Provencher_Roy designed the striking glass-clad cantilevered volume of Port of Montreal Tower to serve as an urban landmark that offers a new perspective for discovering Montreal.
Tectum® Create!™ ceiling panels deliver the strength and aesthetics to shape up any space. The direct-attach design makes retrofitting acoustics an easy lift. And custom capabilities allow you to make a beautiful one-of-akind art installation. Flex your creativity with texture-rich color, pattern, and acoustics at armstrongceilings.com/tectumcreate
Size & Color: 4” x 2¼” x 8” Modular Brick, VB91003, VB91004, Natural Finish; 4” x 4” x 12” Utility Brick, VB91002, Natural Finish
Hanover’s NEW concrete Vertical Bricks offer numerous performance benefits such as fire resistance, mold resistance, energy efficiency, and durability. Unlike more natural masonry, they are consistent in size and readily available. Available in two sizes and several finishes, they are an ideal choice for architects and designers seeking both form and function, delivering high performance without compromising on aesthetics.
Utility Brick with Natural Finish
Modular Brick with Tumbled Finish
Utility Brick with Tudor® Finish
PAC-4000
ACM � MCM COMPOSITE WALL SYSTEMS
Redefine exterior cladding
Elevate your building’s exterior with PAC-4000: durable, stylish 4mm aluminum composite panels designed for walls, canopies and accents. Ideal for hospitals, offices, retail and more. Thermal stability, sleek finishes and easy installation ensure lasting beauty and performance. PAC-4000—where design meets innovation.
Trends // What Architects Should Know About the 2024 NFPA 101 Code
Explore the recent code changes influencing the architectural design of exit discharge areas, parking garages, multi-family dwelling units, and more. by Jana Madsen
Form // Port of Montreal Tower, Montreal, Canada
Provencher_Roy creates an award-winning cantilevered, glass-clad landmark celebrating the city’s past and present.
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
Mass Timber Moving Forward
Architects from ZGF, Pickard Chilton & DLR Group divulge the new products and design tools helping them create the next era of mass timber construction.
Architectural Products Magazine, Volume 23, Number 01
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2025: The Year of Mocha Mousse
Pantone’s annual Color of the Year attempts to capture the global mood. For 2025, Pantone homed in on the world’s need for connection, comfort, harmony and indulgence—naming Mocha Mousse it’s reigning color and marking the first time in the program’s 25-year history that a brown hue has taken the crown.
To fully appreciate Pantone’s latest color choice, let’s start with a look at the winning colors of the past. The first Pantone Color of the Year, Cerulean, was selected for the year 2000. The bright, clean, pale blue was chosen to represent the optimism of the new millennium. Since then, the Pantone Color of the Year pick has swung to bold, energetic colors like True Red (2002) and Tangerine Tango (2012) and back again to the more muted Sand Dollar (2006) or Rose Quartz (2016). As for the motivation behind the Mocha Mousse selection, Pantone says the color, “nurtures us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort.”
“For Pantone Color of the Year 2025, we look to a mellow brown hue whose inherent richness and sensorial and comforting warmth extends further into our desire for comfort, and the indulgence of simple pleasures that we can gift and share with others.”
—Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute
Pantone isn’t the only company picking a Color of the Year. Architectural Products reveals the colors chosen by Sherwin-Williams, Benjamin Moore, PPG, Behr, Dunn-Edwards and more on page 16.
The practice of architecture is not immune to the global call for comfort and coziness. 2025 is also seeing the practice of “emotional design” on the rise, where spaces are designed to elicit certain emotions from the people who occupy them. Identified in the Newsweek article, “Eight Architectural Trends About to Blow Up in 2025,” the emotional design concept has broad applications in both residential and commercial design. With architects paying attention to how spaces make people feel, an increased awareness of natural light and natural material choices, which can create a biophilic connection, are anticipated to continue gaining mass appeal.
Mass timber construction, for instance, is becoming more popular. Due in part to the biophilic designfriendly, wood-centric look and feel, these carbon-
sequestering buildings also offer impressive sustainability benefits and adept operational performance. This type of design may still be considered emerging, but it’s quickly coming out of its shell and architects are finding themselves learning and innovating the established design and construction practices to make these new forms feasible. Architectural Products interviewed architects from ZGF, Pickard Chilton, and DLR Group to discuss their most recent projects and the lessons they learned along the way. Start exploring what mass timber design will look like in 2025 on page 28.
Wishing all our readers a sweet, comfort-forward, and inspiring 2025.
Happy reading.
—Jeanie Fitzgerald Pitts, Editor in Chief
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ASI just gave the washroom a makeover—you can too. To explore the standard for basis of design in washrooms, visit asigroup.us/firstclass
events resources
The Architecture + Design Master Continuing Education Platform offers a wide range of AIAapproved courses covering the topics that professionals care about most. Here is a small sample of the courses currently available.
Decarbonization 101 (1 LU/HSW)
Exploring Design Trends for K-12 Applications (1 LU/HSW)
Flexible Offices: Key to Retaining Talent and Optimizing Space for a New Work Era (1 LU) Lessons in Renovation and Adaptive Reuse (1 LU/HSW)
Telehealth to Metaverse: The Bold Future of Healthcare Design (1 LU/HSW) archdesignmaster.com
BOOK
Taliesin West: At Home with Frank Lloyd Wright
AHR Expo
February 10-12
Orange County Convention Center, Orlando ahrexpo.com
IRE Expo
February 19-21
Henry B. González Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas theroofingexpo.com
International Builder’s Show (IBS)
February 25-27
Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas buildersshow.com
Cevisama
International trade event for ceramic, bathroom equipment, and natural stone
February 24-28
Feria Valencia Convention Center, Valencia, Spain cevisama.feriavalencia.com
LEDUcation
Virtual Sessions: March 13-14
In Person: March 18-19
New York Hilton Midtown, New York City leducation.org
Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and desert laboratory is a National Historic Landmark and has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This book, the first of its kind in decades, celebrates that recognition and offers a new look at this world treasure. Begun in 1937, the compound served as a place of exploration, a place of work, a place of camaraderie and culture, and a place of living for Wright, for his family, and for the apprentices of the Taliesin Fellowship, who had joined the architect to learn and to work with him side-by-side.
Taliesin West: At Home with Frank Lloyd Wright explores the life within structures that make up Wright’s desert masterpiece, from Garden Room to Cabaret Theatre, and delves into the many stories that have made the place at once a crucible for creation and a home. Hardback, $45.
Coverings April 29-May 2 Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida coverings.com
Lightfair
May 4-8, Las Vegas Convention Center lightfair.com
HD Expo + Conference May 6-8, 2025 Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas hdexpo.hospitalitydesign.com
MINIMAL SLIDING GLASS WALLS
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Location: Princeton University Residential College | Architect: Deborah Berke Partners | Product: NanaWall CERO
New Bricks, Create New Looks with a Timeless Material
Sustainable, durable and versatile, the classic appeal of brick continues to make it a go-to material for today’s façade designs.
Soft white, gray and black brick are top selections for creating that crisp, beautiful aesthetic architects and owners are seeking. Meanwhile, traditional red is finding its way into plenty of specifications where a more classic look is desired.
Diversifying beyond flat surfaces, the Brick Industry Association marks an increase in textured designs as architects look to incorporate more visual interest and dimension into their building exteriors and interior atmospheres..
“We wanted to embed the intangible notion of time into the design. Our starting point for the Ace Hotel Toronto was to celebrate and honour the robust red brick warehouses that once populated this part of our city.”
-Brigitte
Shim, Shim-Sutcliffe Architects
As for the mortar joints, designs are trending away from a softer, tumbled style and towards more defined edges and cleaner joints. Additional design trends include blending different brick patterns and textures, and a refurbished, rustic brick.
Beyond the latest design trends, architects continue to choose brick for its many performance qualities including weather resistance, fireproof protection, acoustics, structural support, low maintenance and thermal mass. Considered a healthy material, brick is made from naturally occurring materials and does not emit volatile organic compounds.
Our new products round-up includes neutral color offerings, innovations in brick and joint design, and a striking project profile showcasing an exciting expression of creative brick design.
SIDEBAR
Bold Brick at Ace Hotel Toronto
Embracing the beauty and versatility of brick, Shim-Sutcliffe Architects’ facade design for the Ace Hotel in Toronto blends vertical, horizontal and curved bricks in various sizes and hues of red.
While the majority of the 14-story façade alternates glazing with stripes of horizontal and vertical brick, the entrance is particularly unique with a trapezoidal-shaped portico which continues into the lobby as concrete trapezoidal arches suspended by thin steel rods.
Paying homage to the city’s Don Valley where bricks were historically made from the clay mined there, the 123-room hotel is clad with Endicott Medium Ironspot No. 46 thin brick and pavers. The smooth and velour bricks were designed in modular, norman and cornered sizes.
The bricks are described as lending warmth and swagger to the 2023 Brick in Architecture Award-winning building. In response to the changes in sunlight throughout the day, the reflected brick lends vitality and movement to the façade.
