The recently completed parking garage for Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT boasts an exterior beautifully wrapped in a variety of versatile stainless steel metal fabrics from Cambridge Architectural.
Yale-New Haven Hospital regularly ranks among the best hospitals in the U.S. and is nationally recognized for its commitment to teaching and clinical research. With a rich history and a robust offering of care in more than 100 medical specialty areas, Yale-New Haven Hospital is a leading institution with high standards. Appropriately, when building a new parking garage for the hospital, the project team turned to Cambridge for an exterior façade reflecting both the tradition and innovation of the facility it would serve.
A Cambridge Architectural ParkadeTM system enhances the garage’s aesthetic appeal, using texture and color to create an innovative exterior design. Three different stainless steel mesh patterns combine to create a unique façade emphasizing innovation and strength.
The inherent nature of the mesh panels also allows them to endure Connecticut winters and to facilitate ventilation – always an important element of parking garage design. Not to mention, mesh’s open-yet-closed nature shields occupants from the elements while providing a panoramic view of New Haven.
“We've come to expect a solution that both is appealing aesthetically as well as functional from Cambridge mesh products, which is why we utilized their material for our project,” says Peter Darby, Associate and Project Manager with SpagnoloGisness & Associates, Inc., the architect of the project. “Functionally, the mesh facilitates natural ventilation while wrapping the structure to satisfy the City of New Haven’s request to provide an aesthetically appealing building wrap to the garage structure.”
Cambridge also worked with the architect to implement linear LED lighting into several vertical structural channels alongside the mesh panels. At night, the mesh is splashed in warm, colored lights to create a sophisticated and engaging aesthetic.
“Our creative method of combining mesh panel patterns greatly complements the modern garage designed by Spagnolo Gisness & Associates,” says Heather Collins, Director of Marketing at Cambridge Architectural. “Together, we wanted to reflect the progressive facilities of Yale-New Haven Hospital, and I’m excited to say that we did just that.”
The relationship between Cambridge and Spagnolo Gisness & Associates spans six years and now five projects. Their collaboration has resulted in several forward-thinking, beautiful buildings, and the Yale New-Haven Hospital parking garage is no exception.
“We come back to Cambridge on a regular basis because the application of their product is one of the best options available, especially for parking garages and mixed-use developments,” explains Darby. “They offer a wide range of possibilities, and the Cambridge team is easy to work with to find a solution.”
Cambridge always supports the entire design and construction team every step of the way when engineering a custom façade system. By being involved in the Yale-New Haven Hospital parking garage from preliminary ideas to final installation, Cambridge supported the architect’s overall design concept while ensuring a streamlined installation process.
The Parkade system was engineered with mesh in Cambridge’s modified Cubist, Mid-Balance, and Scale patterns, which all feature large-scaled, flexible open weaves that shade the screen structures including facades, parking garages and pavilions.
Cambridge’s J-hook tension attachment hardware was used to install the Cubist, Mid-Balance and Scale products. This is a simple attachment of flexible metal fabric to structural supports via J-hooks. The clearly articulated connection requires a rod that is threaded through the metal at top and bottom edges. The J-hook hardware is appropriate for lengths of metal fabric held in tension up to 20 feet.
Construction on the Yale-New Haven Hospital parking garage was completed in October 2009. The project team consists of architect Spagnolo Gisness & Associates, Inc., Boston, MA, steel subcontractor General Welding & Fabrication, Watertown, CT, and general contractor Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation, Boston, MA.
Cambridge Architectural Parkade metal fabric solutions create unique aesthetic appeal, functionality, affordability, and sustainable benefits to parking structures. Some of the numerous functional benefits of Parkade applications for parking garage exterior cladding include ventilation, fall protection, visibility, headlight attenuation, safety, and security.
Crafted of stainless steel and other alloys, Cambridge’s metal fabric products are entirely customizable in terms of weaves, scales, and both interior and exterior uses. Various attachment systems offered with each Cambridge system provides support for architectural specification and installation.