EXTERIOR FINISH CASE STUDY

© J. Rick Martin Photography/Sherwin-Williams

Project: T-Mobile Arena
Location: Las Vegas
Architect: Populous

The Project: Led by the architecture team from Populous, designs for a cutting-edge $375-million indoor arena began in 2014. Designed with ambitions to one day host professional hockey and welcome more than 100 annual events, final plans for T-Mobile Arena called for a 650,000 square-foot structure situated on a 16-acre site, featuring 20,000 seats, 44 luxury suites, four expansive balconies—including one designed specifically for performances—an 85 foot tall glass atrium, and more.

The Challenge: This is the largest arena Las Vegas has ever built, yet the most ambitious feature of the project is the exterior. “It was our mission from the start to bring the opposing aspects of Las Vegas—the Strip and the Desert—to a nexus point in the exterior design of T-Mobile Arena,” says Robert Norvell, associate principal architect at Populous. “This goal heavily dictated how we planned the construction process, and which building materials we finally decided upon.”

The Solution: To combine these dual inspirational aspects into one cohesive concept, Populous designed a sprawling glass facade on the arena’s northeast side composed of 9,000 square feet of LED video mesh overlay that interlaces with the exterior balconies and culminates in a symbolic representation of the city’s lively energy and zest. To honor the rustic topography and rich geological aesthetic of the surrounding mountainous environment, bowed bands spring forth from the north and west faces of the arena. The bands are made of more than 100,000 square feet of custom-fabricated metal shingles that were coated with an exterior fluoropolymer in nine rustic colors. The whole wall system is backed by insulated composite backup panels, which are visible on the interior while serving as a complete wall system, including the moisture protection and thermal insulation.

The design elements’ dichotomy creates an iconic exterior that honors the contrast between city life and nature, which would not have been possible without the fierce color-matching process provided by the fluoropolymer coatings. The coatings are formulated to stand up to harsh weather conditions and maintain their vibrant colors by resisting chalking, fading and ultraviolet rays. The nine different coatings ultimately used deliver a visually dynamic exterior for T-Mobile Arena while also providing many additional durability features that will keep the structure’s splendor shining well into the future.

The Results: The completed T-Mobile Arena officially opened its doors on April 6, 2016 and ushered in a new wave of entertainment to Las Vegas. “The T-Mobile Arena facade and overall exterior turned out to be exactly what our vision was from the outset,” says Dan Quinn, general manager of T-Mobile Arena. “Our colleagues did a sensational job with the exterior coating for the venue, and we look forward to working with them on future projects.” In July 2016, the National Hockey League announced its decision to award Las Vegas, and the new arena, with an expansion team for the 2017–18 season based upon tremendous local support and appreciation for the state-of-the-art facility.

LOUVERS CASE STUDY

Photo courtesy of Construction Specialties

Project: Madison Square Garden
Location: New York City
Design Architect: Murray Beynon, Brisbin Brook Benyon Architects, Ontario, Canada

The Project: The Madison Square Garden renovation, complete in 2013, brought the 50-year-old arena into the 21^st century. Also called “MSG,” “the Garden,” and even the “World’s Most Famous Arena,” it is now ready to host the modern sport enthusiast.

The Challenge: Head architect Murray Beynon of BBB Architects had a challenging job. The curved shape of the building was not going to change, yet there was a need for adding louvers into the facade. They needed to fit into a vertical louver design scheme and still provide the needed weather and storm resistance.

The Solution: The architects sought out and worked together with a national louver manufacturer to provide design assistance, a working mockup of the louvers, and performance testing of this curved system. To accommodate the extremely tight radius of the building, special shaped corner louvers were being mounted into precast panels. This necessitated additional engineering and working in conjunction with the steel and precast trades to ensure a proper fit. Without the full mockup to provide air and water performance testing, the architect team would not otherwise know how these curved, vertical louvers would perform.

The Results: The manufacturer was selected to provide custom curved storm-resistant vertical louvers that fit perfectly into the fluted alcoves of MSG. Their performance had already been verified in testing, and they worked as expected in the building.

OPERABLE GLASS WALLS CASE STUDY

Photos courtesy of NanaWall Systems

Project: Autzen Stadium
Location: University of Oregon
Architect: Ellerbe Becket

The Project: Voted by ESPN as one of America’s “Top 10 Intimidating Stadiums,” Autzen Stadium seats 54,000 fans for Pac-10 Conference football. An extensive $90-million renovation and expansion added seating and luxury boxes to the south sideline.

The Challenge: The renovated facility needed to provide intimacy and comfort for 32 new luxury suites and two private clubs. The architect, Ellerbe Becket Principal John Poston, pointed out that meant they needed flexibility for both cold and warm months for varying sized spaces.

The Solution: A large portion of the stadium was demolished to add two suite levels and two club levels. A tower with a large, cantilevered wood roof is enclosed except for operable glass walls that run across the entire facade. According to architect Poston, “The operable glass walls uniquely balanced operability and thermal performance in delivering unobstructed panoramic views of both Autzen Stadium and the stunning Oregon landscape beyond. This was our charge, and we analyzed every conceivable option in the industry.” In regards to the way the glass walls operate, he indicates, “The design is unique in terms of its operability, especially on the press level. The sliding glass sections pocket back into each suite individually, and on the press level, the whole section opens with no intermediate mullions.”

The Results: John Poston observed that the operable glass walls “accomplished all of their design goals and has performed perfectly since day one.” Greg Walker, the assistant director with University of Oregon Athletics, points out, “We wanted [operable glass walls] from the beginning. They keep fans more protected from the weather, and it’s nice when you can open them and hear the fans and the noise of the game.”

EXPANSION JOINT CASE STUDY

Photos courtesy of Inpro

Project: SunTrust Park
Location: Atlanta
Architect: Populous

The Project: This new $622-million, 42,000-seat stadium is the home of the professional baseball team in Atlanta. The ballpark opened with its first regular season game on April 14, 2017 and replaces the former Turner Field.

The Challenge: The size and configuration of the stadium meant that it needed to be structurally isolated into sections, requiring many different expansion joint systems.

The Solution: An extensive array of coordinated expansion joint systems and fire barriers were used throughout the ballpark as well as the adjacent parking deck. These included nearly 3 miles of interior architectural expansion joint systems, including floor, wall, ceiling, hard plate, and foam systems; 2,150 linear feet of exterior joints; 660 linear feet of compression seal in custom colors; and more than 1,000 linear feet of fire barriers with water prevention capabilities.

The Results: The stadium is functioning properly and is protected by the complete, coordinated series of expansion joints used throughout.