Endicott, Medium Ironspot No. 46 thin brick and pavers endicott.com
HIGH-HO SILVER
Embracing the versatility and adaptability of silver, Glen-Gery presents Silver City as its 2025 Color of the Year. Blending and complementing a wide range of hues, textures and materials, the matte grey brick color takes its color cue from its natural surroundings. With a rise in biophilic design, silver mimics natural elements while maintaining a timeless aesthetic.
Glen-Gery Brick, Silver City glengery.com
EMBRACING GREY
Recognizing growing interest in natural, neutral tones, Belden expands its Sanded Rustic collection to include Dusty Grey and Rustic Grey. The offerings lend versatility, lasting appeal and connection to the natural world.
The colors and organic, textured appeal offered by the Sanded Rustic line blends with both classic and contemporary styles.
There are several reasons for the broad appeal of grey brick. It can be used to create a connection with nature or offer a neutral complement to many colors, textures, and materials.
SLENDER AND ELEGANT
At just 1 5/8 in. in height, the slender Avanti Linear brick features a natural, fine grain texture. The brick’s smooth, weather finish is available in four colors: Black Coral, Coastal Fog, Ocean Mist and Sea Shell. The cladding can stand on its own or serve as a backdrop for dark metal and natural wood accents.
Arriscraft, Avanti Linear arriscraft.com
BRICK INNOVATION
Filling a unique niche in the brick design world, the Dubio is a single brick with shallow joints that presents as multiple thin bricks stacked on top of each other The innovative design opens up new possibilities for architects beyond vertical and horizontal to include wavy shadow joints. Three times thinner than a standard brick, the smaller footprint leaves extra space for wall insulation and/or occupied space.
Nelissen Brick, Dubio nelissen.be
New Metal Claddings & Award-Winning Coatings
The use of metal on building exteriors is evolving thanks to new sustainability-related demands, advances in technology, and good old-fashioned innovation in design. These new solutions offer architects the ability to deliver building envelopes that feature bold colors and textures through the creative application of metal panels with ribs, perforations, and patterns. Insulated metal panels (IMPs) offer increasingly better thermal performance combined with the quick installation of a modularized solution.
Beauty. Versatility. Durability. Sustainability. Metal delivers a wide array of benefits to architectural design professionals.
THE MULTIFUNCTIONAL MAGIC OF PERFORATED METAL PANELS
Superior strength-to-weight ratio and spanning capabilities set this panel apart. It adds texture and strength to designs and can act as a canvas on the exterior. Perforated Champagne-colored Hefti-Rib panels were used to create the screenwalls on the parking garage of the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, GA. Metal deck screenwalls help protect the people from heights while securing the area from unwelcome visitors. The perforations admit airflow and natural light to move through the structure during the day. At night, the lit screenwalls provide an attractive backdrop in an area that can be dark and unwelcoming.
Fabral, Hefti-Rib Aluminum Panels fabral.com
IMPRESSIVE INNOVATION IN IMPS
Norex architectural panels provide unparalleled thermal value, a protective barrier against fire and rain, as well as resistance to tearing due to wind, thanks to its exclusive anchoring system. The joint integrates a decompression chamber that prevents water from being drawn inwards, reducing the risk of penetration and humidity. Designed by Mancini Mui Architects, the newly erected Extra Space Storage facility in Hempstead, NY, shown here, spans 112,188 square feet and includes 1,382 climate-controlled storage units. The seven-story exterior features a strategic blend of Norbec’s Norex-H and Norex-L panels. The panels, skillfully installed both vertically and horizontally, showcase a harmonious interplay of colors, blending Norbec’s bright silver, charcoal, and bright white.
Universe NFPA-285-approved systems are easy to use and save time during installation. The 9000/9050 system is our most popular semi-unitized system with prefixed hidden fasteners.
CREATE THE ILLUSION OF AN ANIMATED FACADE
The exterior of San Jose State University’s Spartan Recreation and Aquatic Center is garnering a lot of attention. Designed to reference an object in motion, the building’s architect, Gensler, applied the Universe 9050 preassembled system in an innovative way. The building was featured in a 2021 article, “Angled Wall Panels Animate, Illuminate Spartan Rec Center,” by Paul Steinbach, which described the unique exterior at length. “Cement-fiber boards are bracketed at four different fixed angles to the left and right of the facility’s entrance based on computergenerated patterns, lending the illusion that the panels are free to flutter in a motion-induced wake created by the exterior’s glazing elements. The angled panels are backed with stainless steel to mask their underside and enhance their reflectivity when illuminating interior curtainwall in pixilated fashion and introducing glare-free natural light to a three-court gym on one side of the building and a MAC gym on the other.”
Universe Façade Solutions, Universe 9050 Preassembled System with Concealed Attachments universecorp.com
INCREDIBLE TEXTURE & PATTERN IN 24-GAUGE STEEL
Pfluger Architects’ Austin office, designers of Smith Elementary School, shown here, created an exterior infused with texture and playfulness by developing a unique combination of three different box rib patterns installed both horizontally and vertically. Although the resulting pattern may seem random, it was actually quite intentional. The design team turned to Petersen to supply its PAC-CLAD panels, which include three different profiles from its Box Rib wall panel systems in a custom Slate Blue finish to create the patterning. Additionally, Flush Series soffit in a woodgrain finish clad the building’s sizable overhangs and HWP panels in a Charcoal finish were installed along the clerestory windows running under the school’s roofline. All the panels were fabricated from 24-gauge steel.
PAC-CLAD Panels, Box Rib Wall Panel Systems pac-clad.com
LET METAL BECOME A CANVAS
With 30 years of leadership in ultraviolet- and electron beam-curable coatings for wood, PPG is bringing the energy efficiency and high speed of energy curing to metal coil coaters with the DuraNEXT family of primers, backers, topcoats and clearcoats. Unlike traditional coil coating systems that require very high temperatures to drive the curing process, DuraNEXT coatings use an electron beam or ultra-violet energy to convert a liquid coating into a fully cured solid finish in seconds, without any significant loss of thickness or weight. They are also formulated without solvents so they produce little to no volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions.
PPG, PPG DuraNEXT Energy Curable Coil Coatings ppg.com
2025 Colors of the Year Shades of Brown Top Several Lists
Pantone selected their first Color of the Year for 2000, deciding that the pale blue of Cerulean most adeptly captured the mood and optimism people felt as they faced the new millennium. For 2025, Pantone chose Mocha Mousse as its Color of the Year, embodying the world’s seemingly perceptible need for connection, comfort, harmony and indulgence. It’s also the first time in Pantone’s history that a brown hue has worn the crown and it seems that several other companies with Color of the Year programs turned to the notable neutral as well.
PURPLE BASIL:
PPG
2025 COLOR OF THE YEAR
The PPG Color of the Year is a warm, dusty violet with mauve undertones that represents energy and selfexpression. It reflects a trend towards richer, deeper colors in fashion and interior design. PPG has also created a palette of 40 shades curated to complement Purple Basil in a variety of design applications.
PPG ppg.com
ELDERTON: GRAHAM & BROWN
2025 COLOR OF THE YEAR
This warm, rich and creamy brown takes its hue from the Elder tree, one of the few native species of tree in the UK. The Elder has a deep-rooted place in the culture, mythology and even the medicinal history of the British Isles, and was a sacred tree to the Druids. Elderton captures the complexity, subtleness and warmth of an Elder tree’s structure, adding a softness and bold yet gentle ambience to any room. Elderton is an incredibly versatile color that brings delicacy to any space but is also robust enough to partner with more vibrant shades or act as a stand-alone color.
Graham & Brown grahambrown.com
SLATE: BENJAMIN MOORE 2025 COLOR OF THE YEAR
Embrace the beauty of quietly colorful hues with the Benjamin Moore 2025 Color of the Year, Cinnamon Slate 2113-40. A delicate mix of heathered plum and velvety brown, this nuanced color brings a smooth familiarity to any design.
Benjamin Moore benjaminmoore.com
SHERWIN-WILLIAMS COLOR CAPSULE OF THE YEAR
This year Sherwin-Williams shifted the color conversation from a single hue to a color capsule, described as a collection featuring nine of the most essential and inspiring colors in the Sherwin-Williams library. The 2025 Color Capsule is comprised of Grounded, Sunbleached, Chartruese, Rain Cloud, Clove, Malabar, Bosc Pear, White Snow, and Mauve Finery. “Our Color Capsule of the Year can be curated to stand out with any style. We wanted a modern, fresh take on color, with a balanced and usable assortment of shades,” said Sue Wadden, Director of Color Marketing.
Sherwin-Williams sherwin-williams.com
CINNAMON
ENCORE ATMOSPHERIC BLUE 8002-45G
According to Valspar, blue is enjoying a comeback, its encore, if you will. Encore is an anchoring shade that has saturation and a tinge of violet. The color bridges both digital and physical spaces. Using crisp, cool shades it mimics the mood in virtual space. In terms of styling the color in the built environment, low lighting will amplify the violet undertone that helps ease eyes back into reality.
