The Birmingham Shuttlesworth Airport in Birmingham, Ala., is Alabama’s largest airport, which served 2.9 million passengers in 2011 and was ranked in the top 75 airports in the United States. The $201.6 million terminal modernization project will double the size of the terminal, as well as add a federal customs inspection station to facilitate direct international air traffi c. Construction began in February 2011 and is expected to fi nish sometime in 2014. The airport will remain opera- tional during the project, which encompasses both an expansion and renovation. In October 2011, the installation of an 8-inch,
16-gauge ACCEL-E Steel Thermal Effi cient panel wall system from SYNTHEON Inc., Leetsdale, Pa., began. When fi nished, the system will account for 106,000 square feet of wall space for the new concourse. SYNTHEON panels were ideal for the
project due to its EPS insulation and sound quali- ties. In addition, SYNTHEON manufactured the panels specifi cally for the project in response to the exterior wall cladding manufacturers’ requirements for 16-gauge stud backup. “The infi ll has gone pretty quickly. We’re saving
time because we don’t have to come back and insulate the panels. It makes it a lot quicker, a lot easier,” says Shane Swords, project manager for general contractor Brasfi eld & Gorrie, Birmingham. “Our desire was to give the owner [the Birming-
ham Airport Authority] a very low-maintenance and high-effi ciency building envelope,” says Dale Schexnayder, AIA, CSI, CCS, LEED AP, architect and director of specifi cations for KPS Group, Bir- mingham. Schexnayder notes that the architectural fi rm did not want to start with steel studs and batt
insulation. “We have learned over the years that this conventional wall system is very ineffi cient because of gaps in the insulation and thermal short circuits through the steel studs,” he explains. LEED Silver certifi cation is being pursued for
the new concourse. “Utilizing a highly energy- effi cient wall panel would certainly give us the opportunity to optimize energy performance, while assuring a high percentage of LEED credits,” Schexnayder says. F.L. Crane & Sons, Fulton, Miss., was the