COMMERCIAL CASE STUDY

Project: Block 20 Condominium Tower
Location: Portland
Owner: Hoyt Realty Group
Architect: Bora Architects
General Contractor: Andersen Construction
Sub-Contractor: Western Partitions

The Project: Constructed on the site of the former Hoyt Street Railway yards, the 350,000-square-foot Block 20 tower includes 143 residential condominium units. In addition, the building base includes a full podium structure five stories in height. Flexible retail/office spaces are located in the podium levels, with 168 car parking spaces and 229 bike parking spaces provided. The parking for the building is entirely concealed since it is wrapped around the perimeter by other uses. The residential tower rises from the sixth level to the 21^st level, capping off at 246 feet above grade.

The Challenge: A city known for constant rains, dramatic shifts in climate throughout the year, and perpetual moisture, Portland provides unique challenges for any construction project. When Hoyt Realty Group hired Bora Architects to design the expansive, 246-foot-tall Block 20 Condominium Tower in downtown Portland, it was clear that novel solutions would be needed if the project was to be completed on time and within budget.

The Solution: For the building envelope installation, Bora collaborated with Andersen Construction, who tapped local contractor, Western Partitions. Willing to embrace new technologies in the quest for a better way of building, Western Partitions believed the ideal solution lie in the unique capabilities of integrated sheathing. It proposed the use of a system with a formulation that integrates the gypsum core and the fiberglass mat to form a hydrophobic, monolithic surface that blocks bulk water but allows vapor to pass through. As such, this integrated sheathing eliminates the need for a separate external WRB-AB. That translates to optimal performance with simplified installation, saving time and money, and reducing potential risks. Still, Western Partitions Project Manager John Quintrell knew he needed strong arguments and hard evidence to convince his collaborators and the property owners of the value of this relatively new product. “[It took] four or five months, a lot of hard negotiating, a lot of good professional support from the manufacturer, and a very uphill battle to be quite frank with you,” Quintrell reveals. “We would not let it go. We know the potential of this product. We reached out and found out that this product was being used all across United States, not in great volumes, but on enough projects that it was time that the Northwest had this product come to them.”

Fortunately for Quintrell, he wasn’t the only one who saw the potential of the integrated sheathing system. “We are always looking for innovations and ways to build faster, ways to build smarter,” says Andersen Construction Project Executive Brad Nile. “And it just made sense to us. To have the weather-resistive barrier integrated into it was exactly what we need. It seemed like an inevitable progression for type-one construction.” With Andersen Construction on board, all that was left was convincing Bora Architects and the owners at Hoyt Realty Group. For that, a stress test was devised that would push the preferred integrated sheathing and its direct competitors to the breaking point. “It outperformed both other products in the end, and since that testing doesn’t lie, I think the fears subsided,” Quintrell adds. “Then the benefits came to be seen.”

The Construction: Especially valuable for the Block 20 Condominium Tower is the ability of integrated sheathing to negate the impact of rainy conditions during installation. As it only requires sealing joints, fasteners, openings, penetrations, and transitions with a flashing membrane that can be applied to damp surfaces, excess moisture does little to slow progress. That helped to keep weather delays to a minimum and allowed Western Partitions to make significant progress in conditions that would’ve otherwise impacted the project schedule. “We often times are challenged on a project this size to be performing that scope of work for eight, 10, 12 months. All the weather conditions change,” Quintrell says. “The selected integrated sheathing systems can be installed at any time during those 12 months and in any weather conditions. That’s not the case for other systems. We’ve installed it in sunny weather, cold weather, and even heavy rain. We’ve had zero impact on the installation by using this system.”

Brad Nile, meanwhile, was impressed by the rapid installation made possible by the integrated sheathing system. “As soon as integrated sheathing is in and the flashing is applied, we’re right there installing windows,” Nile points out. “And it’s worked well. It’s absolutely kept us on track.” For this project, they were able to move at a very quick pace for a building of this scale: 22 months from ground breaking to turn over.”

