The Hess Tower in Houston, TX is part of a newly-developed area that some are describing as the “New Downtown”. The tower is adjacent to a 12-acre park that has brought the development of residential high rises, restaurants and hotels to an area that was once primarily parking lots. The 29-story office tower includes two floors of restaurants and shops, providing people the option to walk to work, events, restaurants and shopping. This pedestrian-friendly culture is a fairly new concept for the downtown Houston area where ground floor retail space has always been rare. The project features products from Quality Metalcrafts, LLC/Americlad.
Gensler & Associates in Houston, TX designed the tower to be an extension of both the landscape on the Southside and the cityscape on the north side. The glass exterior capitalizes on views of the park while complementing the surrounding buildings. The installer, Vetro Strutture, LLC in Spring, TX chose Quality Metalcrafts, LLC/Americlad in Rogers, MN to manufacture the panels for the curtainwall.
Quality Metalcrafts, LLC/Americlad and Vetro Strutture, LLC worked closely to integrate the look and design of the panels with the curtainwall system. Manufacturing and delivery time also needed to be considered in the design of the panels, to coincide with the tight project schedule. The manufactured panels would be assembled into a larger unitized wall system that would become the curtainwall. The panels design had to fit perfectly with the other components of the curtain wall to provide a high quality finished product. More importantly, the panels needed to be manufactured to the exact specifications in a very specific timeframe, to insure a smooth and timely assembly and install.
Quality Metalcrafts, LLC/Americlad manufactured 40,000 square feet of 1/8” aluminum panels, completing and shipping them as the project schedule dictated. The panels are finished in Meteor Gray Tri-Escent II* by AkzoNobel. The Meteor Gray finish was chosen for its ability to accentuate the glass curtainwall without distracting from it as it reflects and incorporates the landscape and buildings that surround it.
Once completed, the panels were shipped to Vetro Strutture, LLC in Houston to be assembled into their curtainwall sections, and then transported to the job site to be installed. The timing of all shipments and assembly was critical to the scheduled installation of each floor. The right product needed to be delivered at precisely the right time. Vetro Strutture, LLC chose Quality Metalcrafts, LLC/Americlad based on their past experience on other projects.
*The Tri-Escent II two coat system is part of the TRINAR® family of 70% PVDF coatings supplied by AkzoNobel, and meets the AAMA 2605 Superior Performing Organic Coatings specification.