Fibergrate Case Study: Adding Sunshades to Dorm Rooms

By Tremco.

Review the materials, application methods, encountered problems and devised solutions of this interesting urban project.

A downtown Los Angeles architectural firm took on a student housing renewal project for a California university. The project consisted of adding sunshades to cover the dorm rooms and windows, which would give the building a fittingly urban and creative look, and also act as protective barriers from the sun to help keep the building and dorm rooms cool.

Problem:

Deciding on using sunshades wasn’t an issue, but selecting the right material was. At first, the architectural firm wanted to use coated aluminum mesh panels; however, because the dorm is very close to the ocean, the salt air would corrode the aluminum. With the project’s main goals of aesthetics, sustainability and convenience, Fibergrate’s engineers, project managers and territory sales manager made sure that the products selected covered the following:

• Corrosion resistance – These products needed to be corrosion resistant because this building is only 1/8 mile away from the ocean.

• UV resistance – It was important to use grating that had maximum UV resistance to prevent the grating from deteriorating in the future.

• Low installation cost – The application was done on a six-story building; the client wanted to be able to complete the installation without any setbacks.

• Low maintenance – “Long term” is how the architect in charge of the project described the material that he envisioned for these sunscreens to the territory sales manager.

Solution:

Fibergrate’s territory sales manager had previously worked with the architectural firm on a similar project. After revisiting that site and reviewing its condition, the architects realized that Fibergrate Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) was the ideal choice for this project due to its performance and aesthetics. These FRP panels addressed:

• Corrosion resistance – Molded grating can withstand the saltwater environment and will help the university avoid replacement costs in the future.

• UV resistance – NPG architectural resin was chosen for this application as it is ideal for projects with heavy UV exposure. This resin system is designed to provide maximum UV resistance.

• Low installation cost – These FRP panels were easily and quickly installed on the six-story building without using heavy equipment or heavy machinery.

• Low maintenance – The main reason why they chose fiberglass reinforced plastic over aluminum was because they were not willing to replace this application in the foreseeable future. FRP offers sustainability and the long-term solution the university required.

After the installation was completed, the territory sales manager followed up with the architectural firm, and it is safe to say they are very happy and consider this a unique, outstanding project. This could not have been possible without the combined efforts of Fibergrate’s engineering team, project manager and territory sales manager.

Project specs:

Location: Southern California

Application: Sunshades on Student Housing Building

Product: NPG Architectural Resin Square Mesh Molded Grating

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Original article source: Tremco