{"id":1901,"date":"2015-03-03T18:05:04","date_gmt":"2015-03-03T18:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/?p=1901"},"modified":"2025-09-05T15:05:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T15:05:12","slug":"headquarters-clad-in-alucobond-natural-reflects-product-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/headquarters-clad-in-alucobond-natural-reflects-product-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Headquarters Clad In ALUCOBOND NaturAL Reflects Product Development"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Toro<\/a>
\nPhoto by Bill Baxley, AIA<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Project Name:<\/th>\nToro Headquarters<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Project Location:<\/th>\nBloomington, Minnesota<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ALUCOBOND\u00ae Materials:<\/th>\nALUCOBOND\u00ae NaturAL Rusted Metal and NaturAL Brushed Graphite<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Architect:<\/th>\nLeo A Daly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fabricator:<\/th>\nMetal Design Systems, Inc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
General Contractor:<\/th>\nRyan Companies Us, Inc.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cladding Contractor:<\/th>\nInterClad of Egan Co.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Photography:<\/th>\nMike Herbst courtesy of EBP, LLC and Bill Baxley, AIA<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Toro Company celebrated its 100th anniversary July 10, 2014, at its world headquarters\u2019 campus in Bloomington, Minn., shortly after unveiling a new three-story 75,000-square foot building designed to provide expanded product development and testing areas as well as office, training and conference spaces.<\/p>\n

\"Toro<\/a>
\nPhoto by Bill Baxley, AIA<\/p>\n

Architectural design of the new $25-million multi-purpose building was influenced by the engineering design of Toro\u2019s well-known brands of lawn care, golf course, landscape, irrigation, and construction equipment. Many of Toro\u2019s product offerings feature dark machine parts covered by protective shells in the signature Toro red color.<\/p>\n

To help capture this product design architecturally, two colors of ALUCOBOND\u00ae naturAL aluminum composite material were selected as building cladding, including: 24,000 square feet of 4mm ALUCOBOND\u00ae naturAL in the Rusted Metal color and 11,000 square feet of 4mm ALUCOBOND\u00ae naturAL in the Brushed Graphite color.<\/p>\n

\"Toro<\/a>
\nPhoto by Mike Herbst courtesy of EBP, LLC<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ALUCOBOND\u00ae forms a big shell over the building with the light color over the dark color,\u201d said Bill Baxley, AIA, vice president, director of design, Leo A Daly<\/a>, in Minneapolis. \u201cThe design team performed an exhaustive comparison of cladding materials. The ALUCOBOND\u00ae met both our performance and aesthetic requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ALUCOBOND\u00ae naturAL in the Rusted Metal color provided Toro with the opportunity to incorporate the look of weathering steel in the building design without incurring the costs of steel cladding, according to Baxley.<\/p>\n

\"Toro<\/a>
\nPhoto by Bill Baxley, AIA<\/p>\n

\u201cAll clients have budgets that are carefully considered when selecting a palette of materials,\u201d said Baxley. \u201cToro made a sound, long-lasting investment in the Alucobond. It\u2019s a lightweight high-performance material that cuts down on steel costs. The ALUCOBOND\u00ae has its own wonderful aesthetic, and it doesn\u2019t drip or rust. It\u2019s also much lighter weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

ALUCOBOND\u00ae provides extraordinary flatness and rigidity, excellent formability, low weight and outstanding weather resistance. ALUCOBOND\u00ae naturAL panels feature finely textured aluminum surfaces that amplify the natural beauty and character of aluminum. The Brushed Graphite panels feature an FEVE clear coat, while the Rusted Metal panels \u2013 part of the new ALUCOBOND\u00ae naturAL Designer Series \u2013 feature a PVDF finish with painted non-repeating patterns that replicate the look of natural metals.<\/p>\n

\"Toro<\/a>
\nPhoto by Mike Herbst courtesy of EBP, LLC<\/p>\n

The Toro Company first opened a research and development facility in Bloomington in 1952 and moved its corporate headquarters to the site in 1962. This new building was not part of Toro\u2019s original design specifications that called for expansion of the site\u2019s existing research and development facility. But, after reviewing Toro\u2019s growing product line, it was determined that a simple expansion of the existing facility would not meet the company\u2019s needs for additional space, according to Baxley.<\/p>\n

The new building\u2019s design connects Toro products to campus landscapes, which serve as both product testing and demonstration grounds. The building is designed with glass-filled L-shaped sheds\/galleries that are connected with moveable window-wall sections for indoor\/outdoor access by both people and machines. The building also features green roof areas that demonstrate Toro irrigation products.<\/p>\n