Valspar valspar.com
PANTONE COLOR OF THE YEAR
2025—MOCHA
MOUSSE
Every year Pantone selects a Color of the Year that best captures the zeitgeist—the distinct hue that reflects the global mood and attitude of the collective. This year—the first shade of brown has finally been chosen as Pantone’s Color of the Year. Mocha Mousse is a warming, brown shade imbued with richness. According to Pantone, “It nurtures us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort.” Pantone pantone.com
LIMITLESS WHITES COMMERCIAL PALETTE
A selection of timeless whites create a canvas for complementary colors. According to Behr, this collection celebrates texture and tactility, because light shades visually soften spaces. In the workplace lobby, shown here, walls are painted in Gallery White PPU12-12, an inspirational color for igniting imagination. The desk is painted in Bakery Box BL-W09, a crisp blue-white that adds a bit of bright sweetness to any space.
Behr behr.com
Sweet browns emerge as the flavor of the year.
CARAMELIZED: DUNN-EDWARDS 2025 COLOR OF THE YEAR
The 2025 Color of the Year Caramelized is a warm terracotta brown with soft, earthy tones reminiscent of sunbaked clay. The ultimate new neutral, this sophisticated color demonstrates versatility, pairing well with various styles, from vintage-inspired interiors to sleek, contemporary spaces that embrace the concept of ‘old is new.’
Dunn-Edwards dunnedwards.com
Metal Accents for the Door, the Wall, the Window
Architectural hardware continues to offer architects and interior designers a method for bringing pops of gold, bronze, nickel, or black matte into a space—in more ways than ever before. In response to the growing demand for harmonizing these accents across an interior, more manufacturers have begun providing their solutions in a variety of metal finishes. Here are a few beautiful products helping architects ramp up the elegance of a design by bringing out the hardware.
TEXTURE YOU CAN TOUCH
Architectural hardware helps build the layered materiality that develops the personality of a space.
The Churchill Collection is comprised of several architectural hardware elements: cabinet knob, cabinet pull, door lever, door knob, door pull, escutcheon plate, rosette, and thumbturn. Available in 30+ finishes that include burnished bronze finish, polished silver finish, light antique copper finish, textured, gun-metal matte and more.
SA Baxter, Churchill Architectural Hardware Collection sabaxter.com
A REFINED WELCOME
Bankston + Civilian hardware elevates the door aesthetic through its refined craftsmanship and distinct tactile quality. The Hemisphere H04 Pull Handle finished in Polished Chrome and Bone (shown here) provides a solid, weighted form that conveys lasting strength. Their semi-spherical ends mirror the circular cutouts detailing the front door, which filter light into the lobby while maintaining privacy.
Bankston, Hemisphere H04 Pull Handle bankston.com
BRACKETS DESIGNED TO BE SEEN
While some motorized roller shades offer a broad range of top treatments and fascia that camouflage the shade assembly, the Palladiom motorized roller shade was designed to be exposed. Palladiom brackets are milled and hand-finished in solid aluminum and brass. The curved hembar design mirrors the shade’s fabric roll, allowing the bar to disappear when the shade is open.
The Palladiom keypad was designed in a unique uniplanar style where the faceplate and the buttons lie flush to create a smooth, singlematerial surface. The clean, precision-crafted lines are available in architectural metals, glass, or polymer.
Lutron, Palladiom Keypad, lutron.com
TIMELESS CHARM OF UNLACQUERED BRASS
Rotary Dimmers push to switch on and off and rotate to dim and brighten. LED, Incandescent, magnetic low voltage and 0-10v versions are available.
Rotary dimmers are available in all plate finishes and are supplied with a 0.79 inch (20mm) diameter knob. Rotary dimmers can be mixed with toggle switches and push buttons on the same plate (shown here in unlacquered brass).The unlacquered brass plates are designed to mellow with age if left unpolished. This is particularly suitable to period buildings where a bright brass look would be less desirable. Alternatively, the plates can easily be polished to give a shiny look should this be required.
Forbes and Lomax, Quad Toggle and Rotary Dimmer in Unlacquered Brass forbesandlomax.com
GreenGirt CMH: Continuous Insulation System Delivers Both High Thermal Performance and Structural Support
When insulating building enclosures, architects are typically forced to choose between structural integrity and thermal performance.
For example, steel offers structural strength and durability but struggles with thermal bridging. And while composites prov a high level of thermal efficiency, they typically fall short in the structural integrity department. GreenGirt CMH combines the best of both worlds.
“Designers shouldn’t have to choose between structural integrity and best-in-class thermal performance,” explains Kevin Mlutkowski, director of marketing, Advanced Architectural Products, Allegan, Mich. “GreenGirt CMH continuous insulation systems offer both, delivering between 92% and 99% thermal efficiency alongside superior structural integrity—unlike other systems on the market that require trade-offs.”
By utilizing the properties of both steel and fiberreinforced polymers, GreenGirt Optima CMH offers one of the highest strength-to-weight ratios in the industry. The product is a composite metal hybrid design with steel-reinforced flanges to deliver that structural integrity with its durable steel-to-steel connection. The system is engineered to support robust screw retention with screws permanently fastening to the continuous metallic structural support.
BRINGING BEST OF BOTH WORLDS TO BOSTON MEDICAL CENTER
The Menino Pavilion at Boston Medical Center uses GreenGirt CMH at 4-in. depth with mineral wool insulation to maximize energy efficiency under the terracotta and ACM cladding.
INTERLOCKING STEEL-REINFORCED FLANGES
INNOVATIVE FRAMING
GreenGirt CMH XO is designed with innovative framing technology to precisely align the insulation with the window to maximize thermal performance.
GreenGirt CMH continuous insulation system’s interlocking steel-reinforced flanges lend strength and stability while fiber-reinforced polymer delivers a high level of thermal performance.
Simultaneously, a high-performance Z-girt system delivers the corrosion-resistance and insulating properties of fiber reinforced polymers. FRP subframing products are gaining traction with their non-conductive fiberglass construction.
A common mistake when insulating around windows is misalignment. When the windows are not properly aligned with the thermal plane of insulation, the efficiency of the insulation decreases, thereby compromising thermal performance. The GreenGirt CMH XO system leverages innovative framing technology to provide the structural support to push the window outboard so that it aligns with the insulation plane. The result is maximized thermal efficiencies more than doubling the R-value of the window opening. In addition, the design eliminates through-wall metal, throughinsulation fasteners, conductive metal angles and inefficient wood-blocking.
Whereas legacy framing systems like wood or steel offer an average of 45% thermal efficiency and a 29.3ºF wall cavity temperature difference, GreenGirt CMH XO has been tested to achieve 96.7% efficiency with just an 8.7ºF wall cavity temperature difference.
Furthermore, the system is structurally engineered to handle both dead loads and live loads with the appropriate safety factors, It also provides a
moisture, vapor and airtight barrier, and is fireresistant meeting NFPA 285 compliance. The recyclable material is Red List Free and manufactured in a net-zero facility.
GreenGirt CMH works with all types of insulation including mineral wool, spray foam and rigid-board insulation like XPS, EPS and dual foil-faced class A polyiso.
Insulation in Action
The St. Louis-based architecture firm Trivers specified the GreenGirt CMH continuous insulation system together with mineral wool and fiber cement cladding at Missouri State University’s Kemper Hall in Springfield, Mo. The façade of the 8,000 sq. ft. addition also features ultra-high-performance concrete panels and zinc panels at the entry.
As another example, the 32,000 sq-ft. Menino Pavillion at Boston Medical Center features the GreenGirt CMH continuous insulation system with mineral wool insulation, terra cotta cladding and 4-in. horizontal girts spaced 24-in. on center. Designed by TRO Jung|Brannen Healthcare Architecture, the insulation delivers a durable, energy-efficient thermal barrier, effectively reducing heat loss and enhancing overall building performance.
Photos courtesy of GreenGirt
By Jana Madsen, contributing writer
In its latest iteration, the 2024 NFPA 101 includes changes to the Life Safety Code that could influence the architectural design of exit discharge areas, multi-family dwelling units, modular rooms, parking garages, high-rise buildings and healthcare facilities.
Lack of awareness or compliance with NFPA 101 can be costly—both in terms of life and project costs. It’s important for architects to stay abreast of their evolution— and the NFPA 101 has recently evolved again. What began as the 1927 Building Exits Code, NFPA 101 now regulates much more than egress during a fire event. Today’s Life Safety Code encompasses requirements for everything from automatic extinguishing systems to smoke and carbon monoxide detection, firerated building construction, hazardous materials, emergency lighting, and more.
“The Life Safety Code specifies minimum requirements for life safety in buildings from fire. The scope of the code is limited to protecting building occupants,” explains Gregory Harrington, Principal Fire Protection Engineer, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). “More and more requirements have been added over the years as a result of lessons learned from large loss-of-life fires and revisions that reflect the changing needs of society.”
