Project Profiles

Consistency Leads to Choice of Metal Composite

Consistency along with a high-end, appealing look were factors in the choice of metal composite material from Citadel Architectural Products for the face of the Orange Park (Fla.) Subaru showroom and dealership.

“Like most dealerships, the specifications for materials and finishes are pre-selected by the automobile company,” says Ted Pappas, FAIA, president of PBV Architecture in Jacksonville, Fla. “They have extensive specifications for everything and it is the intent of the auto companies that all new dealerships look alike, as far as form and finishes and style.

“Automobile companies prefer a modern, sleek look, an expensive look.”

Pappas says his firm aims to “create structures that reflect the individuality of our clients and complement their immediate surroundings, including neighboring buildings and the natural environment.” PBV does mostly institutional and commercial work: health care facilities, libraries, car dealerships.

Citadel’s Envelope 2000 was installed on the face of the Orange Park Subaru facility in a busy commercial area of Orange Park. The standard Subaru color for its newly constructed buildings is Silver Metallic; 9,800 square feet of the Envelope 2000 was installed with the Rainscreen attachment system on the Orange Park building. Envelope 2000 is a metal composite material designed for exterior use, made by bonding two sheets of aluminum to a thermoset phenolic resin core.

Downey Metal Products of Adairsville, Ga., installed the composite panel as well as the custom blue coping along the top of the building’s face.

“We did all of the fabrication for those panels,” says John Downey Jr., president of Downey Metal Products. “Citadel supplied the flat sheet. Those panels are not much smaller than a full-size sheet, so we didn’t have to cut down the sheet very much to get the panels to the right size for installation on the building.”

Downey says his company has installed products from Citadel for many years and the customer is always very pleased with the level of quality, the appearance as well as the price. “And if the customer likes it, we love it,” Downey says.

The only installation challenge was with a special metal coping roll formed by another manufacturer. The bright blue coping at the top, specified by Subaru, was installed over the top of the Citadel panels. “That was about the only thing that stood out with this project,” Downey says. “Projects with problems always seem to stand out in your mind, but this one was a definite, ‘no news is good news’ project as far as the installation by our crew was concerned.”

For more information, visit www.citadelap.com.