EDITOR'S PICK
By Marcy Marro, Managing Editor A Faithful Education New visitor center explains nature’s wonders
imitate the natural hue of a typical Wyoming day. The ceiling also plays a large role in showcasing the dioramic scale model as a backdrop for environmen- tal lighting that fl oods the display like the sun that permeates the park most every day. Prompted by Pacifi c Studio, the project
team chose an open grid ceiling fabricated with wire mesh panels made from Tampa, Fla.-based McNICHOLS’ Techna 8160+ Stainless Steel 304. The 70 mesh panels are cut into 16 different sizes and shapes, ranging from 4 by 6 feet to 5 by 10 feet. Each panel, which has 81 percent open area, is secured in a cold-rolled steel angle frame that is suspended from the building’s upper structure. Jon Harmon, project manager at Pacifi c
Studio, explains that the wire mesh satisfi ed the project’s functional and aesthetic requirement. Pacifi c Studio set the pre-cut mesh into custom steel angle frames, then welded it into a frame for strength and rigidity. With help from contractor Swank Enterprises,
Valier, Mont., the panels were installed below the sprinkler system, allowing the wire mesh to obscure the mechanical features without inhibiting the sprinkler from doing its job. “Once they were installed, people could actually walk on the panels to access HVAC and lighting above the panels,” Harmon says. The frames are suspended via threaded rods
using ceiling handles and tabs welded onto the steel frame. As a safeguard during a seismic event, each frame is reinforced with sway bracing cross-rods. Inspired by the novel wire mesh ceiling, the
Yellowstone National Park is home to nearly 60 percent of the world’s geysers. Of those, Old Faithful erupts more frequently than any of the other big geysers. Erupting on average ev- ery 90 minutes, it spits boiling water 145 feet into the Wyoming sky. Now visitors can learn more about Old Faithful, with the new $27 million Old Faithful Visitor Education Center, funded through the Yellowstone Park Foundation. Serving nearly 3 million visitors a year, the 26,000-square-foot center features an exhibit hall, auditorium, research library, multipurpose classroom and educational bookstore. Designed by Christopher Chadbourne & Associ-
ates, Boston, along with exhibit fabricator/engineer Pacifi c Studio, Seattle, the 5,600-square-foot exhibit hall showcases unique educational displays, includ- ing a diorama demonstrating the inner workings of the earth’s hot spots, such as volcanoes, shifting tectonic plates, earthquakes and hot springs.
56 METAL CONSTRUCTION NEWS January 2013 To highlight the display, the designers wanted
the space to feel open, yet intimate and high qual- ity. A tall, almost transparent ceiling was desired to help support the dramatic lighting replicating the blue Wyoming sky. The ceiling’s role became integral to the proj-
ect’s concept, as it needed to be a dropped design to accommodate the sprinkler, HVAC, electrical and lighting system, yet see-through to avoid the confi ned feeling typical of ceilings that mask me- chanical equipment. Due to the size of the exhibit room, which is ap-
proximately 87 feet by 42 feet, the ceiling model re- quired a material that was open enough to promote airfl ow, sturdy enough to accommodate access for maintenance, and fl exible enough to be installed in sections, including a curved portion. Additionally, it had to possess suffi cient transparency to dif- fuse the LED lighting system that was designed to
park foundation asked Pacifi c Studio to incorporate the material into the decorative supports for seven graphical panels and two fl at screen monitors in the lobby. The addition created continuity with the center’s ceiling and served as an artistic backdrop for the storyboards that chronicle the story of Yel- lowstone’s hydrothermal wonders.
Old Faithful Visitor Education Center, Yellowstone National Park, Wyo.
Architect: Christopher Chadbourne & Associates, Boston General contractor: Swank Enterprises, Valier, Mont. Exhibit fabricator/engineer: Pacifi c Studio, Seattle Metal mesh: McNICHOLS Co., Tampa, Fla.,
www.mcnichols.com, Circle #80
www.metalconstructionnews.com
Photos courtesy of McNICHOLS
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