While the aim is always to improve life safety through code revisions, Harrington pushes back against the myth that code updates always mean greater expense, less freedom, and more headaches. “People think when a new code comes out, it’s going to be a real challenge to meet all the new requirements. In my experience with the Life Safety Code, it’s really been the opposite. Generally, the changes to the code allow for greater flexibility rather than making it more difficult to comply,” he shares.
The requirements specified by the NFPA are only enforceable following their adoption by an Authority Having Jurisdiction or when government agencies/ organizations incorporate them by reference. The latest round of changes to NFPA 101 was issued in August 2023 and became effective the following month. While this version of the code is more about refinement than major change, it is still important to be aware of the six updates that could impact the practice of architectural design.
Revision to Exit Discharge Requirements
“People think when a new code comes out, it’s going to be a real challenge to meet all the new requirements. In my experience with the Life Safety Code, it’s really been the opposite. Generally, the changes to the code allow for greater flexibility rather than making it more difficult to comply.”
-Gregory Harrington, NFPA
New allowances for interior exit discharge provide greater design flexibility. While previous code versions allowed up to 50% of a building’s exit stairs to discharge through the interior of the building, now an even larger allowance is being provided so long as other protections exist. For example, if there are four exit stairs, only one of them needs to discharge directly to the outside.
“Previously half of your exit stairs could discharge through a sprinklerprotected level of exit discharge, or through a protected vestibule,” notes Harrington. “What this new allowance does is it allows up to three-quarters of the exit stairs to discharge through interior areas if it’s both sprinklered and there’s a protected vestibule.” Requirements for interior exit discharge areas in vestibules or foyers include:
The level must be protected by an automatic sprinkler system.
It must not be more than 10 feet from the exterior of the building and no more than 30 feet in length.
It must be separated by fire barriers with a minimum 1-hour fireresistance rating (existing installations of wired glass in steel frames are still permitted).
Its sole purpose is egress, and it must exit directly to the outside.
FIRE-RATED STEEL DOOR
As Steelcraft’s versatile flagship door, the L Series door is supported by countless standard and custom options for broad commercial applications and firerating requirements. From full glass architectural entrances to secure back doors and interior passages in hotels, offices, and restaurants, multifamily properties and apartments, hospitals, schools, and more. You can depend on the strength of steel and the Steelcraft L Series door.
Steelcraft, L Series steelcraft.com
“This was just the committee saying, if the protected vestibule is good without sprinklers and the sprinklers are good without the protective vestibule, then if you combine them, that should be an even enhanced level of protection, so let’s bump up that allowance from 50% to 75%.”
-Gregory Harrington, NFPA
New Requirements for Valet Trash Collection
Valet trash service is a popular amenity among apartment residents, who would rather leave their garbage in corridors or on egress balconies for pick up than walk it down to the dumpster. Unfortunately, the presence of this trash is concerning for two reasons—it is both highly combustible and the bins can inhibit evacuation. “Code officials were going into apartment buildings and seeing all this trash in the hallway waiting to be collected, which could pose a fire hazard if there aren’t any mitigating protection features,” notes Harrington.
Language in the Life Safety Code now puts strict requirements on the size, construction, and fire safety of the bins used, as well as the amount of time they can be present, and requires automatic fire sprinklers in order for building owners to offer the valet service. The new requirements will also influence architectural planning for multi-residential building hallways. “Corridor width would be impacted if an apartment building is going to utilize a valet trash service. [Architects] wouldn’t be able to design the corridors to be the absolute minimum required width,” Harrington explains, noting that trash containers could narrow the corridor too much to facilitate safe egress.
HALLWAY
Gregory Harrington is the Principal Fire Protection Engineer at the NFPA.
New Requirements and Guidance for Modular Rooms
A few things have coalesced to necessitate the inclusion of modular rooms in the latest code version. One being that employers are heeding the Fair Labor Standards Act’s 2010 amendment that requires them to provide a private space, separate from bathrooms, for nursing mothers. Without a space readily available, employers may install a standalone lactation room.
Modular rooms can have significant code ramifications.
The second factor influencing this update is the rising interest and investment in sleep pods. As the wellness benefits and importance of sleep become more well known, offices and hospitals are proving that it’s now okay to sleep on the job. Airports are embracing sleep pods too for weary travelers and airline crew.
“They’re not really rooms because they’re prefabricated furniture,” says Harrington. The use of a space for sleeping that wasn’t designed for that can have significant code ramifications, he warns: “Designers need to be aware that it could have an impact on the building occupancy classification, which the requirements in the Life Safety Code are predicated on.” This code addition addresses the size of these modular rooms, as well as their placement (to ensure they don’t obstruct egress), along with other directives.
Mamava offers a full line of lactation space solutions. Their pods are designed for breastfeeding parents, to fit every space and situation, and built to make life easier for facilities. The Solo, Flex, or XL each meet the requirements of all workplace and public-space lactation laws. Pods come with built-in seating, lighting, shelves, mirror, coat hook, outlets, and fan and are easily accessed with keyless entry via the Mamava app.
Mamava Inc., Solo, Flex, or XL mamava.com
EnergyPod is the world’s first chair for napping in the workplace. It combines luxurious comfort, innovative technology, and timeless design. EnergyPod provides ideal ergonomics with elevation of the feet and a slight bend in the knees. Its sphere provides semi-privacy without overly enclosing. The classic EnergyPod comes in white and grey, can be customized to any color to match the work environment.
MetroNaps, EnergyPod metronaps.com
The SPACE D Capsule Bed offers a sleek, modern design with durable, easy-to-clean aluminum resin panels. Popular in capsule hotels and 24-hour workspaces, it features adjustable lighting, a flameproof roll screen, a comfortable headboard, and ventilation control. Additional storage and charging options, plus optional features like a TV and safety box, make it both practical and stylish.
Kotobuki Seating International, SPACE D Capsule Bed kotobuki-international.com
Photo credit: EnergyPod by MetroNaps
SLEEP POD
SLEEP CAPSULE
Sprinklers
Now Required in Parking Structures
Concern over parking structure fires raised the alarm for NFPA. Automobiles—both conventional and EV—contain more electronics and plastics than ever before, raising the fire risk. The 2024 version of NFPA 101 is hoping the addition of fire suppression will prevent loss of life and property damage. “Whether it’s an open or enclosed structure, now it has to be sprinkler-protected,” says Harrington.
PARKING GARAGE SPRINKLER
The VicFlex Series VS1 is a K5.6, UL listed, FM-approved flexible dry sprinkler that combines traditional dry sprinkler technology with innovative VicFlex flexibility for enhanced freeze protection. Its corrugated, braided body offers kink resistance and a 2-in. bend radius, allowing installers to store water farther from freezing conditions, minimizing or eliminating the risk of burst pipes, maximizing the amount of time the system is functioning, and providing maximum protection from fire hazards.
Victaulic, VicFlex Series VS1 victaulic.com
NFPA 101 and U.S. Healthcare Facilities
The NFPA 101 Life Safety Code is applied to nearly every healthcare facility in the United States, because it has been adopted by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In order to be eligible for reimbursement, facilities must demonstrate compliance; however, the CMS is still referencing the 2012 edition of the Life Safety Code. “It literally requires an act of Congress to update the federal legislation,” says Gregory Harrington, Principal Fire Protection Engineer, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). “It is a long, slow process.”
When adoption to a more recent version finally does take place, the differences will be significant, given that four (or potentially more) rounds of updates and revisions have been implemented since the code was
To minimize the risk of freeze-ups in wet sprinkler systems, use dry sprinklers in areas exposed to below-freezing temperatures.
Exemption for Smoke-Proof Enclosures in Sprinklered High Rises
Previously in new high-rise buildings, exits had to be designed as smoke-proof enclosures, which generally meant they would need to have a stair pressurization system. As long as the building is sprinklered, NFPA 101 has dropped that requirement. “It’s impossible now to build a
new high rise without automatic sprinklers, so that pretty much eliminates the requirement for smoke-proof enclosures,” says Harrington. He warns that without awareness of this change, designing high-rises with unnecessary stairway smoke-proof enclosures could be costly.
requirement of 3 Tesla. Its extended coverage option allows for a reduction in the number of sprinklers needed by up to five, ensuring effective fire protection. Additionally, customizable painted cover plates can seamlessly blend with the facility’s design.
Tyco, RFII-MRI 5.6K tyco-fire.com
Revised Healthcare Door Locking Provisions and Suite Supervision Requirements
The latest version of the Life Safety Code carefully balances life safety and security requirements in healthcare environments, specifically when it comes to door locking. “In healthcare facilities, there were provisions for locking of egress doors in the direction of egress travel, which is generally frowned upon by the code because we don’t want to lock people in a building when there’s fire,” notes Harrington.
Harrington pushes back against the myth that code updates always mean greater expense, less freedom, and more headaches.
