When thinking of a warehouse, most people picture a simple, boxy structure without any discernible features. After all, it is just a warehouse, right? Not so for the Cox Communications office and warehouse in Topeka, Kan.
Credit: Mike Sinclair Photography
From its inception, project owner Jaime Henderson of Topeka-based Henderson Development had specific ideas about the look of the building. He wanted a simple, elegant warehouse that would set the tone for other development at the site. However, he also wanted the project to be of comparable scale and proportion to neighboring structures.
Henderson selected el dorado inc., Kansas City, Mo., to meld these visions into one outstanding facility. “We were challenged to consider the pragmatics of a light-industrial building as the guiding force for architectural aesthetics,“ says Josh Shelton, an architect with el dorado. The 11year- old architectural firm, which also has its own steel-fabrication shop, is a diverse mix of architects and industrial designers, so it was up to the challenge.
With the design team in place, Henderson selected Topeka-based Kelley Construction Co. Inc. as general contractor. The company serves northeast Kansas and the metropolitan Kansas City area. Many of its projects are from repeat customers. In fact, Henderson was familiar with Kelley Construction through a previous project. In addition, Kelley Construction and el dorado had worked together on five other jobs. Both companies enjoy challenging projects and have a good working relationship. “Challenging projects make you a better contractor,” states Jeff Griffith, president of Kelley Construction. “El dorado always provides us with a test. We have found them to be extremely professional and passionate about their designs.”
COMPLEX DESIGN WITH SIMPLE MATERIALS
Although the Cox Communications facility had to be of highest quality and aesthetically appealing, it also had to be constructed within a budget. El dorado made this work by taking simple materials normally found in warehouse construction and in the Kansas agricultural landscape and using them more creatively. “We practice in a region rich with agricultural smarts and we try to leverage these simple, yet ingenious, ideas for sustainable design,” Shelton comments.
Early in the design process, it was decided a pre-engineered metal building system topped with 26-gauge galvanized steel- ribbed roofing would be the best way to economically achieve the design goals. A 210- by 45-foot (64- by 14-m) single-sloping, clearspan rigid frame with 30-foot (9-m) bay spacings was chosen for the main structure. However, additional engineering was required to accommodate some of the more interesting architectural elements.
Credit: Mike Sinclair Photography
El dorado designed the facility with large overhangs extending 20 feet (6 m) at the upper end and 5 feet (1.5 m) at the sides and lower end. These overhangs provide shade, cover parking and loading docks, and keep direct sunlight away from clerestory windows incorporated around the top of the side walls. The overhangs change slope at the exact point where the walls change direction and the windows end.
“The faces of the building all line up on one given point with a change in soffit slope,” Griffith explains. “What appears very simple
Hidden light coves around the building also required additional engineering. Light coves were built into the larger overhang using a two-piece custom flashing set between two soffit purlins added specifically to support the lighting. Coves at the perimeter required setting the steel wall girts 10 1/2 inches (267 mm) outside of partial-height, cast-in-place concrete walls. The exterior finish wall material ran past the top of the concrete, creating the cove.
in appearance was in fact very difficult and clearly the most challenging aspect of the project. It required an incredible amount of coordination.”
Uplift loads required all column footings to be 8-square-feet (0.7-m2) by 6-feet (1.8-m) deep. Because this was a pre-engineered building, there were constraints on the adjustment of beam sizes and break locations at the columns. Numerous meetings between the metal-building manufacturer; el dorado; Kelley Construction; Henderson; and the structural engineer, Genesis Structures, were required to ensure the structural design would meet the architectural needs of the office and warehouse.
“We had to calculate the location of every element from the concrete foundations through the placement of soffit and roof-purlin clips to a tolerance to hold to the manufacturing constraints,” Griffith says.
Light fixtures then were attached directly to the girt on top of the concrete stem wall.
In addition to helping create the coves for indirect lighting, the exterior finish materials provide the most dramatic, yet simple, elements of the structure. The concrete was combined with frosted glass on the connector area between the office and warehouse and 24-gauge bare Acrylume steel corrugated panels on the front of the building and sidewalls.
