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East Park Community Center

Dri-Design
www.dri-design.com
sales@dri-design.com

Wanting the look of smooth metal wall panels without the potential drawbacks related to caulked joints, a Nashville, TN-based architectural firm chose Dri-Design panels for the exterior of the new East Park Community Center in that city. The project required 14,000 sq. ft. of the .050”-thick aluminum panels, finished in White, Patina Green and Orange.

The patented Dri-Design Wall Panel System is a dry-joint, pressure-equalized rainscreen system. Its use on the building helped the architect balance the building’s need to be architecturally traditional yet contemporary at the same time.

The 33,000 sq. ft. facility is located in Nashville’s historic East Park district and provides a gateway to this diverse neighborhood. Its amenities include an indoor pool, gymnasium, community meeting rooms, fitness/aerobics space and walking/jogging track. The building was designed by Everton Oglesby Architects. Tracey Ford, the firm’s project architect, spoke of the aesthetic goals surrounding the design, and the role of Dri-Design panels in meeting them.

“We wanted to relate to the historic neighborhood but in a contemporary way. We knew from the beginning that metal panels would be a component,” said Ford. “They’re durable yet dynamic. And we loved the design flexibility of the Dri-Design product. The rainscreen system was particularly appealing to us because of its high performance. We knew we didn’t want a caulked system because of potential staining issues.”

The mixed-material project also utilizes generous amounts of brick and glass. “We wanted the community to be able to see inside,” Ford said. “There’s lots of interaction between inside and outside.”

To Ford’s knowledge, the project was Overton Oglesby’s first to use the Dri-Design product. And judging by the reaction, it won’t be the last. “We loved the whole experience,” she said. “We’ve had lots of calls asking about the panel system.”

The Dri-Design panels produced for the East Park building were installed by JWC Specialties, Nashville. The general contractor was R.G. Anderson Company, Nashville.

About Dri-Design

DriDesign_logo_020511Dri-Design was founded in 1995 with the successful development of the Dri-Design® Wall Panel System. The system's panels can be installed over commercial-grade Tyvek onto plywood, or they can be used as a sophisticated outboard-insulation, pressure-equalized rainscreen. The 100% recyclable panels can be manufactured from a variety of materials, including zinc, copper, stainless steel, and painted and anodized aluminum. Panels are available in any Kynar color and are sized and detailed to meet the specific requirements of each project. Unique profiles include: Shadow, Tapered, Perforated, Embossed, Textured, Dri-Design® with Corian® EC, Imaging Technology and Inspire. These options create angles, textures, depth, images and performance that cannot be matched. The Dri-Design® Wall Panel System is Dade County and AAMA 508-07 approved. To learn more about the company's products, visit www.dri-design.com.

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