There are times when security necessitates that egress doors be locked, though. Consider newborn nurseries and the need to prevent infant abduction.
“The code allowed the doors to those suites to be locked in the direction of egress travel if the building was fully sprinklered and some other requirements
were met,” he says, noting that this was easy to achieve in new hospitals, which already have to be outfitted with automatic sprinkler systems. For hospitals which are not fully sprinklered, door locking to those suites is permissible so long as the following conditions are met:
The suite itself has an automatic sprinkler system.
The smoke compartment containing that suite is fully sprinklered.
Any smoke compartments that one would traverse to get to the exits servicing that suite are also sprinklered.
“It’s just relaxing the code from a requirement that the entire building be sprinklered to basically the smoke compartments directly adjacent to the area that’s locked would need to sprinklered,” summarizes Harrington. “If an architect was doing a renovation in a healthcare facility, that might be important in the design of those suites if the building wasn’t already fully sprinklered,” he adds
How to Stay in the Know
“The onus is really on the building designer to do their due diligence to find out which standards, which codes, and which editions of those codes they are required to comply with by contacting the enforcement agencies in the jurisdiction where they are doing the project,” says Harrington. Code consulting firms and fire protection engineering firms are equipped with the background and expertise to provide guidance to the architectural community, if you haven’t already employed your own specialists.
Harrington also invites architects to use the resources NFPA has available. The website, nfpa.org, is loaded with informative blog posts and the NFPA Journal (also online) provides in-depth articles and updates quarterly about code changes. For a deeper dive, consider taking advantage of the training NFPA has available in the form of online self-paced learning modules, instructor-led classroom and virtual training, as well as customized in-person three- or four-day instructor-led training that organizations can request.
TRADE SHOW AND CONFERENCE
Mass Timber
Design teams explore new products, innovate design tools, and push through existing building codes to create the next era of mass timber construction.
By Barbara Horwitz-Bennett, contributing editor
Moving forward
Ema Peters Photography
BBeautiful, natural, carbon-offsetting, fire-resistant and durable, commercial mass timber construction has begun emerging from a novelty niche to a more seriously considered option for corporate, multifamily, education, municipal, religious and recreational facilities.
As of September 2024, WoodWorks documented 1,170 mass timber projects under construction or built in the U.S., and 1,168 in design, for a total of 2,338 projects. Mass timber building owners are cashing in on higher rents, a bolstered sustainability profile, the health and welfare benefits of biophilic design, and an expedited construction process.
“The uniqueness of mass timber in the workplace is a major [market] differentiator when comparing it against other office building types,” states Stephen Cavanaugh, aia, leed ap, principal and design leader, DLR Group, Chicago. “Based on our experience, it’s proven that mass timber office concepts have a higher leasing probability and offer a higher premium for rent as tenants will pay more for ecofriendly and socially conscious office environments.”
And because most mass timber buildings are largely prefabricated systems, they can be erected up to 25% faster than conventional concrete construction.
“Each structural component is carefully designed, fabricated and strategically shipped to the site in the construction sequence,” explains Michael Hensley, principal, Pickard Chilton, New Haven, Conn. “Due to the precision and pre-planning of the structural elements, the mass timber components are quickly erected onsite. Typically lighter than conventional structure, projects can yield additional savings due to the reduced load capacities required of the foundation.”
That said, DLR Group performed an analysis for an 80,000 sq.-ft. building based on 2022 cost data and estimated a 3% to 4% cost premium for mass timber over conventional construction.
In Cavanaugh’s experience, when owners focus on comparing mass timber with concrete or steel, they end up choosing the later. “But those who have decided to use mass timber from the beginning spend time optimizing it and make it work within the financial constraints of their project. This mindset is what will need to change for more projects to adopt timber,” he asserts.
Chipping away at this cost comparison mentality, Bill Parsons, chief operating officer, WoodWorks
Wood Products Council, Boise, Idaho, posits that when considered holistically, mass timber can be cost competitive with other materials.
As noted, construction is faster and requires less labor. Further, the wood structure can be left exposed, thereby avoiding the cost and time involved in applying finishes.
Parsons also explains that the mechanical, electrical and fire protection systems are usually designed and coordinated during pre-planning. Consequently, installation can proceed faster and with more entrylevel laborers.
Crunching some numbers, WoodWorks recently published a series of comparative whole building life cycle assessment studies comparing the embodied carbon impacts and cost of mass timber buildings to functionally equivalent buildings.
Collaborating with KL&A Engineers & Builders / KL&A Team Carbon, and funded by the USDA U.S. Forest Service and Softwood Lumber Board, an assortment of mass timber buildings from different geographic locations were analyzed. The embodied carbon impacts of materials and assemblies associated with structural systems, vertical and roof enclosures, fire protection, acoustic performance and ceiling finishes were studied to produce a holistic comparison of construction types and structural systems.
“The life cycle assessments demonstrate the ability of mass timber to significantly reduce global warming potential while the cost comparisons show how viewing the projects holistically makes the mass timber systems competitive,” states Parsons.
While organizations like WoodWorks, Think Wood and the American Wood Council are putting energy into education and training for mass timber design and construction, the fact is many subcontractors don’t have experience with mass timber and North American manufacturing capacity has a way to go until the industry can support significant growth with these types of projects. Furthermore, many local building officials are not well versed in mass timber.
“As a result, the governing codes reflect a conservative approach in terms of scale and exposure of the structural elements,” says Hensley. As the building type gains more exposure and adoption nationally, we believe we will see increasing use of mass timber for a range of projects at even greater scale.”
Innovation in Mass Timber Arrives at PDX
Walking through the main terminal at the Portland International Airport (PDX) feels more like a stroll through the local forest than a sensorydeprived race to the gate. That was precisely the intention of ZGF Architects’ ambitious design of the expansive, undulating, 9-acre roof topping the project—a feat in mass timber construction. According to ZGF, it’s the largest mass timber roof in the U.S. and the largest mass timber structure of it’s kind in the world.
Creating a mass timber construction of this scale and complexity required innovation at nearly every phase. For material selection, the team sourced approximately 3.3 million board feet of Douglas Fir from several local landowners and Pacific Northwest tribes. “Wood throughout the terminal supported local economies and created sustainable harvesting pathways that went beyond certification status to target and celebrate underrepresented parts of the supply chain—including smaller mills, family forests, non-profits and tribal nations,” reports Christian Schoewe, principal, ZGF Architects.
MASS PLY
Mass Ply panels from Freres Wood is manufactured with 9 layers of 1/8-in. density-graded Douglas Fir veneer to produce dimensionally stable engineered wood. The mass ply is suitable for wide-format panels, beams and columns.
Freres Wood frereswood.com
GLULAM
Douglas Fir-Larch gluelaminated timber, called glulam, enhances the strength and versatility of the wood. Supporting the construction of taller, larger and structurally efficient panels, the dense softwood is a key component of mass timber products.
Timberlab timberlab.com
From all of those board feet purchased, the roof is comprised of basically three different wood products. The top deck is made from 2-in.-thick plywood panels that create the roof diaphragm. Curved glulam beams (some 80 to 90 ft. long) are supported by large steel girders. Nearly 30,000 3 × 6-ft. sticks were installed on the underside of the glulam beams to create the woven lattice.
“CadMakers develops their own tools... If there isn’t a software out there that will do what we’re asking, CadMakers has the ability to make one and it blows everybody’s mind.” —Brendan Kelly, Superintendent STSC, Swinerton/Timberlab.
Transforming those various wood elements into the ornate mass timber roof at PDX required the design team to push boundaries in design and construction practices. Beyond using the traditional 3D Building Information Modeling (BIM) software to aid design team collaboration, the team developed a fabrication level digital twin to assist the design, fabrication, and installation process.
While the design models began in Rhino and Revit, mass timber fabricator Timberlab and digital fabricator CadMakers spent more than 10,000 hours painstakingly detailing the mass timber model in 3DExperience/CATIA software to create the fabrication package and installation guides for the project.
This innovative digital twin approach supported the successful execution of this complex mass timber roof in many ways. It ensured the curves in the roof’s master surface aligned with the shape of the glulam beams and identified constructability issues between the wood beams and steel system. CadMakers was able to create installation simulations for the lattice and identify potential issues—even situations where screws would need to be installed at an angle with limited clearance for tools. It also helped the team address challenges that might arise during the installation of the complex skylights.
“Computer numeric control (CNC) saws and routers were used to cut and shape full-scale mockups and final building components like the 850,000 board feet of Mass Ply Panel used for PDX’s new roof deck and the 600,000 board feet of 3 × 6 wood lumber, or lattice, that finishes the interior of the roof,” explains Schoewe.
REVIT BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM) SOFTWARE
Model shapes, structures, and systems with 3D parametric accuracy, streamline project management, and unite multidisciplinary project teams for greater collaboration and efficiency. Autodesk autodesk.com
CATIA
Increasingly complex construction projects require that all teams rely on CATIA as a common language to facilitate collaboration and reduce rework between phases. Maximize construction sustainability and project profitability.
