More than 36,000 sq. ft. of Citadel’s Envelope 2000® metal composite material (MCM) highlight a major renovation of Arden Realty’s office building in Irvine, CA. The panels were finished in Clear Anodized and Shasta White and installed using the Reveal (RV) System, a field-assembled attachment method utilizing perimeter moldings.

The building was originally constructed in the early 70’s and used a rough-finished stucco (see bottom photo on the left).

“Arden had been wanting to do the rehab for several years but hadn’t found a product that fit their budget,” according to Dale Gronewold, owner of Emerald Metal Products, Signal Hill, CA. Emerald attached a 16 gauge framing structure and installed the Citadel panels over it. “The biggest challenge was with the existing building being out of square and out of plumb,” Gronewold said. “The conditions were definitely not good.”

Emerald built the perimeter framing in 40 ft. sections on the roof and lowered it down. “We used a lot of material hoists from the roof down and from the ground up,” said Gronewold. “The installation of the Citadel panels went really well. The RV system does what it says.”

Design for the project was done by Spaces Planning & Design, Irvine, CA. The firm primarily does interior architecture for Arden but jumped at the chance to tackle the exterior project. “We initially considered three cladding material concepts—stone, stucco and metal,” according to Randall Patrick, principal. “Once we settled on metal, we searched for a product that would meet the budget. We contacted Architectural Systems and they were instrumental in our selection of the Citadel RV system. It met our budget needs and the finished job turned out great. The transformation of this building is really amazing.”

Architectural Systems, Inc., Poway, CA was the Citadel sales representative on the project. Architectural Systems also designed and engineered the light gauge framing system.