{"id":735,"date":"2006-01-29T14:23:15","date_gmt":"2006-01-29T14:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/?p=735"},"modified":"2025-09-05T14:18:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T14:18:51","slug":"warren-mi-civic-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/warren-mi-civic-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Warren, MI Civic Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Alucobond<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Project Name:<\/th>\nWarren, MI Civic Center<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Project Location:<\/th>\nWarren, Michigan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ALUCOBOND\u00ae PLUS Materials:<\/th>\n23,240 sq. ft. 4mm Custom LCH Silver<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Year of Installation:<\/th>\n2006<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fabricator:<\/th>\nSobotec Ltd., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Installer:<\/th>\nMichigan Metal Walls, Inc., Wyandotte, MI<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
General Contractor:<\/th>\nSkanska USA Building, Inc., Southfield, MI<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Attachment Method:<\/th>\nSL2000 Dry Rain Screen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

New civic center features striking ALUCOBOND\u00ae canopy, helps give citizens place of identity<\/p>\n

With the opening of the Warren Civic Center \u2013 housing the new city hall and library \u2013 in November 2006, a master plan for the City of Warren, Mich., first drafted in 1963 came to fruition. According to Aug, 24, 2004, news reports of the civic center groundbreaking ceremonies by the City of Warren Communications Department, the city\u2019s mayor presented a copy of the Aug. 29, 1956, edition of the Warren Township Journal, with a headline announcing: \u201cApprove plans for future city hall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThose days have come and gone,\u201d said City of Warren Mayor Mark Steenbergh, of Warren\u2019s township status at the groundbreaking. \u201cI grew up here and watched Warren become a city. Our citizens are hungry for a place of identity. This project brings that to the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The city hall, library and city square park are within the boundaries of the city\u2019s Downtown Development Authority (DDA), created within city-controlled land across from the General Motors Technical Center. The DDA is zoned to allow for more density and mixed-use projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look at the master plan, this use has always been intended for this area,\u201d said Gina Cavaliere, DDA director, in City of Warren Communication Department ground-breaking ceremony reports. \u201cThis is very symbolic for where we are as a community. Warren is a great place to live and work, now and into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The $30-million 109,667-square-foot Warren Civic Center is supported by a 600-car parking structure.<\/p>\n

With a 2007 population of 135,000, Warren is the third-largest city in Michigan. But, according to a civic center design statement by Neumann\/Smith Architects, of Southfield, Mich., the city \u201cis suburban in nature and lacked a downtown central core.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The architectural firm was charged with designing a large, combined city building not only to replace the outdated existing city hall and library, but to address a broader idea of creating a new downtown, according to the statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough the City initially envisioned a 19th Century design solution, we recalled the City\u2019s roots as an important industrial and research and development town whose great icon was the GM Tech Center. The resulting design concept is a modern response to the Tech Center. To achieve a complementary \u2018bookend\u2019 to the Vehicle Engineering Center, the tallest building on the GM campus, the city hall was stacked over the library to increase its height to four stories. \u2026A grand glass-walled atrium links the floors of the multi-storied building, serves as the indoor public space, and overlooks the new city square. A large cantilevered roof canopy extends out from the atrium over the plaza toward the city square. The structural columns and soffits create a modern formal front porch to the building and provide screening from the sun above.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although traditional exterior materials were chosen to construct the civic center \u2013 including brick, stone, glass, and metal \u2013 they \u201care boldly composed to create a new image for the City of Warren,\u201d according to Neumann\/Smith.<\/p>\n

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

The striking cantilevered canopy was fabricated from ALUCOBOND\u00ae PLUS aluminum composite material (ACM) with a fire-rated core by 3A Composites USA in the custom LCH Silver color and 4 mm thickness by Sobotec Ltd., of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.<\/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

Measuring 140 feet at its widest point and 100 feet in length, the Warren Civic Center canopy is comprised of multiple geometrically shaped panels, according to Vlad Sobot, president, Sobotec. The canopy was installed with the SL 2000 Dry Rain Screen System by Sobotec and Buildex stainless steel screws.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis design is actually a bunch of canopies with a large one on top,\u201d said Sobot. \u201cIt looks like an airplane wing that is curved underneath and folds on top of the canopy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sobot credits close communication with installer Michigan Metal Walls, Inc., of Wyandotte, Mich., with the successful completion of the canopy\u2019s complex design through 3-D AutoCAD drawings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt turned out very well because of our partnership with an experienced installer,\u201d said Sobot. \u201cWe communicated very closely. And, they gave us as many dimensions from the field as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Installation of the canopy was \u201csurprisingly easy,\u201d according to JR Cislo, project manager, Michigan Metal Walls. \u201cWe were very careful with our field measurements and laid it out with AutoCAD,\u201d he said. \u201cWe also used a laser to mark our dimensions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michigan Metal Walls manufactured all framing for the canopy from 16-gauge metal framing. The soffit panels were attached from structural steel. Five support columns \u2013 26-inch diameter tubes fabricated from \u00bc-inch steel and painted to match the ALUCOBOND\u00ae PLUS LCH Silver color \u2013 were positioned beneath the canopy.<\/p>\n

Although Michigan Metal Walls has installed any number of building canopies, it had not installed one \u201cthat high or that big\u201d when it installed the Warren Civic Center canopy, according to Cislo, who said two 80-foot lifts were required to install the soffit and a 125-foot lift was used to install the fascia end. Canopy installation was completed on schedule in six weeks (April through mid-May 2006) and with no safety incidents, according to Cislo.<\/p>\n

A total of 23,240 square feet of ALUCOBOND\u00ae PLUS ACM in the LCH Silver color and 4 mm thickness was incorporated into the Warren Civic Center design \u2013 including the large canopy. This design was repeated over the library entryway in a 32-foot by 25-foot canopy and in an oblong-shaped soffit measuring 45-feet long by approximately 12 feet wide installed over the library\u2019s book drop-off area. Additionally, ALUCOBOND\u00ae PLUS was incorporated into column covers in the building\u2019s glazing and as in-fill panels in the curtain wall of the parking structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re proud of this canopy,\u201d said Cislo. \u201cIt\u2019s featured on our office wall to show customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skanska USA Building, Inc., of Southfield, Mich., served as the project\u2019s general contractor.<\/p>\n\n\t\t