The new 21-story 2000 McKinney office complex is located in the Uptown District of Dallas. The busy, developing area contains a mix of commercial, residential, and retail establishments. From the inside, the 2000 McKinney building features dramatic, unobstructed views of Downtown Dallas and the nearby Arts District. From the outside it has a unified upscale appearance with its six-story parking structure merged into the overall look by Kalzip perforated and solid aluminum material.

HKS, Inc., of Dallas was the architect on the project. According to HKS design principal Owen McCrory, AIA, senior designer and principal-in-charge on the project, 2000 McKinney is primarily an office building with mixed-use components and a parking garage that occupies its lowest six floors. “The building is in an urban context so the garage needed a very high-quality image. We used Kalzip to screen the garage and integrate it into the building’s design. The perforation gave us the completed look we wanted,” McCrory said. McKinney Avenue is a focal point of the area.

Completed in September 2008, the project uses 25,000 square feet of Kalzip 65/305 in 0.040-inch aluminum with a bright silver finish. Solid and perforated materials with a 6"-on-8" pattern are combined to create the garage’s exterior. Approximately 15,000 square feet of perforated Kalzip is used in the openings between parking garage levels, and 10,000 square feet of solid Kalzip is used at the garage slab locations between floors to hide exposed concrete.

“Part of the requirement to meet zoning was to have screening on the garage. In a lot of ways it’s fairly straightforward but the main thrust was to have a garage with a finished look that fit into the regular massing and rhythm of the rest of the design. The garage is as big as the building in amount of square feet so this was very important. In addition to keeping it an open-air structure, we also looked for a cost effective way to create a nice looking screen. Kalzip gave us the best exterior visual attractiveness while meeting our other criteria, ” McCrory said.

NOW Specialties, Inc., of Carrollton, Texas, was the Kalzip installer. According to Daniel Ozuna, vice president in charge of operations, the Kalzip panels span more than eight feet horizontally and are attached to vertical steel angles that are attached to the concrete structure. “Because of the large span required by the design, we called on Kalzip’s engineering to help determine load spans and fastener spacing requirements. This was the first time we used Kalzip on a project and it was our experience that Kalzip provides a high quality product with efficient lead times,” Ozuna said.

Ozuna also appreciates the uniqueness of the design. “I like the fact that the architect was able to think outside the box and use a standard roof product in a horizontal wall application. It was a typical Kalzip roof panel used as a wall and perforated screen of a parking garage. I had not seen this done before,” he added.

Photographs by Thomas McConnell Photography