Parking Pretty: Kynar 500® resin-based coatings Inspires Project Confidence
Prominent Parking Garages get a Lively Look
Most parking garages are as utilitarian in design as they are in function: boxy, concrete structures devoid of style and aesthetically at odds with other buildings in their area.
Recently, however, the design/build community is taking a new look at parking garages, thus creating new opportunities for companies like American Metalcraft, Inc. (AMI) and its sister company, Finishing Dynamics.
“American Metalcraft has become known for our intricately designed and perforated solid plate aluminum panels that grace a range of high-profile projects,” said Holly Gotfredson, CSI, CDT, President of American Metalcraft. “Plus, we are one of the few metal manufacturing facilities with its own in-house liquid paint line.”
“Kynar 500® PVDF resin-based coatings take advantage of one of nature’s strongest chemical bonds,” said Paul Lavallee, Global Market Manager, Kynar 500® PVDF, Arkema Inc. “This carbon-fluorine bond is impervious to the sun’s UV radiation and won’t degrade over time.”
“With the complicated, custom-cut designs we fabricate at AMI, we need a high-quality finish,” Holly Gotfredson said. “We trust Kynar 500® PVDF to apply easily and consistently on our line and provide the long-lasting, colorfast performance our clients demand. And we trust in the innovation Arkema brings to the table when working with us and our paint suppliers.”
Live! Casino and Hotel Blends Form and Functionality
Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia is a one-stop destination in South Philadelphia’s Stadium District offering the fast-paced action of four major professional sports teams, memorable entertainment, premier dining, upscale accommodations, and world-class gaming.
EDA Contractors was tasked with fabricating and installing 90,000 square feet of panels, including 15,500 square feet of custom-designed and fabricated perforated metal panels from AMI for the casino/hotel’s parking garage.
The parking garage features a “bride’s veil” design in which 0.125-inch-thick perforated aluminum plate panels, fabricated by AMI, stand off the building by several feet, creating a curved and flowing effect. Four shades of white and beige coatings were specified. After dark, these off-white colors become the canvas for a spectacular, backlit light-and-video display that creates excitement and energy for visitors.
Finishing Dynamics matched the finish colors used on the perforated plate panels for the garage with the colors used on the aluminum composite material (ACM) panels for the casino and hotel, which also featured a Kynar 500® PVDF-based coating.
High-Quality Metal Designs Deserve High-Quality Finishing
Finishing Dynamics uses top-quality Kynar 500® FSF® PVDF resin-based metal coatings, giving designers and project specifiers confidence that their structures will maintain their coated integrity over the long term.
Kynar 500® FSF® PVDF resin has been trusted for six decades to help protect commercial, industrial, and residential buildings around the world. The coatings were the original high-performance finishes for architectural metal and remain architects’ first choice, in part because they meet the rigorous AAMA-2605 specification.
The capabilities of American Metalcraft’s combined companies and their use of Kynar 500® PVDF resin-based coatings are two reasons AMI and Finishing Dynamics were awarded high-profile parking garage projects in Philadelphia through EDA Contractors.
Repeating a Successful Process
Fast on the heels of the Live! Casino Project, EDA tapped AMI and Finishing Dynamics for another project - the garage at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC). The 493,000-square foot parking garage, featuring a 37,000 square-foot perforated metal panel screen wall, was the centerpiece of PPMC’s $60 million expansion project.
The garage features a structurally expressive façade, with a bubble-like pattern that adds a touch of airiness and whimsy to an otherwise stalwart and institutional structure. It meets the city’s airflow and screening requirements in an elegant and unique way.
For this project, AMI fabricated 900 perforated panels with a variety of CNC water-jet, custom-cut ovals of different sizes. AMI also fabricated structural aluminum tube framing and aluminum angle components for a substructure to attach the panels. As with the Live! Casino project, having design, fabrication, and finishing services under one roof with AMI and Finishing Dynamics gave EDA peace of mind throughout the project.
Finishing Dynamics’ use of Kynar 500® PVDF resin-based coatings also provided peace of mind to the project’s architect ensuring the finish would endure for the long term.