The Results: While initially intrigued by the integrated sheathing system, first-hand experience using it on a project like the Block 20 Condominium Tower has turned once wary stakeholders into true believers. “We have branches in Seattle, Eugene, Spokane, and Reno with our home office here in Portland,” Quintrell says. “All four of our divisions outside of Portland, as well as Portland, are looking to use this product on every single project we have. That’s how much we’re standing behind the future of integrated sheathing.”

RESIDENTIAL CASE STUDY

Project: Benoit Farms Homestead
Location: Hayesville, North Carolina
Owner: Benoit Farms
Architect: LG Squared
General Contractor: LG Cubed

The Project: The owners of Benoit Farms were seeking an escape from civilization and dreamt of finding a quiet, idyllic spot untouched by industry where they could simply enjoy the beauty and magnificence of the natural world. That’s exactly what they got when they hired Atlanta-based LG Squared, an architectural and consulting firm that specializes in the design and building of high-performance homes, to create their off-grid homestead in the wilderness outside Hayesville, North Carolina. Thanks to architects willing to think outside the box and embrace new ideas, their vision was realized.

The Challenge: The greatest challenge in building the Benoit Farms homestead was its lack of a direct connection to the local power grid. Relying only on energy generated on-site by solar panels and stored in batteries means that the building first needs to fully address energy conservation to reduce the energy demand and avoid energy waste. “Off-grid is largely dependent on the performance of the house,” says LG Squared architect Chris Laumer-Giddens. “The better-performing the house, the lower the energy consumption, which contributes to less need for solar power generation and storage to effectively operate off the power grid.” Compounding this challenge was the unpredictable weather of western North Carolina. Between dramatic shifts in moisture levels and temperature swings throughout the year, and the prevalence of forest fires in the nearby mountains, LG Squared needed to find a solution that could maximize energy efficiency, provide a continuous WRB-AB, resist destruction from fire, and wouldn’t be ruined by sudden rainfall during or after installation.

The Solution: The architects chose an integrated sheathing system to address many of the unique challenges of this rural homestead. “The integrated sheathing system has three of the four major control layers that we look for in a building assembly, and that’s water, air, and vapor,” Laumer- Giddens points out. “With the combination of the sheathing and a liquid flashing at the joints, seams, corners, and penetrations, it becomes one continuous and integrated system.” The selected system includes a sheathing formulation that integrates the gypsum core and fiberglass mat to form a hydrophobic, monolithic surface that blocks bulk water but allows vapor to pass through. Offering optimal performance without the need for an additional WRB-AB means it can be installed faster and with fewer costs. The liquid flashing selected is approved for installation even in damp conditions with no residual impact to the structure. These features proved crucial for Laumer-Giddens and his team at LG Squared, as the integrated sheathing system made it possible to create a continuous air barrier that extended to all sides of the Benoit Farms homestead. “The closer we get to a continuous air barrier around the entire structure and the stronger that air barrier is, the more likely we are going to get to that lower air change, so we spend a lot of time looking at every crack, every gap, penetration, and opening to make sure that the entire air barrier is one continuous system.”

Another major benefit of using the selected integrated sheathing system discovered by Laumer-Giddens is its compatibility with a wide range of cladding systems—a crucial aspect given the thick insulation required by the Benoit Farms homestead design. This allowed the installers to more tightly integrate the integrated sheathing system with the rest of the structure, a particularly important trait when trying to maintain a continuous barrier around things like window openings. “Installing a window right up against the sheathing, as opposed to six inches away, at the outside of the continuous exterior insulation makes that transition and integration so much stronger,” Laumer-Giddens states.

The Results: According to architect Laumer-Giddens, the traits that allow the integrated sheathing system to excel on a unique project like Benoit Farms make it ideal for a wide range of other building types and locations. “This integrated sheathing system is very versatile, not just for cladding attachment, but for all wall assemblies, anywhere in the world.”