A metal fabric system from Cambridge Architectural offers an upscale building façade while beautifully manipulating light at Closson’s Design Center in Oakley, OH.
Closson’s has been the preeminent resource in Cincinnati for fine art, furniture and interior design accessories and services since 1866. Naturally, when opening a brand new wing of the design center in Oakley, OH – just outside of Cincinnati – Closson’s drew inspiration from its impressive history, expertise and artistic eye to create a facility with unique visual appeal and useful design.
A Cambridge Solucent™ woven metal fabric system seamlessly integrates into the design center, matching its style while daylighting its interior space. The versatile nature of architectural mesh allows it to filter sunlight entering the building during the day and strikingly reflect projected light at night.
“Closson’s is an expert in design, so it means a lot to us that they chose our material to aid in the design of their new building wing,” says Heather Collins, Director of Marketing for Cambridge Architectural. “At the same time, we’re thrilled to be bringing real function to the building.”
The primary function of architectural mesh at Closson’s Design Center comes in the form of solar shading and daylighting. Cambridge’s Solucent shading system was chosen because it allows only quality natural light through, ultimately providing an ideal interior environment well-suited for displaying art and furniture pieces.
“Cambridge’s mesh was a great choice for the showroom environment,” Eric Puryear of Beck Architecture, Inc., the architect of the project. “It cuts down on the harsh sunlight entering the space and provides a handsome exterior parallel to the large glass windows.”
Aside from its aesthetic and operational benefits, the Cambridge Solucent system is 100% recyclable and virtually indestructible, outlasting most other materials in durability. Mesh holds up incredibly well in the extreme heat and cold of the Cincinnati climate, with a greatly reduced need for repair or replacement.
Cambridge is committed to assisting the design and construction team from initial concept to final installation on each and every project. For the Closson’s Design Center project, Cambridge worked closely with project leaders to ensure issue-free installation and a comprehensive, longlasting architectural solution.
The Solucent system was fabricated with mesh in Cambridge’s MidBalance pattern, which features large-scaled, flexible open weaves that shade and screen structures including facades, parking garages and pavilions.
Cambridge’s J-hook tension attachment hardware was used to install the MidBalance product. This is a simple attachment of flexible metal fabric to structural supports via J-hooks. The clearly articulated connection requires a rod that is threaded through the metal at top and bottom edges.
J-hook hardware is appropriate for lengths of metal mesh held in tension up to 20 feet.
Construction on Closson’s Design Center was completed in September 2008. In addition to Cincinnati-based Beck Architecture, Inc., the project team included Turner-Wahlert Construction Inc., the contractor/installer.
Overall, the impressive versatility of architectural mesh made it a perfect building element for Closson’s Design Center. The Solucent system was able to effectively accomplish several tasks simultaneously.
“We were looking for a mesh that had flexibility in function and design,” says Eric Puryear. “Cambridge’s material had the qualities we were looking for to effectively shade the building interior and dress up the building exterior.”
Cambridge Architectural is an active member of the USGBC, and helps architects take maximum advantage of LEED credit through the many categories in which architectural mesh systems apply. Cambridge has several LEED APs on staff as well as sales representatives who understand exactly how Solucent systems can contribute to a LEED certified project. Most notably, mesh can contribute to as many as four LEED points for optimized energy performance, and can help in acquiring additional points for incorporating recycled content and reducing glare into the regularly occupied areas of a building as a contribution to daylighting and views credits.