Completed in early 2014, the new Owensboro-Daviess Convention Center is a premier meeting and event venue not only for Owensboro and Daviess County, but for all of western Kentucky. The project is contemporary in design and features on its exterior an anodized aluminum panel rainscreen cladding system engineered and fabricated by MetalTech-USA. The Class I anodized aluminum finish was from Lorin Industries.
The three-story, 177,000 sq. ft. convention center is situated on the banks of the Ohio River. It meets all the typical functionality requirements of contemporary convention centers. It has 40,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, nearly 30,000 sf of meeting space and extensive public lobbies, as well as service and support facilities. It serves as a significant economic development tool and is an architectural centerpiece of the master redevelopment plan for downtown Owensboro.
“Lorin Industries is proud to have played a role in the project collaboration involving the design of the Owensboro, Kentucky Convention Center,” says Steven Soderberg, Corporate Marketing and Sales Manager of Lorin Industries. “This project was conceived by the design team and architects at Trahan Architects and through the collaboration of Trahan Architects, Lorin Industries, MetalTech-USA and F.L Crane, the results were absolutely stunning."
The tobacco barns of the early 1800s, once prevalent in Kentucky, inspired Trahan's design on the building's exterior. To achieve its desired look, Trahan juxtaposed MetalTech-USA's reveal panel system with Lorin Industries' BlackMatt ColorIn® Long Line Brushed finish on the building's exterior, with ClearMatt® Long Line Brushed finish on the soffits and inward facing exterior walls. This combination created the dramatic effect they wanted to accomplish.
Also integral in achieving this look is the rainscreen system engineered and fabricated by MetalTech-USA. This system, composed of roughly 100,000 sq. ft. of anodized aluminum, Vertical Interlocking Reveal Panels, was designed with minimal flashing and panel joints to create the sleek exterior. In order to minimize visible flashings and trim, there had to be a great deal of one-off panel fabrication to fit tight design specifications.
“Because of the nature of the angular wings at the north and south ends of the building, and the vertical orientation of the panel system, we were left with hundreds of panels with ranging lengths that required an angled panel,” says Eric Simonsen, MetalTech-USA VP of Project Management. “Each panel had to fit in an exact location on the building otherwise it would have been useless. This required extensive logistical planning, detailed field verification by the installer, and tight fabrication tolerances.”
Owensboro Convention Center was honored with the award of 2015 Top New or Renovated Meeting Site Award by Convention South, the national multimedia resource for planning events held in the South.
The installer on this project was F.L. Crane.