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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.

Aesthetics and durability in a rainscreen system influenced the design team of Stanec, Houston, to select Dri-Design’s Shadow Series panels for the HCC Culinary Arts building. 

With a desire to bring city agencies to a modern centralized location, the City of San Marcos, Texas, constructed nine buildings on a single site. A consistent design element throughout the new Public Service Complex was metal roofing, wall panels and components from MBCI.

Parking garages today are so much more than ugly grey structures. Perforated metal panels are available in a variety of profiles, colors, and finishes.  

The Bricklayers Local 5 of Valley View, Ohio, knew what it was getting into when purchasing a property with two existing buildings, both with failing asphalt shingle roofs. The union’s first order of business after acquiring the buildings was to solve the roofing problem with a more permanent solution and ultimately selected a symmetrical standing seam system.

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.

Whole-building pressurization testing is becoming standard practice for building projects. Many common energy conservation standards and model codes now exhibit requirements for enclosure airtightness, which are to be achieved through measured air leakage rates.

Waterproofing is essential for many commercial buildings. Those in particularly wet or humid areas will especially benefit from it, but every structure — no matter where it is in the country — should be waterproofed.

The most prominent of these projects is in Cincinnati, with a $42 million addition and renovation that more than doubled the space to 177 rooms, making it the largest in the world.

McElroy Metal recently added solar panels to its manufacturing plant in Sunnyvale, Texas, all while taking advantage of local and federal incentives to help pay for the project.