When the design team of Populous and ABCP Architecture chose to celebrate the passion Québécois have for winter, ice and snow in Quebec City's new arena, they trusted Duranar® XL coatings by PPG (NYSE: PPG) to bring their vision to life.

Fabricated from glass and sculpted metal panels coated in Pure White Duranar XL coatings by local applicator Anacolor Inc., the curtain wall for Centre Vidéotron draws inspiration from a snowdrift, according to the Populous website. "We aimed to capture the spirit and culture of the city in a truly elegant and sophisticated way by selecting white painted metal panels that are sculptural in form, revealing an organically shaped band of glass in between," the firm explained. "The pure white color reflects light like snow, as well as offers a blank canvas for projection mapping light shows."

Duranar XL coatings, based on 70-percent polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) resin supplemented by proprietary PPG resin and pigment technologies, have been used for high-end architectural landmarks such as Centre Vidéotron for 50 years because of their ability to retain color and gloss through decades of environmental exposure.

Covering more than 160,000 square feet of exterior aluminum panels on the 18,000-seat venue, Duranar XL coatings are available as three- and four-part systems encompassing a patented primer, optional barrier coat, durable color coat and clear protective topcoat. Populous also specified Black Duranar XL coatings for metal accents and surfaces inside the arena.

Photography ©: Stéphane Groleau