« Back to Facilities Management News Home
Mukwonago, Wis. — March 24, 2015 — Simon Oswald Architecture strives to enhance lives through architecture and interior design. With help from Banker Wire, they implemented that philosophy in their own office – creating a woven mesh sign that embodies the company’s identity. Banker Wire mesh, combined with an innovative Banker Wire frame, form a corporate identifier that symbolizes SOA’s commitment to progressive design.
SOA embraces timeless design, which is both functional and cost effective. For more than 25 years, the company has operated on the principle that good design is a thoughtful process that produces inspiring spaces. The 3-D sign in the reception area of its new Columbia, Mo., office aligns with these design values, creating an innovative and eye-catching feature out of an otherwise typical, mundane room partition.
Banker Wire created a design that incorporates two runs of five 44-by-84-inch mesh panels, which are suspended in tension from ceiling to floor with stainless steel cables. The sign component, fabricated of a sandwich of two sound absorbing panels, occupies the space in between the two panels of woven wire mesh — creating an open feeling and providing acoustical control without obscuring the SOA logo.
Glass-walled conference rooms and offices help to reduce visual barriers in the main workspace. Banker Wire SJD-4 woven wire mesh creates that same transparent feeling between the reception area and the nearby offices.
SJD-4 offers “variable pitch,” meaning that designers have complete control over the weave’s appearance. The designer determines the distance between wires – controlling density, percent open area, and pattern. With this weave, SOA found the perfect pattern for their design and performance goals.
“Banker Wire was able to control the density of the mesh to serve two purposes,” said Robbie Price, architect with SOA. “The first was to create tight spacing around the periphery of the sign, reducing visibility through to the next space, and creating a 'moiré' effect of movement. The second was to create a more open space in the middle, allowing the SOA logo to be more apparent.”
SOA selected Banker Wire for this project because it was familiar with the company’s ability to create completely custom weave patterns and interface systems, which was essential for their office space. SOA intended the woven wire mesh panels to “float” within the space between the ceiling and the floor. Solid frames or posts would clash with this free-floating design vision, so Banker Wire proposed an innovative solution: the Banker Wire Bolted Tension Spine. This three-layered system includes an inner spine and two outer frame covers that are bolted together, securing the wire mesh without welding. Its subtlety and thinness fits with SOA’s overall design, while its strength ensures a durable solution.
“Banker Wire provided great communication during the design process and facilitated a short production schedule to meet SOA’s construction timetable,” Price said. “It was a pleasure to work with them.”
Installation of the Columbia office was completed in January 2015.
About Banker Wire: Banker Wire is the world’s leading manufacturer of woven and welded wire mesh for architectural and industrial applications. With the most modern and productive mill in the U.S., Banker Wire provides custom-weaved material for any aesthetic on any scale – from intricate design highlights to expansive building facades. For more information, visit www.bankerwire.com.
