Easily visible along the Charlotte, N.C., skyline, the 50-story tower of the Duke Energy Center stands tall with 1.5 million square feet of space. Owned by Wells Fargo, San Francisco, and designed by tvsdesign, Atlanta. The complex geometry incorporated into the design of the Duke Energy Center inspired metal panel installer, Juba Aluminum Products, Concord, N.C., to develop an unconventional installation solution for the Reynobond Aluminum Composite Material (ACM) supplied by Eastman, Ga.-based Al- coa Architectural Products. The Miller-Clapperton Partnership Inc., Austell, Ga., was the panel fabricator, and Batson-Cook Construction, Atlanta, was the general contractor.
“Reynobond is an extraordinarily strong, fl at material with high strength-
to-weight ratios, that can be drilled and fastened with common woodworking tools. These traits made it possible for the team to develop a unique installa- tion system,” says George Rosado, commercial director for Alcoa Architectural Products. “The geometry of the building allowed only limited access to the crown, so the installers literally rappelled down the façade like rock climbers, hanging off ropes suspended 786 feet in the air on a 72-degree incline to install the panels by bolting them to L-brackets on the substructure.” The $880 million tower features 127,400 square feet of 4-mm Reynobond
ACM with an FR core in a Pearl White Colorweld 300XL fi nish on the corner details, exterior colonnades, recessed entry portals and roofl ine. To trim the “visual weight” of the building, the architects employed spandrel and vision glass. Reynobond ACM panels were also used to counterbalance the abun- dance of glass and to defi ne the building corners and tapered crown element. The architects specifi ed a combination of Pearl White Reynobond ACM and white Brazilian granite with stainless steel accents to create a neutral palette for the project, which stands as the centerpiece of a cultural complex consisting of three museums and a performing arts center. Reynobond takes on a prominent role at the 48th story where the glass walls begin to slope inward towards the crown. The building corners rise into the air beyond the angular glass façade and reconnect through a metallic bridge that forms a sweeping horizontal sky window extending 160 feet across. The building achieved LEED Platinum certifi cation for Core and Shell Rating
System 2.0 upon opening in September 2011, was the winner of Siemens’ 2010 The Smartest Building in America Challenge and won a 2011 Metal Construc- tion Association Chairman’s Award in the Commercial/Industrial category.