{"id":587,"date":"2006-01-23T17:40:49","date_gmt":"2006-01-23T17:40:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/?p=587"},"modified":"2025-09-05T15:09:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T15:09:54","slug":"fluor-corporation-headquarters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/fluor-corporation-headquarters\/","title":{"rendered":"Fluor Corporation Headquarters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Project Name:<\/th>\nFluor Corporation Headquarters<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Project Location:<\/th>\nIrving, Texas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ALUCOBOND\u00ae PLUS Materials:<\/th>\n10,000 sq. ft. of 4 mm Bone White<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Year of Installation:<\/th>\n2006<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Architect:<\/th>\nForum Studio, Inc., St. Louis<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fabricator:<\/th>\nNOW Specialties, Inc., Carrollton, Texas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
General Contractor\/Installer:<\/th>\nClayco, Inc., St. Louis<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Attachment Method:<\/th>\nStainless steel fasteners<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

ALUCOBOND\u00ae Louvers Let the Texas Sun Shine in Without Heavy Heat Load<\/p>\n

When executives at engineering and construction giant Fluor Corp decided to build a new global corporate headquarters in Irving, Texas, last year, meeting a tight construction deadline was of the utmost importance. Design plans for the 140,000-square-foot, three-story, dual-wing corporate building were begun in mid-June 2005, with ground-breaking in late July. Just eight months later, construction was completed. Similar projects, according to Fluor, usually require a 16-month timeline to complete.<\/p>\n

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n

Contributing to this impressive construction timeline was the selection of ALUCOBOND\u00ae aluminum composite material (ACM) by 3A Composites USA for a brand-new application \u2013 custom sunscreen louvers. Not only were these energy-saving sunscreen louvers designed, fabricated and delivered for installation in a much more timely fashion than pre-manufactured sunscreens, they contributed to this project\u2019s submission for certification by the U.S. Green Building Council\u2019s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.<\/p>\n

St. Louis-headquartered Clayco, Inc., served as general contractor for this design-build project in conjunction with its architectural firm Forum Studio, Inc., which handled shell and core design.<\/p>\n

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIncorporating sustainable principles in the building design just makes LEED certification easier and less expensive,\u201d said Lance McOlgan, project manager, Forum Studio, Inc. \u201cOne example is the distance from the exterior wall to the core being 30 feet, which allows for better day lighting of the interior and that, in turn, reduces the lighting load.\u201d<\/p>\n

A tilt-wall design was used to construct the new Fluor headquarters, with windows added to give the building an open feel, according to DeWitt Porter, vice president, operations, Fluor Corp.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe let the architects come to us with a design,\u201d said Porter. \u201cOne of the reasons we didn\u2019t go with an existing building is that we wanted a campus feel. \u2026 Tilt-wall is used a lot in warehouse design and that\u2019s not the look we wanted from an exterior perspective. We wanted a corporate, open feel and that\u2019s why we have all of the glass. The glass makes the building feel more spacious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n

In addition to the campus feel, Fluor executives required a building design that would not only reflect the company\u2019s values but establish a presence in Irving that displayed Fluor\u2019s commitment to the Dallas region, according to McOlgan. \u201cThe building needed to be contextual and responsive to the Texas environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to www.weatherbase.com, during the past 30 years, the average high temperature in Irving, Texas, in July reached 96.8 degrees. The average high in June reached 92.1 degrees, and it reached 96.3 degrees in August.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used the louvers to aid in cooling the building, to reduce the heat load, and to make the building more comfortable,\u201d said Porter. \u201cWe were concerned that with all of the glass in this building we would have a horrendous heat load. We were trying to reduce the heat load and make the building more comfortable for people in the afternoon hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sunscreen louvers were designed to shade the building\u2019s glass-lined dining area and an image-lined history walkway.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the dining area having an all-glass wall system and southern exposure, the shading device is critical in reducing heat load and lowering demand on the cooling system,\u201d said McOlgan.<\/p>\n

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n

When project managers at Clayco, Inc., learned that the pre-fabricated aluminum sunscreens originally specified for the Fluor headquarters would not be delivered for installation until 14 to 16 weeks after customer approval, they approached NOW Specialties, Inc., of Carrollton, Texas, for costs and timelines to fabricate custom louvers. NOW also would complete sunscreen louver installation.)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project had a very compressed schedule; so, when we learned of the very long lead times on the pre-manufactured product, we presented the alternative of fabricating sunscreens out of Alucobond,\u201d said Dave Jennings, business development manager, NOW Specialties. \u201cWe knew we could get a very good turnaround from 3A Composites and save money (over the pre-manufactured aluminum sunscreens).\u201d<\/p>\n

It would be a brand-new application for NOW Specialties to design and fabricate sunscreen louvers from Alucobond. \u201cThis was something we had not done before and a rather unusual application for us,\u201d said Jennings. \u201cBut it worked out very well. These sunscreens contributed to the project\u2019s LEED points, as well as saved money and lead time. ALUCOBOND\u00ae is very easily fabricated into a variety of shapes. We knew we could custom create these shapes in our shop.\u201d<\/p>\n

ALUCOBOND\u00ae is an aluminum composite material that consists of two sheets of .02\u201d aluminum thermobonded to a plastic core. ALUCOBOND\u00ae provides extraordinary flatness and rigidity, excellent formability, low weight and outstanding weather resistance.<\/p>\n

The sunscreen louvers were fabricated from 10,000 square feet of 4 mm thick ALUCOBOND\u00ae in the bone white color. The sunscreen fins were fabricated from ALUCOBOND\u00ae with the inside rails fabricated from 3-inch aluminum and painted to match. Stainless steel fasteners were used as attachments.<\/p>\n

Well into sunscreen fabrication, NOW Specialties found itself short five panels of ALUCOBOND\u00ae in the 62-inch by 196-inch sheet size. 3A Composites provided the needed sheets one week later. \u201cWe didn\u2019t think there was any way that 3A could turn the material that fast,\u201d said Jennings.<\/p>\n

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had potential liquid damages that were staggering \u2013 thousands of dollars per day for not meeting the construction schedule \u2013 so we approached 3A about the turnaround time,\u201d said Trevor Ryor, project manager, Clayco, Inc.<\/p>\n

The ALUCOBOND\u00ae sunscreen louvers not only met a tight construction timeline but have blended well into the building\u2019s design, according to Ryor.
\n\u201cWe used aluminum composite metal panels on the soffits and vertical panels on the walls; the sunscreen louvers matched perfectly,\u201d said Ryor. \u201cThey turned out very well in both their look and color match.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was our first experience using ACM in this fashion and we are very pleased with the final product,\u201d said McOlgan. \u201cThe project had a fast-track schedule, so the curved and irregular geometry of the trellis made meeting the construction schedule difficult. What made the ACM a great solution was the ability to fabricate the louvers locally. NOW could take a standard sheet of ACM and fabricate each custom-sized louver at their shop \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cThese louvers have been installed for only a few months now. We will need to take a look at this installation in a few years to see how it faired. The final product really depends upon the fabricator. NOW did a great job. We would recommend that a mockup be made before attempting this again with a different contractor.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the sunscreen louvers, 4,000 square feet of 4 mm ALUCOBOND\u00ae was provided in the custom cool zinc gray color to match the building\u2019s standing seam roof and installed as exterior trim at building soffits and around the sunscreen louvers.<\/p>\n\n\t\t