Dassault Systemes 3ds.com
SIDEBAR: NEW TERM: T3
As the mass timber industry evolves, so does the terminology. The term T3 stands for Timber, Transit & Technology and it describes the use of mass timber in office building design. First coined by the global real estate investment house Hines, T3 structures are thought to push boundaries for sustainable design, efficiency, and profitability.
New-Level Aesthetics in T3 Office Building in Denver
Joining Hines’ growing portfolio of T3 projects, Denver’s 235,000-sq.-ft., six-story T3 RiNo office complex has been billed as one of the most environmentally friendly and sustainable developments in the Mile High City.
Like other mass timber office buildings, especially T3 projects, the selection of wood for T3 RiNo’s columns, beams and floor decks aims to help differentiate the building from other workplace offerings in the market.
Pickard Chilton and DLR Group’s design honors Denver’s historic brick and timber buildings, and vibrant art district with its exposed wood, outdoor terraces and floor-to-ceiling glass delivering panoramic views of the Denver skyline and Rocky Mountains.
Black spruce glulam columns and beams, and cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels, comprise the close to 5,200 cubic meters of heavy timber estimated to sequester and offset approximately 6,387 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
To configure the structural grid and timber dimensions, the architects worked closely with structural engineer Magnusson Klemencic Associates and wood fabricator Nordic Structures. This enabled the design to maximize material efficiency while providing optimal flexibility. 34
“Inspired by detailing from Kiyomizu-Dera temple in Kyoto, metal coping was introduced to the exterior mass timber beams to shed water from the structural elements.”
Kiyomizu-Dera temple, Kyoto, Japan
Photos courtesy of Eric Laignel
Exposed wood, outdoor terraces and floor-to-ceiling glass all contribute to T3 RiNo being one of the most desirable office properties in Denver.
Through this process, “we carved the form to break down the overall building scale and provide opportunities for outdoor terraces on every floor,” explains Michael Hensley, principal, Pickard Chilton, New Haven, Conn.
The architects took a minimalist approach with the detailing to best showcase the wood’s materiality while still presenting a crafted appearance with the metal connections.
“Inspired by detailing from Kiyomizu-Dera temple in Kyoto, Japan metal coping was introduced to the exterior mass timber beams to shed water from the structural elements,” says Hensley.
BEAMS AND COLUMNS MASS TIMBER
The beams and columns for T3 Rino are Nordic Lam glue-laminated timber. Small wood laminations are bonded together with structural adhesives to produce the appearance of industrial-grade wood. Nordic mass timber is available in special shapes and sizes up to 7 in. wide, 24 in. deep, and 48 ft. long.
STRUCTURAL DECKS MASS TIMBER
The structural decks are made from Nordic X-Lam cross-laminated timber (CLT). The product is comprised of at least three orthogonal layers of graded sawn lumber. The pieces are laminated with structural adhesive glue. The wood’s bidirectional composition makes it suitable for light framing to provide lateral stability, thereby supporting taller building heights.
Exposed wood beams and ceilings, industrial-style pendants and black metal railings create the aesthetic known of Hines’ T3 mass timber buildings.
Mass timber construction offers incredible authenticity, conveyed through its exposed framing and sustainable attributes.
HVAC AIR HANDLING UNIT
Temtrol is an HVAC air handling unit from Nortek featuring Fanwell technology. The system delivers an even piston of air to enhance heat transfer and more evenly filter loading. Variable airflow controls the operation of individual fan cubes based on need. The product’s active noise control provides up to a 22 cN reduction in sound created by the blade pass frequency.
Nortek Air Solutions nortekair.com
LIGHTING
The elongated Calumn Pendant by Sean Lavin is framed by a blends metal and a soft glow. At 26-in. high and 7-in. wide, the pendant works well as both a single fixture or in multiples as pictured here at the T3 RiNo lobby.
Visual Comfort, Calumn Pendant by Sean Lavin visualcomfort.com
Generally, structural wood elements have larger dimensions than steel, so the team closely coordinated their designs on BIM to optimize MEP system placement while exposing as much of the wood deck as possible.
“We integrated multiple mechanical and electrical rooms on each floor instead of centralized rooms to avoid large duct sizes and minimize cable routing across the extended floor plans,” relates Hensley. “We were also able to integrate a multi-zone HVAC system that avoids significant mechanical elements.”
T3 RiNo offers 235,000 sq. ft. of office space with 12-ft. ceilings, 10-ft. floor-to-ceiling glass, and ground level retail space. There is also 5,000 square feet of hospitality-grade amenities in common areas, a conferencing center, fitness center and private outdoor terraces on each floor. The project is targeting LEED Gold and WELL certification.
Photos courtesy of Eric Laignel
BLACK EXTERIOR RAIN SCREEN
AXIOM panels are fabricated from tension leveled, architectural grade aluminum plate, complete with shop installed stiffening ribs (if required). Panel corners are welded on 3mm panels to provide a seamless finish.
AXIOM is a solid metal plate wall system uniquely designed and tested as a pressure equalized rainscreen. The system meets all of the requirements of the latest edition of the National Building Code for non-combustible construction and is considered a true dry-joint “Rainscreen Principle” system. This system should be considered when codes prevent the use of composite panel.
The mass timber structure and blackened steel exterior matches the post-industrial neighborhood’s aesthetic.
Building Bigger at T3 Sterling Road
DLR Group’s largest and tallest T3 project to date is T3 Sterling Road. The 6-story and 8-story buildings contain 300,000 sq. ft. of space for offices, wellness-focused amenities, ground floor retail and restaurants, shared rooftop patios and social workspaces.
The mass timber structure and blackened steel exterior matches the post-industrial neighborhood’s aesthetic. “The façade is a lightweight metal panel system, chosen to minimize the burden on the perimeter wood structure. We kept the window heads up high and optimized the building for daylight,” says Stephen Cavanaugh, aia, leed ap, principal and design leader, DLR Group, Chicago. “The structural system is mass timber, but the lateral bracing is steel angles, chosen to maximize sight lines at the perimeter.”
For this T3 project, a cost comparison led the team to select Dowel Laminated Timber (DLT) floors, supported by glulam post and beam framing. DLT panels are created by drilling
At T3 Sterling, DLT is made of 3-ft.wide boards with a kerf on the corner, giving it an industrial look.
holes into softwood lumber with a moisture content of about 15%. Hardwood dowels are inserted into the holes. They absorb moisture from the surrounding wood causing them to expand, thereby locking the assembly together.
For Sterling Road, the architects tested a number of layouts, including the more commonly used 2 × 8. However, for this project it was determined that a 3-ft. × 8-ft. DLT for the floor slabs would best optimize the design.
“The column-to-beam connections deliberately conceal the connection plates within the mass timber char layer,” explains Cavanaugh. “That was part of the strategy to make the building as fire safe as possible and maintain the integrity of the frame in the event of fire.” Both the DLT and glulam panels achieved a two-hour fire rating.
T3 Sterling Road’s 6-story and 8-story creative office space matches Toronto’s Junction Triangle’s postindustrial neighborhood’s aesthetic with its mass timber structure and blackened steel exterior.
Photos courtesy of James Brittain
Toronto’s T3 Sterling Road features exposed mass timber glulam columns and beams, dowel laminated timber flooring and exposed concrete floors.
DOWEL LAMINATED TIMBER
Connected without nails or metal fasteners, DowelLam Dowel Laminated Timber (DLT) from StructureCraft features wood fibers in the same direction of the primary span thereby enabling greater structural efficiency for one-way spans as compared to CLT. The product is less expensive to fabricate and supports single spans of up to 60 ft. for roofs and 32 ft. for floors. For T3 Sterling, DLR Group specified the product for the structural deck.
Structurecraft structurecraft.com
The team also worked closely with the code officials to receive permission for the 8-story building to exceed the local code limit for mass timber structures of six stories. “Through Ontario’s alternative compliance path, we were able to leverage research data to illustrate fire safety and advance the industry by creating a built example of a safe mass timber building that is taller than allowed by code.,” he relates. “Projects like this help code officials advance the timber code to allow more use of this renewable, carbonsequestering product.”
As for the interiors, the industrial aesthetic is carried through with the lighting fixtures, raw steel cladding, exposed concrete floors, and floor-toceiling warehouse-style windows. The interior design also celebrates local artisans with colorful murals in the elevator lobbies, rooftop and on exterior signage.
Like T3 RiNo, the project is targeting LEED Gold and WELL building certification.
MASS TIMBER
INTERIOR METAL PANELS
Presenting the beauty of corrugated metal without the unsightly appearance of a fastener, the CorraLok metal panel is designed with a concealed fastener created with a consecutive panel design. The product’s Wind-Lok Interlock also protects the wall from rain and wind making it suitable for both outdoor and indoor applications.
