More than 12,000 sq. ft. of Citadel Envelope 2000® Rain Screen played a key role in the design of the new headquarters building of The Columbian daily newspaper, Vancouver, WA. The Columbian is one of the few remaining independent dailies in the U.S. and the largest in southwest Washington.

The Citadel metal composite material (MCM) panels were finished in Charcoal Metallic and interface with precast brick and concrete.

The $30 million LEED Gold six story building includes 118,000 sq. ft. of space with The Columbian’s news, advertising, circulation and administrative offices occupying four floors of the building. The top two floors are leased to office tenants.

Design for the project was done by GBD Architects Inc., Portland. “Metal panels and metal glazing systems were selected for the exterior for their long life and for their attractive qualities,” according to Kevin Johnson, principal. “The use of concrete and brick alone would have created a heavy looking building. The opportunity to weave metal throughout offered a lighter feel to the massing of the project.”

The Citadel panels were installed by North Shore Sheet Metal, Everett, WA. “Kudos to the architect,” said North Shore co-owner Brian Elbert. “This project was really nicely designed. We custom-fabricated lots of interesting, complex panel shapes. There’s a wing awning at the top that required a complicated fabrication with compound slopes and angles. All of the reveals had to line up with the windows, of course, and that was a little tricky. But the Citadel material is easy to work with and the project looks great.”

The general contractor on the project was Howard S. Wright Construction Company, Seattle/Portland. The Citadel distributor was Pacific Architectural Products, Clackamas, OR.