Clad with corrugated aluminum panels, the new Marina Condominium building is a striking addition to the Madison, WI, skyline. The recent renaissance of the city as an arts and residential community inspired owner McShane Construction Corp. to challenge architect Kenton Peters & Associates of Madison to design a multi-story residential building sited on the edge of Lake Monona and the burgeoning downtown arts district with an aesthetic that would reflect the stylish lifestyles of the building’s residents. In response Kenton Peters created one of the first large- scale residential buildings in the United States with a façade of corrugated aluminum. And in the process designed a building that’s so striking it has already achieved landmark status.
The 198,000 square foot Marina Condominium project opened for occupancy in Fall 2005. Clad with Alcoa Architectural Product’s 7/8” corrugated aluminum the exterior is durable and striking. The architect turned the corrugated panels on the horizontal to give the tower a more human scale and add texture to the façade. Stevens Construction Corp of Madison was the General Contractor on the project.
Architectural Products of Wausau, of Wausau, WI, installed over 80,000 square feet of 7/8” Corrugated .040" Aluminum with a Bright Silver Metallic Kynar finish for the façade and balcony walls. “Alcoa ‘s corrugated aluminum material was selected by the architect to achieve the aesthetic look the owners wanted for the building,” said Chad Patoka, project manager for Architectural Products of Wausau. “Since he specified that Alcoa’s corrugated aluminum panels be run on the horizontal, we were able to order many of the panels to length. The aluminum allowed us to make cuts and notches where necessary in the field without concern about rusting.”
Flashing was used to denote the change of floor and visually downscale the size of the building. “The flashing allowed us to maintain the alignment of panels along the curves and planes of the building,” continued Patoka. Over a period of 5 months, Wasau installed the corrugated panels in a rainscreen system on 6 to 8” steel studs covered by dens glass and a waterproof membrane. A system of 1⁄2” plastic spacers set 48” on center across the façade creates a 1⁄2” air space between the aluminum panels and waterproof membrane allowing water to run down face of building and diffuse out when reaching the flashing at each floor.
The $17 million building has 14-stories above ground with 58 residential units and 3 levels of underground parking. Each home occupies a corner with panoramic views of three different exposures, and an abundance of natural light and fresh air from a broad expanse of operable, energy efficient windows. 9’ ceilings and large circular terraces add to the expansive interior feel of the units, which range in price from $350,000 to over $2 million each.