Springfield Town Center, Springfield, Va.
Retrofit Team
Architect: JPRA Architects, Farmington Hills, Mich.
Wall Panel Installer: Tecta America East LLC Architectural Metals, Jessup, Md.
Wall Panel Fabricator: Architectural Metal Designs, Millville, N.J.
Materials
Approximately 26,400 square feet of Silver Metallic Envelope 2000 metal composite material was installed using the Rout & Return system in phases during a 10-month period. Silver Metallic offers a high-end look without stealing attention from the brightly colored, branded storefronts.
“Each retailer is responsible for its own storefront so we were responsible for the neutral, or common, areas of the
renovation,” says Louis Margitan, RA, NCARB, senior associate at JPRA Architects. “Our job was to downplay to the retailers so their brands pop.”
Envelope 2000 is a composite panel for exterior use, manufactured by bonding an aluminum skin to a substrate of thermoset phenolic resin. A second skin is added as a backer and provides thermal stability and panel balance. “The thermoset phenolic resin core on this system offers a better impact resistance … ,” Margitan says. “It’s more hail resistant and stands up better in storms and weather. We wanted a product that won’t require maintenance, replacing or anything that cuts into the bottom line.”
The standard thickness for envelope 2000 is 4 millimeters; 3, 6 and 8 millimeters also are available.
MCM Panel Manufacturer: Citadel Architectural Products
The Retrofit
The 1.3 million-square-foot shopping mall, which opened in the early 1970s, features more than 85 specialty retailers and serves the most populous region of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
The only challenge during installation of the MCM panels, according to Brian McClelland, vice president of Tecta America East, was where the bridges came to the buildings. “These portals had panels on the exterior, the interior and on the ceiling,” he says. “Some of the structure changed from the drawings, which happens, so we had to make adjustments to that.”
“There’s always going to be some hidden existing conditions with a renovation, so there were some minor field modifications, but that’s standard with a renovation like this,” Margitan adds.
A year after the completion of the project, Margitan says everyone is happy with the appearance and durability of the envelope 2000 system.
Photo: Citadel Architectural Products