The University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves have a new home and products from Morin, A Kingspan Group Company, helped designers achieve the desired look.
“We chose the box rib panel with a vertical rib,” says Michael Carlson, AIA, CCS, REFP, of McCool Carlson Green Architects in Anchorage. “It’s a big structure so for the tall space we selected a profile that had some depth. It brought some strength to the project. The box rib was a good choice because of the deep shadow lines and it provides a noticeable contrast with the darker zinc (roofing) panels.”
The Alaska Airlines Center is a 5,000-seat athletic arena built to host University of Alaska Anchorage sports. It also houses an 800-seat auxiliary gym, a state-of-the-art sports medicine suite, an indoor two-lane walking and jogging track, a gymnastics and competition gym and separate training and strength conditioning facility for student athletes.
On the upper level, fans can visit the Varsity Sports Grill for lunch and dinner, featuring local craft beer and wine. The AAC, constructed to be a true community arena, will also host concerts and family shows. The arena, which opened September 5 2014, hosted country singer Tim McGraw for two nights of shows in late October.
Approximately 22,400 square feet of MORIN U-12 single element box rib panels were specified for the project. The 0.050-inch aluminum concealed fastener wall panels were treated with a clear anodized Class I finish system. The maximum length of the panels was 25 feet, so any longer panels were connected with splice plates. The same material was finished and installed as 8,100 square feet of soffit panels.
Uriah Rolando of Carve Construction LLC, located in Anchorage, Ala., headed up the installation of the MORIN products. “The clear anodized panels provided an organic look and they look great with the zinc,” Rolando says. “They wanted a 100-year product that wouldn’t change much over time and that’s what we installed.”
Carlson says the clear anodized finish system offers the natural look he was seeking, as opposed to painted metal panels, and the system will hold its look over time. “The clear anodized finish enhances the durability and gives the aluminum character,” he says. “It was interesting going through the finishing process because we expected much more consistency in the look of each panel. With the contrast, we were able to work with the installers to mix up the shades to give the walls some character. That would not have happened if it were not anodized.”
About Morin, A Kingspan Group Company
Morin, a Kingspan Group Company, is one of the industry’s most versatile manufacturers of Single Element metal wall and roof panel systems. With production facilities in Bristol, CT, Deland, FL and Fontana, CA, MORIN has a combined production capacity of over 50 million square feet, fabricating metal panels in more than 75 different profiles. MORIN Single Element panels are 100 percent recyclable and meet the requirements for the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating System. Morin’s nationwide sales network and in-house technical service teams are dedicated to providing innovative solutions for today’s progressive architecture. Visit www.morincorp.com to access profiles, specifications, CAD details, load span charts and technical manuals.