St. Louis-based building enclosure contractor IWR North America, formerly IWR Building Systems, recently won the 2016 North Central Region Craftsmanship Award presented by the Construction Specification Institute (CSI) and The American Institute of Architects (AIA) St. Louis 2016 Design Award in the craftsmanship category for its work on the Shriners Hospital for Children.

The CSI award is presented to organizations for superior craftsmanship in the construction industry within the region in the person’s trade profession. Many organizations in the region recognize outstanding design, but very few emphasize craftsmanship.

The AIA Awards Program celebrates the best architectural designs in five categories:  unbuilt, interiors, architecture, drawings and craftsmanship. The winning project represented the finest standards in craftsmanship in the community.

“We are honored to have received such prestigious awards in today’s competitive and challenging construction environment,” said Todd Staley, general manager of IWR. “The on-the-ground labor force and team of Local 36 sheet metal workers, led by IWR Superintendent Mike Sheriff, are truly the ones who deserve these craftsmanship awards for installing the highly complex building envelope.”

The building exterior consists of 3,600 rotated square ACM metal panels that required precise craftsmanship due to the intricate geometric details of the building surface. The panel system has been engineered with a pressure-equalized rain screen design allowing for a drainage cavity behind the panels. To reassure the building owner that the enclosure would function properly, IWR became the only exterior contractor in St. Louis to be certified by the ABAA (Air Barrier Association of America) as a requirement to having a weather-resistant barrier installed.

“The detailed integration of all the exterior systems allowed this complicated curved and coplanar design to result in a high-performing façade,” said Matt Ford of Universe Corporation. “IWR’s precise installation resulted in a uniform, streamlined appearance of the building located directly off the interstate.”