Granite veneer Stoneclad panels with alternating polished and thermal finishes give the US Headquarters building of Hitachi Semiconductor a clean and striking high-tech look.
Nearly 60,000 SF of StoneClad panels were used to create this highly aesthetic and durable building.
By using both StoneClad and GFRC panels, the Drury Plaza hotel in Chesterton, MO was able to combine the natural beauty of real limestone with the architectural versatility and light weight of GFRC panels.
On this building, the Architect elected to use StoneClad panels for the bottom two stories featuring 2″ thick Indiana limestone. GFRC panels simulating a thermal granite finish were employed for the intermediary stories, and GFRC panels designed to simulate the limestone look of the StoneClad panels on the bottom two floors were used to finish the cornice and top of the structure.
GFRC panels were recently used to replace the cracked and blackened terra cotta tiles on a small penthouse on top of the 90+ year old historic Northwestern Mutual headquarters building.
The GFRC replacement panels provide a durable, attractive and accurate facsimile of the original terra cotta tile work at a fraction of the cost to replace them in kind.
Based on the success of this restoration, GFRC Cladding Systems has been contracted to re-clad the large rooftop terra cotta penthouse and interior atrium, as well as the granite cornice on top of the building. Recladding will take place with minimal interference to the offices or ongoing building functions.
In this PCI award winning project by Booth Hansen Architects, nearly 65,000 square feet of GFRC panels were used to simulate the ornate terra cotta style of the old Chicago School of Architecture buildings with their steel frames and terra cotta cladding. The 17-story building’s bay windows, with their fluted spandrel panels, and delicate molded mullions, are especially eye-catching.
Click here to download the full article appearing in Ascent magazine.
In 1998, the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York decided to replace the stucco facade of the 20-story Westchester County Courthouse. The stucco, which had been applied over concrete block walls only 18 years earlier, had begun to discolor, and sections of metal lath over the concrete block walls had started to rust and show through the stucco.
The scope of the renovation would require nearly 200,000 square feet of flat GFRC wall panels, window fin covers, spandrel beam covers, and column covers, and would need to be undertaken from the outside of the building because the functions of the courts and offices could not be disturbed.
More than 2,000 GFRC panels were fabricated between September, 1999 and March, 2000. Panel erection began in November, 1999 and was completed in April, 2001. This project is one of the largest single building GFRC reclads ever undertaken in the US.
This hospital had originally been clad using EIFS wall panels designed to simulate stucco, the predominant look of the Miami area. However, during the hurricane season, the EIFS cladding had been damaged on several occasions by wind-blown debris, forcing the evacuation of some patients. The decision was made to re-clad selected sections of the hospital with GFRC panels.
Recladding panels had to be lightweight since they were suspended (cantilevered) out over the existing EIFS panels and attached to the building structure through holes cut in the underlying EIFS panels. They also had to be erected and attached to the building structure from the outside so that patient care would be minimally impacted during construction.
Before GFRC panels could be approved for the reclad, the design had to be tested and certified by Miami Dade County to withstand Category 2 and 4 hurricane conditions without exposing the building interior to outside wind and rain. To simulate these conditions, a wooden 2×4 stud weighing 27 lbs. was propelled into the GFRC panel at 120 mph. The specially designed GFRC panel was able to absorb the impact without loss of sealing integrity.
Category 2 panels were used to re-clad administrative offices, while the Category 4 panels were used for patient and operating rooms. Click HERE to see the Dade County Notice of Acceptance (NOA) and design of the Category 2 panels.
Nearly 90,000 square feet of highly profiled and articulated GFRC panels were successfully installed and painted in vibrant children’s colors.
