As the first quick-service restaurant in the U.S. to pursue Net Zero Energy Building certification, the new McDonald’s at the Walt Disney World Resort combines Solarban 60 solar control, low-emissivity glass with building-integrated photovoltaic modules, a living wall and operable Jalousie windows to generate more energy than it uses.

Metalworks of Chicago of Arlington Heights, Ill., installed just more than 18,200 square feet ofbuilding envelope system as part of the McHenry West High School three-story, 64,000-square-foot renovation and addition.

A recipient of numerous awards for its mass-timber construction, the building required the development of new, innovative wood construction technology and is widely considered a pioneering project. 

The challenge for architects is to achieve the optimal daylighting conditions throughout the schools they design.

By 2009, the building had begun to show its age. At the top of the building some of the twenty-six east and south facing Terra-Cotta columns had begun to show cracking and in some areas had began to shed large pieces of stone.

The desire to use metal wall panels was identified early in the process by the design team to reflect the transitioning neighborhood’s industrial roots.

The redevelopment required work on the outside and inside, including the base of the skyscraper.

The use of standard framing systems in the glazing business is quite common, but when designers use those systems in unconventional ways to create visual interest in their buildings, it can also provide some installation challenges.

The wall system was custom-designed to uphold the project's exact aesthetic goals, engineered to meet the performance and sustainability requirements, and fabricated to ensure fast, smooth and accurate installation.

Designed by AUX Architecture, this adaptive reuse project repurposed a 1965 temple renovating the original building and its congregational space into a 300-seat theater.