The new Natural Gas Operations Center constructed in Nashville, Tenn., is a LEED® Gold facility that was designed to be an environmentally sustainable building while meeting a number of functional and aesthetic challenges. Metal products from CENTRIA are featured in the project’s design.
The Natural Gas Operations Center consists of offices, training areas and warehouse space situated on 13 acres of a 31-acre site. Built to capitalize on industry best practices, the form, material choices and site placement for the $12.5-million facility were based on the science of filtration and sustainable design. The concept of “filtration” is used throughout the 44,000-square-foot building, from its circulation patterns to its solar-screening devices. Since the facility houses a natural-gas utility, a high priority was placed on energy efficiency, and its innovative features were designed to serve as an educational tool for other building projects in the Nashville area.
Some of the facility's design features include LED lighting systems that use less energy and last up to five times longer than fluorescent or incandescent lighting; solar-powered lighting for the parking lot; protection from solar-heat gain through the use of exterior building shades controlled by the sun's orientation; construction of the building using materials that contained recycled content of more than 20 percent; and a partial "green roof" that helps control solar-heat gain. The building site also is home to a five-acre wetland that was preserved during the construction process and upon which mulched walking trails and pedestrian bridges were created.
The objective of the building owners was to utilize materials that were visually appealing, low-maintenance, thermally efficient and supported the goal of LEED Gold certification. CENTRIA’s metal wall panels were selected because they met all of these requirements.
CENTRIA’s Versawall insulated metal wall panels offer exceptional versatility and flexibility. The lightweight insulated metal composite panels can be installed vertically for long, sleek sight lines – and they can be installed in any type of weather, making installation faster and easier than many other types of wall panels. The lightweight nature of the panels reduces framing costs, and the lightly planked interior liner works compositely with the face sheet to provide greater strength and allow longer spans. With double tongue-and-groove joinery and factory-applied air and vapor sealing, Versawall panels provide outstanding weather resistance.
CENTRIA’s Formawall Graphix Series insulated metal wall panels with directional reveals offer innovative aesthetics and value by making a single panel look like up to 12 smaller ones – and by offering architects the freedom to choose how the panel length is segmented. The panels can be used to create horizontal or vertical designs and have optional horizontal reveals of varying widths, along with concealed clips and fasteners that provide a sleek exterior appearance. This flexibility makes creating distinctive designs easy and economical.
Both CENTRIA’s Versawall and Formawall Graphix Series panels have received Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), certified by UL Environment, an independent safety-science organization. EPDs offer a comprehensive report that documents the ways in which each product, throughout its lifecycle, impacts the environment. One of the major advantages of EPDs is their ability to help facilitate LEED certification. In addition, EPDs can be used by architects and contractors to make more-educated purchasing decisions.
The architect for this project was C design Inc. of Charlotte, NC. The CENTRIA products dealer/installer was South State Contractors Inc. of Oakland, KY. The contractor was Baron + Dowdle Construction of Nashville, TN. The operation center measures 44,000 square feet.
CENTRIA products used on this project included:
• Versawall® Vertical - Square Feet: 10,528; Color: Fashion Gray; Finish: Embossed; Coating: Duragard® Plus; Gauge: 22/26
• Formawall® Graphix Series™ Horizontal - Square Feet 7,950; Color: Fashion Gray; Finish: Smooth; Coating: Duragard Plus; Gauge: 22/26
• Formawall Graphix Series Horizontal - Square Feet 1,064; Color: Charcoal Gray; Finish: Smooth; Coating: Duragard Plus; Gauge: 22/26