Rising from the slope of a large bluff on the foothills of Utah’s imposing Wasatch Mountains, Brigham Young University’s new Life Sciences Building reveals the inspiration of its remarkable setting.
Multiple facets and elevations climb dramatically as if shaped by the same tectonic and erosional forces that have created massive escarpments and deeply incised canyons on the surrounding landscape. From inside, the expansive windows reveal that landscape while flooding learning, meeting and research spaces with natural light.
It’s a perfect metaphor for the College of Life Science’s mission to reveal the natural world to the human intellect.
This video gives a good sense of all the building has to offer. The camera “flies” through varied interior spaces – including teaching and research labs, auditoriums, corridors and common areas, a rooftop greenhouse and a massive central atrium. Exterior shots show how the complexly terraced profile echoes the mountainous landscape overlooking the BYU campus. From both inside and outside the building, you can see a prominent “spine” rising in stages through the center of the building, much like a ridgeline defining the center of a mountain’s mass.
Architectural Nexus, the firm selected to design the building, asked LCG Façades to get involved in the project early, providing design engineering expertise for the glass curtain wall and metal panel systems that would serve as the building envelope.
Ted Derby, business development manager at LCG Façades, says that a strong, lightweight cladding material was needed to meet the building’s seismic requirements: The massive Wasatch Fault that created the rugged setting is still active today. At the same time, a pressure-equalized rainscreen was required due to Utah’s adoption of the 2012 IBC Building Code.
To meet these needs, LCG Façades designed its exclusive SL-2200 rainscreen system and chose ALPOLIC® aluminum composite materials, fabricated at LCG’s 40,000 square-foot facility in Salt Lake City.
One of the key factors in achieving the project’s budgetary and quality goals, Derby says, was that “We could control most of the materials that were going on the job through our fabrication facility that allows us to fabricate curtain wall systems as well as metal composite panel systems.”
The central “spine” towers above like an alpine peak.
ALPOLIC® materials are most visible on the building’s “spine,” rising in a stepped fashion to tower above lower elevations on either side. Here, panels finished in a silver mica evoke the great blue limestone formation that caps the spine of the Wasatch Mountains. The same fire-retardant ACM panels in a custom blue mica bring hues of a summer sky to window openings and other reveals.
If you can’t be hiking or skiing the Wasatch, studying their flora and fauna in this evocative building may be the next best thing. In the new BYU Life Sciences Building, ALPOLIC® materials are truly helping to do nature proud.
Contact Information:
Phone Number:Â 1.800.422.7270
Fax Number:Â 757.436.1896
Email:Â info@ALPOLIC.com
Website:Â www.alpolic-americas.com
Related Stories
| Jul 7, 2014
7 emerging design trends in brick buildings
From wild architectural shapes to unique color blends and pattern arrangements, these projects demonstrate the design possibilities of brick.Â
| Jul 2, 2014
Emerging trends in commercial flooring
Rectangular tiles, digital graphic applications, the resurgence of terrazzo, and product transparency headline today’s commercial flooring trends.
| Jun 18, 2014
Arup uses 3D printing to fabricate one-of-a-kind structural steel components
The firm's research shows that 3D printing has the potential to reduce costs, cut waste, and slash the carbon footprint of the construction sector.
| Jun 12, 2014
Austrian university develops 'inflatable' concrete dome method
Constructing a concrete dome is a costly process, but this may change soon. A team from the Vienna University of Technology has developed a method that allows concrete domes to form with the use of air and steel cables instead of expensive, timber supporting structures.
| May 29, 2014
Wood advocacy groups release 'lessons learned' report on tall wood buildings
The wood-industry advocacy group reThink Wood has released "Summary Report: Survey of International Tall Wood Buildings," with informatino from 10 mid-rise projects in Europe, Australia, and Canada.Â
| May 27, 2014
Fire Rated Glass contributes to open lab environment at JSNN
Openness and transparency were high priorities in the design of the Joint School of Nanoscience & Nanoengineering within the Gateway University Research Park in Greensboro, N.C. Because the facility’s nanobioelectronics clean room houses potentially explosive materials, it needed to be able to contain flames, heat, and smoke in the event of a fire. SPONSORED CONTENTÂ
| May 27, 2014
Contractors survey reveals improving construction market
The construction industry is on the road to recovery, according to a new survey by Metal Construction News. Most metrics improved from the previous year’s survey, including a 19.4% increase in the average annual gross contracting sales volume. SPONSORED CONTENT
| May 20, 2014
Kinetic Architecture: New book explores innovations in active façades
The book, co-authored by Arup's Russell Fortmeyer, illustrates the various ways architects, consultants, and engineers approach energy and comfort by manipulating air, water, and light through the layers of passive and active building envelope systems.
| May 20, 2014
Using fire-rated glass in exterior applications
Fire-rated glazing and framing assemblies are just as beneficial on building exteriors as they are on the inside. But knowing how to select the correct fire-rated glass for exterior applications can be confusing. SPONSORED CONTENT
| May 15, 2014
Paints, coatings, and sealants: 10 new ways to seal the deal
Color-shifting finishes, dry-erase surfaces, and stain-blocking paints are highlighted in this round up of new offerings in paints, coatings, sealants, and finishes.Â