“We used the 24-gauge material because it is stiffer and will show less oil canning and waves than 26-gauge,“ Griffith explains.
Approximately 5,600 square feet (520 m2) of the panels were installed horizontally on the walls. This orientation required hat channels attached vertically to the wall girts.
The soffit employed another profile of the panels with larger spacing between the corrugations. In the soffit area, the top edge beam and outside beam were set 1 1/2 inches (38 mm) below the other beams, so the panels would tuck into them for a cleaner appearance. A total of 5,300 square feet (492 m2) of the panels were installed on the exterior soffit while another 2,200 square feet (205 m2) were used on the interior. All panels were attached using stainless-steel fasteners.
The corrugated panels give the building texture and depth. They also have great strength and spanning capability. The reflectivity of the bare metal panels enhances the effectiveness of indirect lighting within the facility and helps disperse the light for full illumination without light pollution.
BASIC SUSTAINABILITY IDEAS
Like all el dorado projects, the Cox Communications project was designed with sustainability in mind. “We live in a day and age which demands this from us,” Shelton notes. “Much of the sustainable design for this building is low-tech—common sense.”
Metal naturally added to the green aspects of the project through its recyclability and reflectivity, but other products and concepts were important, as well. The frosted glass and clerestory windows allow natural light to flood the interior during the day and take advantage of the light coves at night. Orange horizontal louvered vents 8 inches (203 mm) above the floor in the center bays draw cool breezes in while two rooftop exhaust fans pull hot air out. The thermostat-controlled fans have a capacity of 24,000 cubic feet (680 m3) per minute each. Partnering louvers and fans eliminates the need for air conditioning. Indoor temperature is further regulated by vinyl-faced metal-building insulation in the ceiling and walls.
AWARD-WINNING FINISH
Construction on the Cox Communications project was plagued with delays because of some bizarre weather in Kansas. “We fought weather throughout the project,” Griffith recalls. “We were a day away from pouring the slab when three weeks of subfreezing weather put work on hold. Record rainfalls in late spring caused flooding throughout the Topeka area, causing problems for the parking-lot construction. All together, approximately two months were lost to weather.”
Luckily, the project manager stayed on top of the developments and was in constant contact with Griffith, el dorado and Henderson. Even with the delays and time needed to ensure all the details were exactly right, construction was completed in 10 months.
“The execution of the metal-skin details are a work of art,” Shelton says. “In terms of detailing sheet metal, no one is better than Kelley Construction.” The Kansas City chapter of the Washington, D.C.-based American Institute of Architects agreed and bestowed a 2007 Honor Award to this project. It was one of only two such distinctions given last year.
The Cox Communications office and warehouse is a testament to what you can accomplish with a sound concept, excellent communication and teamwork—as well as simple materials and common-sense practices.
COX COMMUNICATIONS, TOPEKA, KAN.
ARCHITECT
el dorado inc., Kansas City, Mo., www.eldoradoarchitects.com
GENERAL CONTRACTOR, ERECTOR, METALPANEL INSTALLER AND CONCRETE WORK
Kelley Construction Co. Inc., Topeka, (785) 235-6040
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Genesis Structures, Kansas City, Mo., www.genesisstructures.com
MECHANICAL ENGINEER
Lankford and Associates, Kansas City, Mo., www.lankfordassoc.com
CORRUGATED METAL WALL PANELS
UC-600 and UC-601 from Firestone Metal Products/UNA-CLAD, Anoka, Minn., www.unaclad.com
PRE-ENGINEERED METAL BUILDING SYSTEM AND METAL ROOFING VP
Buildings, Memphis, Tenn., www.vp.com
METAL BUILDING INSULATION
Guardian Building Products, Greer, S.C., www.guardianbp.com
LOUVERS
Airline Louvers from Nystrom, Brooklyn Park, Minn., www.nystrom.com
ROOFTOP FANS
Greenheck, Schofield, Wis., www.greenheck.com
Krista Hovis writes about architecture and metal construction from Kansas, Ohio.