The Billingsley Company, developers of one of the country’s fastest growing suburban office districts, has made it their mission to go green. In 2007, they commissioned Morrison Siefert Murphy Architects of Dallas, TX, to design an eco-friendly office building to stand as the centerpiece of their 300-acre master planned office park. In response, the architects designed an office building suited to the businesses of tomorrow, pre-certified to meet LEED Silver status.

Sited for maximum visibility from the North Texas Tollway and George W. Bush Turnpike, the $30 million International Business Park XV opened to corporate tenants in January 2009. NOW Specialties of Carrollton, TX, fabricated and installed the project’s 2,000 sq. ft. of Reynobond Aluminum Composite Material featuring a 4mm PE core and a Champagne Metallic paint finish, and 8,500 sq. ft. of Reynobond Natural Brushed Aluminum ACM, featuring a 4 mm PE core and a #4 polished finish, for the entrance rotunda. Rogers O’Brien of Dallas, TX, served as the general contractor for the project.

NOW Specialties field measured all the panels and sent the field dimensions to the engineering department. Then panels were pre-fabricated in the shop and shipped to the site. Four mockups of the project were submitted to the architect before construction began. “The majority of the panels were curved,” said Rosi Gavrilova of NOW Specialties. “So we custom applied the panels with exposed fasteners at the beams and columns. The return legs were welded and the panels needed a minimum of three days for the sealant to cure; a process that required good planning and coordination with field personnel.” While the architect specified the materials and colors required, it was NOW Specialties who recommended the Reynobond.

The 173,382 sq. ft., three-story building is one of 35 office and retail structures located on the 300-acre campus. The horizontal lines of the dramatically curved, futuristic entry are repeated as accents in the interior of the entry space. A three-story curtainwall provides flowing sunlight into the building’s lobby, with 10’ x 10’ windows of vision glass with spandrel below, bringing natural light into all office spaces. Green amenities include a water system that effectively controls water usage and water re-direction that’s expected to save about 380,000 gallons annually; 35% green power to supply energy needs; low fume-emitting construction materials; on-site recycling facilities; preferred parking for low-emission vehicles; bicycle slots and a campus that includes artwork and sculpture gardens and multiple parks with water features.

The project has received numerous awards including Plano’s Environmental Star Award for the Most Sustainable Building, in recognition of the contractor’s efforts to recycle 95% of the project’s construction waste and the use of building components made of recycled materials. During construction the project was also awarded the 2008 Green Award from North Central Recycling for recycling 920.1 tons of concrete, wood and other debris from the site.Reynobond® ACM is manufactured by Alcoa Architectural Products. The company offers a complete range of exterior and interior cladding and corporate identity solutions including Reynobond® with KEVLAR®, MCM with stainless steel and zinc facings, Reynolux® profiled panels, flat sheet and coil. Alcoa Architectural Products is a business unit of Alcoa, the world's leading producer of aluminum products.