LIGHTING
Available in a number of finishes and colors, the Lumencore Cylinder Small Surface Mount is a high-performance LED luminaire delivering up to 3,000 lumens from its 102 mm diameter. Designers can choose from a variety of accessories, beam angles, trims and optics which can easily be swapped and changed in the field.
Lumenpulse lumenpulse.com
Photos courtesy of James Brittain
NEW TAKE ON A CHAIR
Lending comfort and a small footprint, the Monolit chair by Cecilie Manz is designed as a rounded chair and rounded base, presenting an hourglass style. Made from upholstered plywood shells, Manz’s team did quite a bit of test fitting to strike the right balance of comfort and aesthetics. The final design incorporates a small cut-out on the side at the front to enable occupant movement.
Fritz Hansen Monolit chair fritzhansen.com
CLAMP AWNING
A clamp awning designed for city balconies, the markilux MX-900 is designed with two clamp-in posts for securely fixing the awning between the balcony floor and ceiling. Easy to install, the technology incorporates advanced folding arm mechanics with a bionic tendon. This enables the awning to extend up to 400 cm in width and 200 cm in drop, thereby offering sun protection at various angles.
markilux MX-900 markilux.com
SURFACE TECHNOLOGY
Further developing its Hybriq+ technology for mineral surfaces, Cosentino is now offering Silestone XM. Manufactured through a sustainable process with 100% renewable energy and 99% recycled water, crystalline silica content is reduced to just 10% with the introduction of new premium materials and a minimum of 20% recycled raw materials.
Cosentino Silestone XM cosentino.com
RICE HULLS TO SIDING
Combining the resiliency and durability of composites with the beauty of wood, ACRE is an eco-friendly material made from upcycled rice hulls. Mimicking the look of tropical woods, the material is resistant to water, weather and splinters, it is stainable and can be used in a variety of applications including siding, fencing and decking. One product in the collection, the bead/V-groove siding, features a classic beaded profile on one side and a sleek V-groove on the other.
SEA GLASS
Capturing the beauty and serenity of the ocean, Benheim’s new Seaglas collection encapsulates the hues of the sea within sheets of glass. Backlit with Bendheim’s TurnKey Fusion light mounting system, the blues and greens of the glass are diffused as the light passes through and illuminates the glass. Available in standard and customized sizes, the glass can be tempered, or tempered and laminated.
IN CONTROL
The multi-functional, IP-based access control technology DoorBird can be programmed in a wide range of applications including back and side doors, garages, storage and packing rooms and elevators. The compact unit can easily be mounted on the door frame with a keypad or fingerprint reader. Access is controlled via fingerprint or a multi-frequency RFID reader. An intelligent locking mechanism temporarily locks the system after multiple unauthorized attempts.
DoorBird doorbird.com
Openings
Up To
40% Larger
with Aluflam true aluminum framing combined with CONTRAFLAM® One.
Aluflam true aluminum framing combined with CONTRAFLAM® One interlayer glass technology, allows architects to incorporate much larger openings. Think bigger windows and brighter, more inviting interiors while maintaining fire-rated safety for up to 120 minutes. Fire-Rated
A Famous Glass Cage in a Custom Curtainwall
Provencher_Roy delivers unprecedented access and unobstructed views of the Montreal cityscape, the St. Lawrence River, and Mount Royal with their newly finished landmark structure.
Breathing new life into an outdated port installation, architectural firm Provencher_ Roy was challenged to create a structure that would pay homage to the history of the site, while honoring the beauty and bustle found in Montreal today.
Their solution was a stunning all-glass observation tower with cantilevered glass cubes. Described by several in the media as “a Tetris puzzle piece,” the form is striking and the functionality impressive and innovation forward.
The glass cage, floating 180 feet above the ground, offers all brave enough to step inside a platform with clear views of the surrounding vistas and the ground below. Where the design of “conventional” walkable glass projects relies on metal beams or structure to bear the load, the design team created glass assemblies strong enough to safely handle the weight.
v Port of Montreal Tower
Port of Montreal Tower showcases a complex, custom curtainwall by Alumicor, specified for high quality and high performance.
The observation deck of the cantilevered volume offers 360-degree views of the city and the St. Lawrence river.
According to Alumicor, the Alumicor ThermaWall 2600 curtainwall was customized to meet the Tower’s performance and installation requirements. As André Bélanger, vice president of sales in Quebec for Apogee Enterprises’ Architectural Framing Systems segment and Alumicor products, explained, “The Tower podium is a four-sided structural silicone glazed (SSG) system and all the floors are capped. We developed a custom T-shaped cap, corner mullion and thermal break to adapt to the corner design concept.”
The standard Alumicor ThermaWall 2600 curtainwall offers thermally broken, aluminum framing to meet challenging climates. The polyamide thermal break and proprietary gasket provide improved U-values contributing to the building’s energy efficiency and condensation resistance, as well as the comfort and well-being of the Tower’s visitors.
Vitreco-Flynn installed Alumicor ThermaWall 2600 system on the Tower’s walls and on the protruding “cage” view box with its glass floor and ceiling. The curtainwall’s aluminum framing was finished by Linetec in a clear anodize, meeting the stringent guidelines and rigorous performance standards of AAMA 611, Class I specification. The metallic appearance emphasizes a modern aesthetic with an industrial heritage.
“It is a breathtaking tower,” added Bélanger. “Not only for the impressive curtainwall structure, but also for the interior design from the ground floor to the top. It is just remarkable. This was a very complex project. I am very proud that Alumicor has its signature on it.
Curtainwall
This thermally broken, field-glazed, shear block curtainwall is ideal for low-tomid-rise commercial buildings requiring high performance façade solutions.
The coating is extremely durable and the hardness of the surface is comparable to a sapphire—the second hardest substance on earth. Anodized aluminum resists corrosion, humidity and warping.
Linetec linetec.com
Glass
Triple silver solar control glass delivers outstanding selectivity superior to 2. This glass provides the highest ratio of natural light going through and solar heat protection while offering extremely neutral aesthetics.
This laminated safety glazing outperforms other current technologies in laminated glass by offering five times the tear strength and 100 times the rigidity of a conventional PVB interlayer.
Kuraray, SentryGlas Interlayer kuraray.us.com
Extra Clear Float Glass
This low-iron extra clear float glass has a very high light transmission. It is practically colorless, and the green cast inherent to other glasses is not present. It is ideal for use where glass edges are visible or where a neutral color is desired.
Explore the products and methodologies used to create high-performance green roofs in Washington, D.C.
By Carlisle SynTec
Effectively managing stormwater runoff can be difficult and challenging for urban planners and developers alike. In Washington, D.C., where the city is susceptible to stormwater runoff and sewer overflow events, managing stormwater runoff is a critical component for protecting public health, the environment, and the city’s infrastructure.
So, it may be no surprise then that in the District of Columbia, where the Dept. of Energy & Environment is the authority for overseeing stormwater management, there are strict construction requirements for on-site stormwater retention, with the overall goal of reducing the burden on the city sewer system to prevent pollution from reaching natural water bodies.
The District’s Stormwater Management Regulations stipulate that sites “achieve retention of the rainfall from a 1.2-in. rainfall event, which is the 90th percentile rainfall event for the District of Columbia, measured for a 24-hour rainfall event with a 72-hour antecedent dry period.”
When it came to specifying the new roofs at the former Walter Reed Medical Center site in Northwest
Washington, managing stormwater collection and runoff was a high priority.
The Parks at Walter Reed is a 66-acre land development of the historic Walter Reed Army Medical Center site that when fully developed will contain 3.1 million square feet of new construction and adaptive reuse of historic structures.
Two of the new buildings—named The Hartley and Clover at the Parks—are both six-story mixed use facilities. Both are stick built over concrete podiums, and both have wood roof decks. According to Washington’s strict stormwater management system, each had to be designed to treat and manage stormwater and to meet a specific green area ratio on site. The facilities were designed and specified by the Washington office of the global architectural firm Torti Gallas + Partners, and managed by Julian Goldman, Associate Principal and Scott Welch, Senior Principal.
“This is a significant redevelopment project, involving mixed use residential and retail facilities,” said Goldman. “The Hartley has a Whole Foods store, fitness center, and pet grooming at the street level
plus 323 apartments, from studios to threebedroom units, above.
Walter Reed Medical Center, Washington, D.C..
PRODUCTS:
Carlisle Sure-Weld® TPO, adhered with CAVGRIP® III in a roof garden application carlislesyntec.com
SPECS
PROJECT
The building features two interior courtyards—one with a pool and amenity space, and the other with a Zen garden. Clover at the Parks is a 60-unit co-living community comprised of 248 individually rentable bedrooms in two-five-unit configurations. The facility also includes 24,000 square feet of streetlevel retail space, a lounge, library, fitness center, conference room, game room, elevated courtyard areas, as well as a sixth-floor observation deck.”
