This article was written for Chris Walton for The Architect’s Newspaper.
The Architect’s Newspaper is bringing Facades+ back to Atlanta on March 2. Featuring the latest projects across the Southeast, the conference will feature a full-day symposium. AN has worked with NELSON Worldwide director Henry Cantwell and regional mixed-use leader Tom Arsovski as co-chairs to bring together a program that spans from media facades to high-performing high-rises. Click here to view additional conference information and register, and continue reading for a preview of the day’s program.
Complexity and Transparency: The Story Behind the TKE Headquarters’ Facade
The program will begin with a deep dive into the facade of TK Elevator’s new headquarters. Gensler technical director Jason Ross, Walter P Moore senior associate Katherine Chan, and Brasfield & Gorrie senior project manager BJ Haisten will present on the unique facade of the headquarters, covering its design, engineering, and construction. The centerpiece of the facade is a 420-foot tower—the tallest elevator testing tower in North America—which is enclosed in an opaque glass that shows off the tower’s mechanical systems. The facade also features a large LED mesh display, covering over 11,000 square feet of the facade. As a whole, the project measured a 12 percent reduction in embodied carbon when compared to typical construction.
Expressive Faces of Concrete: The Smyrna Ready Mix Headquarters
EOA Architects principal Tracey Ford and associate principal Michael Wasyliw will present the Smyrna Ready Mix Headquarters’s unique concrete facade. Inspired by the company’s stone quarry, curving concrete bounds the facade’s curtain wall, and mullion extensions and fins add a sporadic rhythm to the facade’s profile. Ford and Wasyliw will present on working with concrete in innovative ways, showing the realization of a commercial building whose technical intricacy reflects the client’s mission.
Community-Driven Facades for Mixed Use Districts: Fenton and The Battery
Co-chairs NELSON will present their recent facades work on two mixed-use project, the Battery and Fenton. Principal Lamar Wakefield, studio director Teresa O’Leary, and senior architect Kevin Landry will be joined by Hines senior managing director Kurt Hartman and Braves Development Company vice president Lauren Abernethy for an in-depth look at how to approach cohesive design for multi-material facades. The Battery, Atlanta’s entertainment district around Truist Park—the home of the Braves—takes inspiration from historic stadium districts and includes Comcast’s regional headquarters, a 4,000-seat concert venue, two hotels, and over 500 apartments.
Fenton, a 69-acre mixed-use project under development in Cary, North Carolina, will include 300 units of multifamily housing, 400,000 square feet of retail space, and 1.5 million square feet of commercial space. Both projects will feature perspectives from the client side, leaving the audience with insights into how clients and architects communicate design intent through the facade.
405 Colorado: Designing Dynamic High-Rise Facades
Duda|Paine Architects principal and design director Jay Smith will present the facade strategy behind 405 Colorado, a 25 story tower in Austin. With design strategies relevant to projects far wider than Austin, Smith will present on designing both a terra-cotta-clad podium and energy-conscious enclosure for the tower within the same project. Attendees will gain an understanding of how to balance material selection while meeting environmental goals in a downtown commercial project.
AEC Rising: Women in Design and Construction Roundtable
Leaders from Atlanta design and construction sector will discuss their experiences as women in the field in the program’s final session of the day. NELSON studio director Teresa O’Leary and senior project manager Rebecca Churio will be joined by Hoar Construction BIM/VDC Coordinator Madison Galloway, New South Construction senior preconstruction manager Alexandria Champagne, and American Metalcraft President Holly Gotfredson, representing a range of professional positions and experiences within the field. The discussion will cover how the industry is attracting women to positions not traditionally marketed to them, the importance of mentorship, and questions of intersectionality. Panelists will also discuss their perspectives on collaboration between employees at architecture, construction, and fabrication firms, and how this can improve project quality and cost.