid-rise heights led, ultimately, to consideration of alternate envelope approaches,” says Jay Stem, AIA, a principal in the firm. Landmark Builders’ Channing Chrismon says once the team came across SlenderWall as a possibility, everyone involved was intrigued by its capabilities. “It provided a means to get a skin on this building very quickly and economically,” he says.

SlenderWall is a complete fabricated wall assembly that combines high strength concrete façade clad with thin-brick, closed-cell foam insulation, and interior framing studs. Due to the reduced weight of 38 lbs. per sq. ft., Landmark Builders was able to use a mobile crane which aided navigation around a constrained building site and facilitated building enclosure in five weeks, three to four months faster than traditional construction methods. Similarly, utilizing SlenderWall provided a single source responsibility allowing the project team to eliminate any scheduling and warranty issues raised when multiple trade crews are required. Shortly after opening, the building won a commercial real estate award, according to architect Jay Stem. “I think it’s very safe to say as a design, development and construction team, we are extremely happy with the project’s exterior appearance,” he says. Landmark Builders’ Chrismon echoes Stem’s praise stating “We plan to continue to explore using SlenderWall.”

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