Wayne Township Fire Station #82 in Indianapolis was built on the site of the original and smaller station, so space limitations were a major consideration during the designing of the facility. So were looks. And thanks to metal composite material (MCM) from Citadel Architectural Products, the appearance lives up to expectations.
The old station, which began its life as a neighborhood grocery store, was torn down so the new station could be built on the same site.
“From the beginning the idea was to have a traditional look for the new fire station,” says Kevin Cooper, Assoc. AIA and partner at Axis Architecture & Interiors of Indianapolis. “There’s a tendency to look to the older stations on the east coast and go with a similar look. The new Station #82 is located in an area where there are a lot of 1960s strip malls and shopping centers, so it’s what we call a 40 mph building, where traffic is coming into town and starting to slow down. We made a case for a metal composite to provide the desired aesthetic for this particular context.”
Cooper, who served as the design principal in charge of the project, says Citadel’s Envelope 2000® allowed for the design to feature a “carved away” section on the upper level to give the structure the appearance of a monitor. Envelope 2000 is impact and water resistant, while providing a smooth finish.
In regard to the color chosen, he says, “There’s a tendency to go with clear anodized, but we wanted something a little warmer. We didn’t want a clear anodized or even a dark bronze.”
Desert Sand was the color specified for the 9,565 square feet of Envelope 2000 panels, attached with the Reveal System, which utilizes one-piece extruded moldings. The moldings are mechanically fastened to the substrate or sub-framing and the panels are inserted into the moldings, along with sealant.
“The biggest challenge of the project was working within the space limitations,” says Cooper. “We were forced to go up … stack spaces. We worked closely with the fire department during the design phase to stack noisy spaces over noisy spaces and quiet spaces over quiet spaces.
Spohn Associates of Indianapolis is a representative and installer of products for Citadel and handled the install on the Wayne Township Fire Station #82. Eric Spohn, president of Spohn Associates, says it was a straightforward installation, except that the Spohn crew mounted panels to continuous Z-girt sub-framing in lieu of a solid plywood substrate.