CENTRIA’s Formawall® high-performance building envelope effectively enabled the design team at Renaissance 3 Architects to achieve Caliguiri Plaza’s modern, vibrant façade — and to integrate the structure with the neighborhood.

Approximately 22,000 square feet of Formawall were specified in Sandstone, Bear Claw, and Champagne Bronze colors to give the building character and presence.

“Our goal was to create a contemporary and vibrant façade that expressed the building’s residential function,” said Carla Worthington, Senior Associate, Renaissance 3 Architects. “By utilizing CENTRIA's wide selection of standard colors, we were able to panelize the façade in a way that reduced the visual scale of the building and made it more compatible with the surrounding neighborhood context.”

Caliguiri Plaza is located in the center of the Allentown Business District, just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. The affordable housing complex has 104 units for the elderly and for persons with disabilities. There are 10 accessible units, and the building is one block away from the senior activity center. Residents enjoy access to local bus and trolley transportation, a laundry room, a community room, and a host of activities organized by the Tenant Council.

In addition to Formawall’s contribution to the building’s design, the system also achieved the exact level of thermal insulation desired.

“The characteristics of the CENTRIA panels helped us to fulfill several design objectives: They provided the required thermal insulation values, they offered a variety of panel sizes that were able to accommodate the various spans of the existing structural systems, and they provided a finish quality that met the residents' aspirations,” said Worthington. “Formawall provided a weather barrier, insulation system, and a finish material in a single product."

The Formawall high performance building envelope comes complete with all the sophisticated, interlocking components required to design and construct healthier, longer-lasting, high-performing buildings. The panels are Red List-free, containing no harmful halogens, and meet the Health Product Declaration Standard.

The modular system can also be quickly and easily installed, which was a benefit to the project’s construction schedules.

“CENTRIA provided two additional assets to our team,” Worthington said. “First, the modular nature of the system allowed the panels to be installed quickly in the field. Second, the panels afforded us the flexibility to be modified in response to field conditions.”

The Caliguiri Plaza was completed in July 2017. Renaissance 3 Architects provided design services, and the general contractor was ATI. The CENTRIA dealer and installer was A.C. Dellovade Inc.