When FoxRock Properties purchased Longwater Place, while the existing building was dated, it was structurally sound. It just needed an exterior facelift to transition away from the precast corduroy concrete tilt-up panels that made it a dark, heavy, fortress-like structure.
October 6, 2014 - Windows & Exterior Walls
When FoxRock Properties purchased Longwater Place, a 25-acre site that included a large parcel of land and a functional headquarters with warehouse space in 2010, the company decided to transform the structure into sustainable leasing space. The building had some existing tenants that were considered anchor tenants, and the cost to knock down and rebuild was an expensive option. And while the existing building was dated, it was structurally sound. It just needed an exterior facelift to transition away from the precast corduroy concrete tilt-up panels that made it a dark, heavy, fortress-like structure.
To help reposition the Norwell, Mass., facility to work as a campus environment with a new 80,000-square-foot medical building, the company wanted a design that was the opposite of the old look. To create the light, metal, horizontal, and colorful image, the Dri-Design Shadow Series wall panel system was selected, which allows each panel face to be extended out 1 ¼ to 4 inches. The 0.080-inch aluminum panels were installed over Tyvek, plywood, and the existing concrete panels.
The project required 18,112 square feet of panels in five custom colors. The different colors were used to designate the office, medical office, and laboratory with three glass lobbies, exterior entrances, and two atriums. Connecting corridors run through the existing facility with a similar color scheme and lighting. The space was ready for tenants in fall 2013.
Sustainability was incorporated throughout the building, including such features as energy-efficient windows with solar controls; skylights; a new roof; mechanical, electrical, plumbing ,and fire protection upgrades; natural landscaping; paver and pervious pavement sidewalks; and single-stream recycling.
The wall panels contribute to the sustainability efforts as they are made locally from domestic aluminum mills and do not use silicone sealants or plastic cores, and finishes do not have any VOCs.
