The new Cal Poly University Recreation Center in San Luis Obispo, CA has a welcoming design brought to life with Kalzip engineering. The building was opened in June 2012. The 165,700-square-foot facility expands recreational and sports opportunities for students and faculty at California Polytechnic State University as well as members of the surrounding community.
A key feature of the design created by Cannon Design, Los Angeles, is a curved roof made with Kalzip 65/400. A portion that uses perforated Kalzip wraps downward on the building wall to act as a sunscreen. This allows light to come softly into the interior shielding occupants from direct sunlight and reducing daytime interior lighting needs.
According to Larry Taniguchi, project architect for Cannon, the most important aspect of choosing Kalzip for this project was the company’s engineering capabilities. “We were drawn to Kalzip when we saw it at Greenbuild. We liked the way it looked and that it could accommodate the radii we needed on this project. It wasn’t a very complicated design, but other manufacturers weren’t able to meet our design criteria. It was good to work with the Kalzip engineering team and to have them on site to guide the process.”
The roof uses Kalzip 65/400 with a PVDF surface in bright silver. This includes 39,000 square feet of straight, 26,000 square feet of convex and concave, and 2,000 square feet of perforated Kalzip. One of the design goals was to achieve a silver certification in the USGBC’s LEED program. The recycled content of Kalzip material helped move the project toward that goal.
General contractor on the project was Sundt, San Diego, CA, and the metal installer was Progressive Roofing, Phoenix, Arizona.
Matt Stephens LEED AP, CDT, of Triton Building Products, Santa Monica, CA, represented Kalzip on the project. “We got involved during the design phase to assist with the roof assembly, details, and to address thermal movement at the curved roof eaves,” Stephens said. “We worked closely with Progressive Roofing to manufacture the entire roof on site with Kalzip's portable roll forming and curving equipment. Logistically the site was challenging but the convex and concave curved panels were executed with remarkable ease and precision. I am very proud of the project and our team."
The hard work of the design and construction team produced great results that pleased the owner and users of the building. “The building looks great. At first the owners had some hesitation about using metal roof panels and the bright silver look, based on the existing metal roof leaking, but now they are very positive about it,” notes Taniguchi.