Alucobond® Material Courtyard Adds “High-Tech” Look

How do you introduce the “high-tech” look of metal as part of an engineering building on a university campus where brick makes a traditional statement? A suggestion of metal in the context of a brick exterior leads to a courtyard where the walls are clad predominantly in Alucobond Material—at the University of California, Riverside, Engineering Building Unit 2. Also introduced as a complement to brick on the exterior, sandstone is utilized as part of the courtyard as well. Overhead, the courtyard canopy of PVC fabric becomes an innovative design element that mixes well with the high-tech look of Alucobond Material cladding.

Completed in mid-2005, the project required approximately 36,000 sq. ft. of 4mm Alucobond Material in Silver Metallic, fabricated by Elward Systems Corporation of Lakewood, Colorado. Alucobond Material panels were attached by a rout and return dry system, featuring black extrusions. Installation was provided by Engineered Metals Co. of Fair Oaks, Texas. General contractor for the project was Swinerton, headquartered in San Francisco.

The new, 4-story facility was planned in response to a growing number of students at the campus majoring in engineering and an increasing number of new faculty at UC Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering. The building includes state-of-the-art research and teaching space for the Computer Science and Engineering, as well as Electrical Engineering departments.

The project involved extensive detail, according to RBB Architects Inc., Los Angeles. Established in 1952, RBB Architects has become a leader in the programming, planning and design of complex institutional facilities.