November 2, 2015 - Windows & Exterior Walls
Constructed during the 50th anniversary of Salt Lake City’s Ballet West, the Jessie Eccles Quinney Ballet Centre opened as scheduled for the 2014 production of “The Nutcracker.” Helping distinguish this new cultural center, Valspar’s Fluropon coating systems were selected in four colors for the building’s exterior wall panels, automatic entrances, louvers, interior metal doors and storefront, column covers, skylights and other aluminum framing systems.
The 68,000-square-foot, $24 million facility is owned by Salt Lake County Center for the Arts. Housing Ballet West and the Ballet West Academy, the dance center contains five rehearsal studios, an expanded costume shop, event and entertaining spaces, offices for artistic and administrative staff, and an expanded public lobby that connects with the historic Capitol Theatre lobby.
The project was designed, built, and certified to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Gold criteria. The groundbreaking was in September 2013 and construction was completed the following year.
Valspar’s coatings were applied to the formed metal wall panels and metal plate wall panels. The exterior metal wall panels’ diagonal pattern and Champagne Bronze color finish visually connect the new building to the brick patterning and terra cotta façade of its 101-year-old neighbor, the recently renovated Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre. The brick pattern is reinterpreted in the diagonal metal panel rain-screen system with integrated color-changing LED backlighting.
Welcoming patrons to the new building, the Center’s automatic entrance systems were manufactured by Kawneer, as were the louvers, interior metal doors and storefront, column covers, skylights and other aluminum framing systems. All are finished in Valspar’s 70 percent PVDF resin-based Fluropon coatings in Gatwick Silver, Black, Dark Bronze or, matching the exterior wall panels’ Champagne Bronze.
Whenever more than one architectural product manufacturer or finishing applicator are collaborating on a single project, careful coordination is needed to ensure the correct color match, says Valspar.
Valspar’s Fluropon coatings meet or exceed the American Architectural Manufacturers Association’s AAMA 2605 high-performance exterior specification. Fluropon demonstrates reliable performance including resistance to ultraviolet rays, chemical degradation, abrasions and humidity. These attributes and proven durability also support green building goals as the project seeks LEED Gold certification.
Previously serving more than 100,000 students and teachers each year, the new space allows the Ballet West Academy to quadruple its existing programs and enrollment, and to improve the quality of educational programs for pre-professional dancers. The program expansion also supports new opportunities to reach a larger audience.
“We believe it will become an important anchor in the Salt Lake Cultural Core, attracting new businesses and audience members, and increasing our capacity to service the community,” predicted Scott Altman, Ballet West’s executive director.
Recognizing the project’s achievements, the new Jessie Eccles Quinney Ballet Centre earned the Utah Construction & Design 2014 Outstanding Projects of the Year – Entertainment.
Photo: Dana Sohm, courtesy of The Valspar Corporation
