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Hufcor Partitions Accommodate Guitar-Shaped Ballroom,Undulating Roof, and Demanding Acoustical Standards
Janesville, WI…Nashville’s newly-opened Music City Center (MCC) includes one mile of operable partition custom designed and manufactured by Hufcor Inc., the most installed brand of operable partition in the world.
The $585-million, 1.2-million-square-foot convention center has gained much attention for its bold design, including an undulating roof to reflect Nashville’s rolling hills, and its grand ballroom shaped like an acoustic guitar. Other areas of the facility immerse visitors inside other musical instruments, such as mandolins, fiddles, and a piano.
MCC’s challenging design required operable partition to maintain acoustical separation within a four-story facility of unusual curves and constantly changing space requirements: the exhibit hall, grand ballroom (which includes a theatrical stage at one end), a junior ballroom, plus other meeting space that can divide into as many as 60 separate rooms.
“A big part of our ability to be flexible lies in the operable partitions installed in many parts of the building,” says Charles Starks, President/CEO of MCC. “We can configure our spaces in numerous different layouts and enjoy the engaging design because of the quality of the operable partitions and the fact the manufacturer conformed them to the challenging curved designs of various building areas. Their adaptability was crucial.”
Hufcor worked closely with the owner and design teams to produce custom-designed partitions including:
· Spring-loaded mechanical 6” bottom seals that absorb building deflections;
· curved tracks and electronic switches for multiple wall locations;
· electrically operated tracks that operate a custom stage door;
· special vertical seals to ensure panel-to-panel connections along radius tracks.
These custom features helped achieve the required acoustical objectives.
The one mile of operable partition installed (along with 1.25 mi of track) comprised 1,242 panels weighing a total of 1.5 million lb and representing150,000 square feet of surface space. Hufcor used its own specially-designed trucks with self-contained unloading cranes to ship 45 separate loads of panels.
Installation of this immense project was handled by Crawford Door Sales of Nashville. The design team included Atlanta-based tvsdesign, Nashville-based Tuck Hinton Architects, and the Nashville office of Moody Nolan Architects. The project was designed to achieve LEED Silver certification.
Hufcor Inc., headquartered in Janesville, Wisconsin, is the world leader in the manufacture and distribution of quality flexible space management solutions. Hufcor is the premier single source provider of Operable Partitions, Moveable Glasswall Partitions, Vertical Lift Partitions, Accordion Partitions, Bi-Fold Doors, and a a luxurious line of movable Exterior Glass Wall Systems and Sliding Doors. Hufcor has a reputation for products with exceptional quality and durability. Hufcor partitions are available through local, factory-trained distributors, offering design assistance as well as installation and service. For more information about Hufcor partitions, contact your local distributor. To locate your Hufcor representative, go to www.hufcor.com.