\"Toro<\/a>
\nPhoto by Mike Herbst courtesy of EBP, LLC<\/p>\n

\u201cThe color selection for this building played a huge role in its design,\u201d said Baxley. \u201cAlucobond is a product that we know and trust. It was installed in a rainscreen application and configured in a shroud with cantilevers on the north and south sides of the building. It appears to almost be a singular piece of material.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan Companies US, Inc.<\/a>, of Minneapolis, which served as general contractor for the project, turned to Plymouth, Minn.-based InterClad, a specialty cladding contractor offering of Egan Co., to serve in a design-build role. Metal Design Systems, Inc., of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, worked with InterClad to fabricate the ALUCOBOND\u00ae naturAL material, which was sold by EBP, LLC, of Excelsior, Minn. The ALUCOBOND\u00ae was installed by InterClad with Metal Design Systems\u2019 Series 20 Spline Reveal Drained and Back Ventilated Rainscreen System.<\/p>\n

Metal Design Systems<\/a> fabricated approximately 1,500 ALUCOBOND\u00ae panels \u2013 most measuring 4-feet by 14-feet \u2013 to meet an aggressive construction deadline set just prior to Toro\u2019s centennial celebration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had three months from the start of panel fabrication to the end of the project,\u201d said Jeff Wray, project manager, Metal Design Systems. \u201cThis project presented a lot of challenging architectural details, including wing walls where the Rusted Metal panels overhang glass and Brushed Graphite panels. InterClad provided detailed dimensions \u2013 both as wall areas became ready for cladding and per our request \u2013 to ensure a perfect fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metal Design Systems worked with 3A Composites to meet material fabrication deadlines, according to Chad Showalter, sales manager, Metal Design Systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were under dramatic pressure to fabricate the necessary materials to get the installation completed on time,\u201d said Showalter. \u201cWe worked with 3A Composites to speed delivery of the ALUCOBOND\u00ae materials to our facility and then immediately sent them to our router tables. We hit our schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Toro<\/a>
\nPhoto by Bill Baxley, AIA<\/p>\n

\u201cMetal Design Systems was able to reduce panel lead times by adding a second routing crew to their production line and immediately shipping materials to the site as soon as they were completed; and, InterClad was able to reduce the overall calendar days by working overtime,\u201d said Mark Meyer, project manager, InterClad. \u201cThe Metal Design Systems Series 20 with the ALUCOBOND\u00ae panels was a nice fit for the project. As a progressively installed open-joint rainscreen system, it could be installed immediately following the weather-barrier installation. It\u2019s a really good wall system. \u2026This building just shines. It\u2019s a gorgeous facility.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Toro<\/a>
\nPhoto by Mike Herbst courtesy of EBP, LLC<\/p>\n

Showalter said that he often references the Toro project when promoting ALUCOBOND\u00ae and Metal Design Systems Series 20. \u201cWe\u2019ve heard great things about this job \u2013 everything from the material colors to the fabrication and installation and just how good this project looks,\u201d said Showalter.<\/p>\n

This new building has changed the face of Toro\u2019s headquarters, according to Baxley, who said both the client and design team are \u201cimpressed\u201d with its appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cToro previously maintained a very low profile on the site,\u201d said Baxley. \u201cThe original building was spread out and low. With this new building, you now notice Toro. It has a tight, engineered, refined aesthetic. Now, it\u2019s a cohesive corporate campus.”<\/p>\n

Leo A Daly received a 2014 Honor Award for The Toro Company\u2019s corporate headquarters\u2019 building design from AIA Minnesota, a society of the American Institute of Architects.<\/p>\n

Photos by Bill Baxley, AIA and Mike Herbst courtesy of EBP, LLC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo by Bill Baxley, AIA Project Name: Toro Headquarters Project Location: Bloomington, Minnesota ALUCOBOND\u00ae Materials: ALUCOBOND\u00ae NaturAL Rusted Metal and NaturAL Brushed Graphite Architect: Leo A Daly Fabricator: Metal Design Systems, Inc. General Contractor: Ryan Companies Us, Inc. Cladding Contractor: InterClad of Egan Co. Photography: Mike Herbst courtesy of EBP, LLC and Bill Baxley, AIA […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[11,39,37,38,28,40,141,154,52],"class_list":["post-1901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-case-studies","tag-acm","tag-acp","tag-aluminum-composite-material","tag-aluminum-composite-panel","tag-architecture","tag-exteriors","tag-facades","tag-headquarters","tag-office"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1901"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7480,"href":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1901\/revisions\/7480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}