A new owner, a new look and a new level of energy efficiency. The former Dell Customer Service and Training Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, is now the Servus Credit Union Corporate Headquarters. In renovating the building for the new owner/occupant, Manasc Isaac Architects of Edmonton addressed inherent thermal performance issues while modernizing the building inside and out. Products picked to cover the original brick and precast exterior elevations included both smooth and ribbed metal wall systems from VICWEST, Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
A workforce of nearly 400 fills the three-story Servus headquarters. In devising a new look for the busy building, the architect sought to introduce Servus’ corporate branding. The firm also created a new front entrance and canopy.
The original building design suffered significant heat loss during the winter months. The problem was so bad that the roofer was called back to look for a suspected leak. The problem ultimately turned out to be frost build-up on the interior that would melt during warmer days. The decision to re-clad the building provided an opportunity to add more insulation, break up the monolithic appearance of the building and reduce visual mass.
Completed in 2010, the project has earned LEED Silver designation. The VICWEST products included 16,800 sq. ft. of 26 ga. 7/8" corrugated with an AZ180 Plus finish; 14,043 sq. ft. of 26 ga. 7/8" corrugated in a Bright Silver color; and 10,116 sq. ft. of 4mm-thick ALPOLIC aluminum composite material (ACM) in a Silver color. ALPOLIC is a product of Mitsubishi Plastics Composites America Inc. of Chesapeake, VA.
The project’s prime contractor is Dawson Wallace Construction Ltd. The installer of the metal panel products was Metal Decking Erectors (MDE). The company encountered several challenges along the way.
“We had to come up with a subgirt system that would reduce thermal transfer and allow a minimum of R20 insulation and a sufficient air space." said the company’s Les Reynolds. “We also had to accomodate the horizontal and vertical applications of the 7/8" corrugated material as well as the Alpolic system which actually stands proud of the corrugated by 1 1/8 inches. To make it even more difficult the pattern of any one area is not repeated anywhere else on the building."
The shop drawings MDE received totaled more than 20 pages, with each elevation drawn 3 times—one for each layer of subgirts plus the standard exterior layer of cladding.
"As you can imagine the attention to and solution of details, particularly around the windows, is considerable; the head sill and jamb returns are in excess of 14 inches. Due to the tolerances of the original construction involving the glazer, the mason and the precast trades, each window had to be site dimensioned and the flashings custom made for each location."