The LEED Gold facilities were built by CBG Building Company. Elite Sheet Metal Works, marketed under the name, Roofing by Elite, of Beltsville, Maryland, was hired to install the green roofs on the two mixed use facilities. In total, the two facilities include 84,200 sq. ft. of roofing, and approximately 51,400 sq. ft. of vegetative green roofing, which accounted for approximately 61% of the total roof area.
“We specialize in installing green roofs,” said Joe Gretchen, an owner and principal with Roofing by Elite (Elite). “We’ve installed many green roofs over
the years, and the Parks was an exceptional project for us.”
The Roofing Assembly
From the plywood deck up, the roofing assembly consists of Carlisle’s self-adhered VapAir Seal 725TR Air & Vapor Barrier/Temporary Roof, a 40-mil membrane composed of 35-mils of self-adhering rubberized asphalt laminated to a 5-mil woven polypropylene film.
“The vapor barrier also acts as a temporary roof,” said Gretchen, “so once that was fully down, the facility was essentially dried-in.”
With the vapor barrier down, the Elite crew loose-laid two layers of 2.6-in. Carlisle polyisocyanurate insulation, with staggered joints to reduce thermal bridging. The insulation was topped and protected by a layer of 4 × 8-ft. sheets of 1/2-in. SECUROCK Gypsum-Fiber Roof Board to provide a flat and firm substrate for the roof garden assembly.
Once the insulation and cover board were in place, Elite installed Carlisle’s 80-mil white Sure-Weld EXTRA TPO membrane. Sure-Weld TPO membranes are made with advanced polymerization technology that combines the flexibility of ethylene-propylene (EP) rubber with the heat weldability of
polypropylene. Additionally, Sure-Weld TPO membranes feature OctaGuard XT, an industryleading, state-of-the-art weathering package for long term performance.
Elite fully adhered the membrane with Carlisle’s CAV-GRIP III Adhesive/Primer, a single-component, low-VOC (<250 g/L), spray-applied aerosol contact adhesive and primer. “We like the simplicity of the CAV-GRIP product. We use the larger, refillable canisters, and it’s quick to apply and flash-off,” said Gretchen, “so we can be very productive with it.”
Once the membrane was down, Elite stripped in the seams where the overburden was to be installed with cover strip.
“It’s a bit of extra time and labor, but for us it’s standard practice on all green roofs, and Carlisle also requires it as added protection,” said Gretchen.
Both rooftops include 30-in.-tall parapet walls around the perimeter. To terminate the membrane, the crew from Elite mechanically fastened the TPO at the base of the parapet, then welded another section of membrane at the base which was secured up and over the top using the CAV-GRIP III Adhesive.
A shop-fabricated coping cap made from Carlisle’s flat metal sheets was installed on top of the parapet wall to finish the termination. A three-foot walkway around the perimeter and to the mechanicals allows for periodic roof inspections, as well as maintenance access to the mechanical equipment on the roof.
Carlisle Roof Garden Sections
The first step for installing the roof garden was to map out the specific areas on each roof section that would eventually house the growth media. For this, the Elite crew snapped lines and installed Carlisle’s Roof Garden Aluminum Edge, which they secured directly to the TPO membrane using Carlisle’s membrane primer and three-inch-wide SecurTAPE.
“Laying out each area and installing the aluminum edge was somewhat time consuming, because we had to be very precise with the measurements,” said Gretchen. “Plus, we had to build a separate area at the base of the penthouse for a deeper layer of growth media for a green screen.”
On the Hartley, there’s a penthouse mechanical screen enclosure that stands about 7-ft. tall in the center of the roof. To increase the green area ratio on the roof, the architect designed a ‘green screen’ in front of the structure which would eventually hold climbing vines to hide the structure. In addition, there were some mechanical and vent units in each green area on 1-ft.-tall curbs that had to be carefully flashed before they could install the growth media.
Once the green areas were mapped out and the aluminum edging was in place, Elite loose-laid Carlisle’s 200V Protection Fabric in each area. The non-woven polyproplylene fabric, which is designed to resist soil, chemicals, mildew, acids, and alkalis, provides protection to the TPO membrane below and serves as a drainage filter.
The next step was loose-laying Carlisle MiraDRAIN 9800, a non-woven filter fabric bonded to a molded polypropylene core, that offers superior filtration
and prevents small particles from clogging drainage channels in the aluminum edging.
For projects requiring stringent stormwater management, a mineral wool blanket is integrated into the assembly to optimize water retention. For this project, Elite installed Carlisle’s Roof Garden Hydro-blanket D13, a 1-in.-thick mineral wool blanket that provides superior water retention and filtration and helps promote root growth and healthy vegetation.
“We installed two layers of 1-in.-thick mineral wool insulation on top of the MiraDRAIN,” said Gretchen. “Mineral wool is great for reducing stormwater runoff and ideal for green roof applications like this one.”
Four inches of Carlisle Growth Media was then installed over the top. For that the crew from Elite used an outside service to have the growth media blown onto the roof and into each garden area. Then the crew carefully raked the media to the correct depth and compacted the media with a 250-lb. roller.
The last step was to install Carlisle Vegetated Sedum Mats, which are pre-grown with 17 different varieties of sedums for applications in most climate zones.
“The mats are about 3-ft.-wide × 6.5-ft.-long,” said Gretchen. “We first wet down the growth media and then rolled out the mats to fit within the garden areas. The nice thing with the mats is you get instant vegetative coverage, so the roof looks great from the start.”
To keep the roof garden green and growing, the Hartley has a 90,000-gallon cistern in the basement collecting water runoff from the building. That water is pumped back to the roof to a pop-up sprinkler system installed in the garden areas for watering. This irrigation system can be activated for sedum maintenance as needed, but also automatically runs after a rain event to contribute to required stormwater treatment capacity for the site.
“Overall, the project went very well. We had a great crew on the project, and we worked really well with the general contractor, and with Carlisle to get all of the roofing and green roof materials to the project on time,” said Gretchen.
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OFFICE-TO-APARTMENT CONVERSION
A team led by Helix helped preserve the original marble slabs and elevator corridor. The original elevator doors were restored..
2025 Trends Affecting the Practice of Interior Design
IIDA International Board President and Helix Architecture + Design President, Erika Moody, fiida, is heading up a variety of educational and leadership initiatives.
From serving as a principal at an international firm to starting her own design studio to merging with Helix Architecture + Design and taking the reigns there as President, Erika Moody, fiida, has had quite the distinguished career. For those in the know, it came as no surprise when IIDA elevated Moody to 2024-2025 International Board President from VicePresident this past June. An IIDA member since 2011, Moody was 2014-2015 President of the organization’s Mid-America Chapter and was a past member of IIDA’s international Strategic Advisory Council and Catalyst Grant Evaluation Committee prior to becoming board Vice-President in 2019.
Moody’s leadership goals for IIDA include proactively engaging the next generation and providing more learning opportunities for students and designers. As an example, she cites IIDA’s Design Your World program, which exposes high school students to the possibilities of a career in design. Another highpriority IIDA initiative advanced by Moody is the new Certified Design Futurist certification program, a collaboration with the Future Today Institute to create a curriculum.
Moody is also observing a changing landscape in how various American states look at interior design
and licensure. Currently, less than one-fourth of the states offer NCIDQ-licensed interior designers “sign and seal” entitlement privileges. Interior designers must either employ a licensed architect or hire one to stamp their plans. Nearly half of the states that don’t offer interior designers sign/seal power have pending legislation that addresses this disparity with architects, a cause Moody and IIDA are championing.
This trend lines up well with Helix’s approach to placing architects and interior designers on equal footing. At Moody’s Kansas City-based firm, architects and interior designers are paid the same, and the same path to licensure is expected of both.
This integrated approach, with architects and interior designers working hand in hand on projects, is a great benefit for Helix’s clients, asserts Moody. Combining designers’ expertise in materials and their ability to home in on the look and feel of a space, and blending this with architects’ larger-scale design approach, delivers the best of both worlds.
Office
to
Multi-Family Conversions
Moody’s team enjoys a niche with adaptive reuse and historic preservation projects. In particular, the
firm has expertise in office-to-multifamily conversions. Because 1980s office buildings tend to have large floorplates, and therefore greater distances from windows, they’re often not great candidates for these conversions. On the other hand, historic office buildings, with their smaller configurations, can be a good fit.
When considering such a conversion, Moody explains that project teams evaluate what’s involved in installing individual plumbing and HVAC units and creating a floor plan where all residential units can have access to daylighting.
A great example of preserving a piece of Kansas City history and reaping the advantages of adaptive reuse is the recently transformed century-old office building wrapping the historic Midland Theatre into Midland Lofts. Upon opening its doors in 1927, the Midland Theatre became the third-largest theatre in the U.S., and the first to have a cantilevered loge, a mezzanine level of seats, and a complete HVAC system. The Helix team preserved the marble slabs in the elevator corridor, even restoring the original elevator doors.
—Barbara Horwitz-Bennett, contributing writer
Erika Moody, fiida, President of Kansas Citybased Helix Architecture + Design, is the current IIDA International President.
