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2019 Metal Architecture Design Award: Renovations and Retrofits

For showcasing how metal panels can be leveraged in a transformative retrofit project, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 134 headquarters building in Chicago won the 2019 Metal Architecture Design Award for renovations and retrofits. Metal wall panels were used in the adaptive reuse project to give the building a new identity, express its use and the importance of some spaces. The retrofit completely transformed a 1960s elementary school building into a labor organization’s modern headquarters, which includes a lobby, large meeting hall, offices, meeting rooms, lounges and gymnasium community center.


Manufacturing Site Renovated Into State-of-the-Art Educational Facility Reflects School’s Identity With ALUCOBOND ACM Custom Colors

South Texas College (STC) officially opened its Technology Campus expansion in McAllen, Texas, in January 2018 with a unique ribbon-cutting ceremony in which college officials wielded a blow torch to cut a steel ribbon created by welding students.

Elementary School Renovated For Union Headquarters Features Sleek, Light-Filled Design Clad In ALUCOBOND PLUS ACM

Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 134 in Chicago celebrated the grand opening of their new headquarters and union hall in May 2018 – a renovation project that has been described in glowing terms that are reflective not only of the building’s light-filled architectural design but of its significant impact on the surrounding Bronzeville neighborhood revitalization.

North Bergen, N.J., Housing Authority’s Hi-Rise Retrofit Shines With ALUCOBOND Spectra Colors

Project Name: Paul F. Cullum Tower
Project Location: North Bergen, New Jersey
Alucobond Materials: 117,000 sq.ft. 4mm
Eight Alucobond PLUS Spectra Colors
Platinum Mica Cool
Year of Installation: 2013
Architect: Lothrop Associates LLP, White Plains, N.Y.
Fabricator: Fairfield Metal, LLC, Fairfield, N.J.
General Contractor/Installer: Arco Construction, Inc., West Caldwell, N.J.
Images: Daniel Lunghi

The North Bergen, N.J., Housing Authority’s Paul F. Cullum Tower was built in 1972 to provide homes for low-income senior citizens and disabled individuals. While the 15-floor 200,000 square-foot tower still met its primary goal to provide 308 affordable apartments, its exterior façade constructed with a blue-and-white aluminum curtain-wall system set over reinforced concrete walls with exposed gray concrete columns had faded and looked utilitarian at best.

ALUCOBOND Helps McAllen, Texas, Public Library Shed ‘Big Box’ Image In Adaptive Reuse of Walmart Store

Project Name: McAllen, Texas, Public Library
Project Location: McAllen, Texas
Alucobond Materials: 15,000 sq. ft.
6mm Steel City Silver Mica
Year of Installation: 2011
Architect: Boultinghouse Simpson Gates Architects – McAllen, Texas
Fabricator/Installer: Bowman Distributing Co.
San Benito, Texas
General Contractor: Barcom Construction, Inc.
Corpus Christi, Texas
Images: John Gates, AIA, Bob Simpson, AIA, Nicole Gates

The new McAllen, Texas, Public Library – which opened on the site of a vacant Walmart in December 2011 – was envisioned by city officials from the start of architectural bidding to include environmentally friendly features. But, from the perspective of Boultinghouse Simpson Gates Architects in McAllen, no design could be more environmentally conscious than adaptively reusing the former “big box” retail store, saving approximately 130,000 square feet of building demolition debris from being sent to the local landfill.

NERCC, the Boston Carpenters Training Center and the Union’s Vision Center

Project Name: Boston Carpenters Training Center
Project Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Alucobond Materials: 10,500 sq ft 4mm Custom Copper Metallic
10,500 sq ft 4mm Carpenters Mica
22,000 sq ft 4mm Custom Pewter Creek
Year of Installation: 2010
Architect: ADD INC, Boston
Fabricator/Installer: Sunrise Erectors, Inc.
General Contractor: Suffolk Construction Co., Inc.
Images: Robert Umenhofer

The New England Council of Carpenters (NERCC) has represented the interests of its members for more than 130 years.  While a long-standing regional presence, this traditional organization based in Boston also embraces modern goals for its membership of 22,000 carpenters in six New England states.  So, when the new home of NERCC and the Boston Carpenters Training Center was designed, it was important to organization leaders that it be comprised of both traditional and modern architectural influences.