Exposed fastener panels create unique aesthetic for medical office building

By specifying a variety of exposed fastener profiles from McElroy Metal on the Lewiston (Pa.) Community Health Center medical office building project, the design team was able to achieve the desired aesthetic and still construct a facility for the non-profit real estate development company with durability and budget constraints in mind.

The Lewiston facility, established by Keystone Healthcare Development Corporation, is home to two primary tenants: Primary Health Network and Geisinger Lewiston Hospital. Keystone Healthcare Development is a non-profit developer created to provide expertise and capital to support the growth of health centers.

"After exploring several options for the exterior cladding for this building that did not meet the construction budget, the design team selected the exposed fastener metal panels as a cost-effective solution that still provided a striking appearance," says David Nitchkey, principal at CORE Architects in Pittsburgh. "The exposed fastener metal panels were selected for their aesthetic appeal, durability, low maintenance and economical value. The challenge was to create a building design that would be a signature statement for the client and provide striking visibility from the highway, through the use of color and materials, while also providing an economical and functional solution. While the building is a simple rectangular box in its overall form, the architecture aesthetic relies on the metal skin to provide scale, texture and visual interest. The three different architectural metal panel profiles were selected to provide relief to the otherwise flat building façades. The four-color scheme creates visual interest and further defines the composition of the elements that create the architectural order of the building façades."

Hudson Construction of Hermitage, Pa., installed the metal panels from McElroy Metal, including vertical U-Panels (4,700 square feet) in Patina Green, horizontal Mega-Rib (9,750 square feet) in Copper Penny and Surrey Beige, vertical Multi-Cor (9,000 square feet) in Medium Bronze, flush soffit panels (400 square feet) and flat sheet for fabrication (13,000 square feet). All colors are Fluropon® PVDF coatings from Sherwin-Williams.

"We’ve installed these exposed metal fastener panels on several jobs recently and we’ve had no issues or challenges," says Keith Brown, project manager/estimator for Hudson Construction. "We’re happy with the final product and I think everyone else is as well."

Metal makes for the unique look of the Lewiston Community Health Center medical office building. "The various metal panel profiles and depths allowed for the exterior skin to be a textured graphic expression, that responds to the direction of the sunlight, creating movement through shade and shadow resulting in dynamic and everchanging building façades," Nitchkey says.

Nitchkey has experience working with McElroy Metal products, including three smaller projects and his own residence! "I’m very familiar of the high quality of the materials and with the design of the details," he says. I once again worked very closely with Jon Farrer, sales manager at Brock Associates, and detailer Jeff Raymond, throughout the process to achieve an overall striking architectural design. We have worked together as a team to complete the designs for five additional projects, all utilizing McElroy Metal exposed fastener panels."