Pinecrest Plaza, Southern Pines, N.C.
Retrofit Team
Architect: Dwell Design Studio LLC, Atlanta
Materials
Dwell Design Studio recommended replacing the building façade’s painted brick look with natural stone material, as well as adding consistent lighting and other design elements, to help the strip mall look as though it belongs adjacent to Pinehurst, commonly known as the “cradle of golf in America”.
The chosen stone had to be cost-efficient and easy to install over the existing cladding. “We wanted everything to be consistent, to have the same continuous look on the entire building’s exterior,” says W. Ryan Miller, AIA, of Dwell Design Studio. “This was challenging as part of the shell to be re-clad was that of an old WalMart, which was different from the other exterior walls of Pinecrest. By specifying thin stone material—which once installed gives the appearance of being full bed stone—there was no need for expensive and heavily destructive demolition work. The thin stone material was simply adhered right over the old, existing wall. We achieved the consistent visual recommended from the start and did so at great savings to the owner.”
Michael Beal, architectural sales manager for the thin stone manufacturer, adds: “A major challenge of this complete façade renovation was apparent at first glance. I immediately noticed the existing structure consisted of a painted split-face stone concrete masonry unit, which was completely uneven and, of course, nothing adheres to painted block. It clearly required fastening wire lathe to the CMU with specialty anchors and then incorporating the MVIS System to level out the split-face surface, thus creating a new substrate to which ARRIS.tile Renaissance could be adhered.”
ARRIS.tiLe Renaissance manufacturer: Arriscraft
MVIS System manufacturer: Laticrete
The Retrofit
Pinecrest Plaza was an out-of-date strip center built in the late 1980s. It had a generic appearance that lacked character. Not only was it in poor condition overall, it didn’t reflect any semblance of the region in which it was located.
“Our clients at Hawthorne Retail Partners not only liked to redevelop older sites, they also had a very strong ‘sense of place’,” Miller notes. “We were in total agreement that to draw visitors to Pinecrest, we had to make the entire mall environment look more as if it were part of this beautiful American region.”
The response from the community to the Pinecrest Plaza facelift has been extremely positive. Miller adds before moving forward with any construction or renovation work in Southern Pines, every proposal must be thoroughly reviewed and then blessed by the city’s architectural review board.
“Making this happen wasn’t rocket science,” Miller concludes. “When you have an open-minded client that recognizes the benefits of strategic architectural designs based upon a sense of place; suppliers offering great materials, providing cost-effective and time-efficient installation solutions; and professional contractors who care about quality, everybody wins!”