St. Barnabas Medical Center Parking Garage
St. Barnabas Medical Center Parking Garage
St. Barnabas Medical Center Parking Garage Structure
Spantek Delivers Custom Expanded Metal Solution
As an extension of the St. Barnabas medical campus, this new parking structure had to be not only functional, but convey the same sleek modernity found in the rest of the grounds.
To achieve the beautiful metalwork envisioned by the architect, MetalTech-USA commissioned Spantek to bring the expanded metal details to life.
Challenges
As the first project MetalTech-USA had undertaken that required expanded metal, their team needed an adept metal manufacturer who could accommodate custom fabrications.
“We needed more than a supplier. We had to fabricate an entire system of expanded metal customized for the specific design the architect had in mind.” explained Eric Simonsen, VP Project Management & Design Support at MetalTech-USA.
Spantek Creates Custom Pattern
Spantek worked closely with MetalTech-USA and specifically designed a pattern called "Zeus" which is a Wide Strand 5” Pattern tailored for the application. Samples were provided that met the architect’s specification which offered a robust functional design and allowed air & light to penetrate. See Spantek's Helios Architectural Line.
Each eave called for a unique set of panels, totaling five different sizes in all. While horizontal widths were fixed, lengths were variable, so the specific lengths needed to be matched to the required size. An essential clip was developed to connect the panels with aluminum frames.
Full System Integration
- While many expanded metal manufacturers supply parts, this project would need an entire system custom fabricated for the structure and design. This would include engineering a sub-framing system, brackets, and frames to achieve a wavy look of panels running down the side of one wall.
New Territory
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Since this was the first time MetalTech-USA would work with expanded metal, any challenges, or variations in how this type of metal must be worked with, were unknown for their team.
Achieving Results
- Spantek worked closely with MetalTech-USA to assess the project, addressing critical questions about what would be needed in terms of frames and materials, and how all of those pieces would work together.
“We completely developed a brand new profile for this job so it could match the spec. That’s huge, to be able to go to a manufacturer and have them making something specifically designed for you.” Simonsen notes.
Above all, Spantek’s customer support was what stood out for him. During the project, Spantek proactively contacted him about a concern with the quality of an aluminum coil, inquiring about its usage, whether it would be painted over, and the level of acceptance of minor flaws in this particular usage. “They did their due diligence in providing the product and quality I asked for.” Simonsen said.
Future Outlook
The final stage of this project will be to include backlighting of the panels, as specified on the original design. After their first foray into expanded metal, MetalTech-USA is already in talks with Spantek to develop an expanded metal material made from zinc.