Project: Southbridge Middle-High School
Location: Southbridge, Mass.
Architect: Tappé Associates
Glazing Contractor: Lockheed Window Corp.
Product: SteelBuilt Curtainwall Infinity™ System from Technical Glass Products
When land and budgets are tight, building a new school is often out of the question, no matter how outdated the existing facility. Fortunately, district officials for Mary E. Wells Junior High School and Southbridge High School in Southbridge, Mass., found another solution. To preserve real estate and provide students with accommodations fit for the 21st century, they hired Tappé Associates to design a facility that would hold students from both schools. The result is the new Southbridge Middle-High School.
In the new facility, the middle school and high school classroom wings flank either side of the auditorium and media center. A sleek, glass-and-steel curtain wall joins them together, creating an efficient, shared space that bears little resemblance to the school’s dilapidated predecessors.
To ensure the right gateway between the two school campuses, one consideration during the design phase was selecting a glass façade that connects students to each other and the outdoors while also meeting thermal performance requirements. The design team found their solution with the SteelBuilt Curtainwall Infinity™ System from Technical Glass Products (TGP).
The steel curtain wall system is approximately three times stronger than traditional aluminum curtain wall assemblies and can use as a back mullion nearly any type of structural member, from stainless steel to glulam beams. This enables greater free spans, larger areas of glass and reduced frame dimensions.
In the case of Southbridge Middle-High School, the SteelBuilt Curtainwall Infinity horizontal and vertical back members were combined with large panes of heat-mirror glass to create a 27 foot-tall expanse that provides students with ample daylight and visibility to the outdoors. The curtain wall’s narrow T-profiles accentuate the school’s open, minimalist look. A custom connection and anchoring system furthers this design aesthetic with unique countersunk fasteners that eliminate field welds in the vision area.
Steel frames help improve thermal performance
As a barrier to the elements, the SteelBuilt Curtainwall Infinity System also does more than bridge the two campuses. The 1½-inch heat-mirror glass and efficient steel frames help improve thermal performance. Specifically, the heat-mirror glass secures a thin, transparent low-e film between two sheets of glass. Compared to a conventional 1-inch, two-lite insulated glass unit, it provides improved thermal performance, allowing for a reduction in the steel framing size. This helps reduce the pathway for heat transfer, creating an overall system U-value of 0.26.
Today, the sleek, high-performing curtain wall system helps create a welcoming entrance full of daylight and movement for students and faculty. “We worked hand-in-hand with Southbridge officials to find a design and a solution that best meets the district’s educational needs,” said State Treasurer Steven Grossman, in a Massachusetts School Building Authority news release. “The construction of this new middle/high school will provide more than 1,000 students with a new, top-notch learning environment.”
For more information on SteelBuilt Curtainwall Infinity products, along with TGP’s other specialty architectural glass and framing, visit tgpamerica.com.
Technical Glass Products
800.426.0279
800.451.9857 – fax
sales@tgpamerica.com
www.tgpamerica.com
Related Stories
Industry Research | Feb 22, 2016
8 of the most interesting trends from Gensler’s Design Forecast 2016
Technology is running wild in Gensler’s 2016 forecast, as things like virtual reality, "smart" buildings and products, and fully connected online and offline worlds are making their presence felt throughout many of the future's top trends.
Market Data | Feb 17, 2016
AIA reports slight contraction in Architecture Billings Index
Multifamily residential sector improving after sluggish 2015.
Architects | Feb 17, 2016
Developing a strategy for getting paid on time
Though talking about money can be difficult, creating and following a clear plan for getting paid is essential for your firm to thrive, writes Steve Whitehorn of Whitehorn Financial.
Architects | Feb 11, 2016
Stantec agrees to acquire VOA Associates
This deal reflects an industry where consolidation is a strategic necessity for more firms.
Market Data | Feb 11, 2016
AIA: Continued growth expected in nonresidential construction
The American Institute of Architects’ semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast indicates a growth of 8% in construction spending in 2016, and 6.7% the following year.
Architects | Feb 11, 2016
AIA elevates 149 members and eight international architects to the College of Fellows
AIA Fellowship recognizes significant contributions to profession of architecture and society.
Architects | Feb 9, 2016
Architect faces prison sentence for VA medical center contract conspiracy
Admits to using inside information to gain VA contracts in Cleveland
Game Changers | Feb 5, 2016
London’s ’shadowless’ towers
Using advanced design computation, a design team demonstrates how to ‘erase’ a building’s shadows.
High-rise Construction | Feb 2, 2016
This tall tower will lower your heart rate
Matthias Olt, Associate Vice President at CallisonRTKL, discusses new ways to improve individual health and well-being through tower design.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 1, 2016
Top 10 kitchen design trends for 2016
Charging stations, built-in coffeemakers, and pet stations—these are among the top kitchen design trends for the coming year, according to a new survey of kitchen and bath designers by the National Kitchen & Bath Association.
