{"id":82,"date":"2013-11-07T18:19:38","date_gmt":"2013-11-07T18:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/?p=82"},"modified":"2025-09-05T14:21:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T14:21:09","slug":"unts-elite-leed-platinum-apogee-stadium-clad-with-recyclable-alucobond-acm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/unts-elite-leed-platinum-apogee-stadium-clad-with-recyclable-alucobond-acm\/","title":{"rendered":"UNT’s Elite LEED-Platinum Apogee Stadium Clad With Recyclable ALUCOBOND ACM"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Project Name:<\/th>\nUniversity of North Texas\u2019 (UNT) Apogee Stadium<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Project Location:<\/th>\nDenton, Texas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ALUCOBOND\u00ae Materials:<\/th>\n48,320 sq. ft. 4mm Sunrise Silver Metallic
\n1,334 sq. ft. 4mm Custom Mean Green<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Year of Installation:<\/th>\n2011<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Architect:<\/th>\nHKS, Inc. – Dallas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fabricator\/Installer:<\/th>\nNOW Specialties
\nCarrollton, Texas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
General Contractor:<\/th>\nManhattan Construction
\nCo., Dallas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Images:<\/th>\nDaryl Shields – HKS<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The University of North Texas\u2019 (UNT) Apogee Stadium \u2013 the first newly constructed collegiate football stadium in the nation to earn LEED Platinum certification \u2013 opened in Denton, Texas, in September 2011 as the new home of Mean Green football.<\/p>\n

To earn this elite certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, architects at Dallas-based HKS, Inc.<\/a>, incorporated any number of ecologically friendly design elements in UNT\u2019s $78-million 30,850-seat stadium, including selecting renewable and recycled construction materials, reducing energy and water consumption, and reducing CO2 emissions through the incorporation of three wind turbines to generate power.<\/p>\n

While environmentally conscious, the collegiate stadium \u2013 which was built on 46 acres and is uniquely designed as a horseshoe-shaped bowl \u2013 also features several high-end elements, including:  two state-of-the-art video boards, 21 luxury suites, 750 club-level seats, a high-tech press facility, banquet rooms and a team apparel store.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThe athletic department and university facilities group wanted something contextual but that would push the limits of what they could get for the money,\u201d said Jim Herckt, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, project architect at HKS.<\/p>\n

HKS turned to the Dallas office of Manhattan Construction Co. to serve as general contractor for UNT\u2019s Apogee Stadium. (The two companies previously had worked on design and construction of the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, which opened in 2009 in Arlington, Texas.) This project took a very collaborative team approach throughout the design and construction process in order to meet UNT\u2019s 50-year facility requirement for the new stadium, according to Herckt.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe focused on building things that matter the most in the beginning because you can always embellish them later,\u201d said Herckt.  \u201cWe focused on utilizing local materials and green materials \u2013 the right materials \u2013 from the beginning.  We wanted to make it simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

To create a cohesive look with other campus buildings, brick was utilized to construct stadium walls. Recyclable ALUCOBOND\u00ae aluminum composite material (ACM) by 3A Composites USA was installed as a unifying design element throughout the stadium.  A total of 49,754 square feet of ALUCOBOND\u00ae in the 4mm thickness was installed in two colors on the UNT stadium, including:  48,320 square feet of the Sunrise Silver Metallic color and 1,334 square feet of custom Mean Green.<\/p>\n

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

ALUCOBOND\u00ae in the Sunrise Silver Metallic color is installed as cladding on the press box, suites and club exteriors and as fascia beneath canopies.  Alucobond in the custom Mean Green color is installed as a design accent in areas such as ticketing booths and behind the 15-foot by 27-foot north end zone video scoreboard.<\/p>\n

3A Composites USA is well-known for its color-matching capabilities; and, the ability to color match the custom Mean Green (one of the university\u2019s official colors) was an important factor in the selection of ALUCOBOND\u00ae as stadium cladding, according to Herckt.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked with ALUCOBOND\u00ae marketing personnel upfront to get several color samples,\u201d said Matthew Le, head of project management at NOW Specialties, Inc.<\/a>, of Carrollton, Texas, which fabricated and installed the ALUCOBOND\u00ae panels with the NOW 1100 route and return wet-seal system. \u201cAlucobond offers exceptional customer service as well as outstanding finish warranties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Le said NOW Specialties was challenged to fabricate ALUCOBOND\u00ae panels in a cantilever design for the stadium\u2019s upper-level club area and then install those panels above tiers of flat metal-bench bleacher seating.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came up with a unique scaffolding system that helped to spread the load and allowed us to reach the club-level panel and canopy areas,\u201d said Le.  \u201cOnce installed, our metal panel system looked outstanding.  We\u2019ve received many compliments on this project.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Herckt said HKS worked with Manhattan Construction Co. and its subcontractors, including NOW Specialties, early in the design of the Apogee Stadium in order to create \u201ca common understanding of the design intent and to leverage the collective knowledge of the team to create a very efficient design solution.\u201d This cooperative approach helped to generate significant cost savings in the design and construction of the $78-million Apogee Stadium, according to Herckt, who said other sports stadiums featuring similar amenities have cost \u201cupwards of $100 million.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were able to give the university the best bang for the buck and produce real-world savings,\u201d according to Herckt, who said the UNT stadium project\u2019s original intent was to meet LEED Silver certification guidelines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that it achieved LEED Platinum is an indication of how well this team worked together,\u201d said Herckt. \u201cOne thing we learned is that it doesn\u2019t take a lot of money to build a sustainable building.  You just need to pay attention, go through all of the details, and have a good team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t