Formerly the site of a bleak, surface parking lot, the Front Street Partners, LLC/Plante Moran Office Building is a five-story structure constructed directly on the scenic west bank of the Grand River in Grand Rapids, MI. Sustainability was a key goal of this project, with the building ultimately earning LEED Gold certification. Another key goal was a design that would enable the structure to fit seamlessly into the urban neighborhood. CENTRIA’s Formawall® Dimension Series® helped to meet those goals.

The 43,000 sq. ft. project was completed in December 2008, but it faced some major challenges along the way, including the difficult logistics of working on a very tight site bordered on one side by water. And even though construction occurred during one of the coldest, snowiest winters in West Michigan history, the project was still completed on time and on budget.

The Front Street Partners, LLC/Plante Moran Office Building takes advantage of the solar orientation and sweeping views of the river in this condensed urban space. The clean, sophisticated lines provided by CENTRIA’s Formawall Dimension Series give the building an innovative, modern aesthetic. Formawall Dimension Series was also chosen for its unlimited possibilities in terms of form, color and texture, with the Silver and Deep Sea Blue complementing the waterfront location.

In addition to elegant aesthetics, Formawall Dimension Series is the only wall system that provides both advanced thermal efficiency and moisture control in a single panelized component. Formawall Dimension Series only requires one component, making it a preferred wall system.

One of the main construction goals of the Front Street Partners, LLC/Plante Moran Office Building was continuing the precedent of green building practices in the Grand Rapids area – Grand Rapids leads the nation in the number of LEED-certified projects per capita. The sustainability aspects of Formawall Dimension Series, as reflected in its Cradle-to-Cradle® Certification at the Silver Level, made it the perfect product for this project.

The architect was BETA Design of Grand Rapids, MI. The CENTRIA products dealer/installer was Architectural Metals, Inc. of Portland, MI. The contractor was Christman Company of Lansing, MI.

CENTRIA products used on the Front Street Partners, LLC/Plante Moran Office Building included:

• Formawall® Dimension Series® 2” Horizontal. Square Feet: 13,089; Color: Silver; Finish: Smooth; Coating: Sundance AM; Gauge: 22/26.

• Formawall® Dimension Series® 2” Horizontal. Square Feet: 8,016; Color: Deep Blue Sea; Finish: Smooth; Coating: Fluorofinish; Gauge: 22/26.