Credit: Max Toro
Credit: Max Toro
Credit: Max Toro
Credit: Max Toro
A warehouse often can be a kind of throwaway architectural project. Its utilitarian aspects, location and budget can lead to the easy answer: a heavy, generic metal box. But the second-place winner in the Metal Buildings category of the third-annual metalmag Architectural Awards, the V. Suarez Atlantic Commercial Park project in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, shows that with some design creativity, even a warehouse can soar.
“We were looking for an alternative to the big-box warehouse,” says Segundo Cardona, FAIA, partner in charge of design at SCF Arquitectos, Guaynabo. “It is clear the big-box concept is somewhat tied to the functionality of the building, but with the meticulous selection of materials as a part of the architectural expression, it is possible to do much more.”
Blend and Contrast
“This is an interesting project because it combines two pieces—the warehouse and the office section,” says Peter David Greaves, AIA, LEED AP, principal of Seattle-based design firm Weber Thompson and a member of the metalmag Architectural Awards jury. “The warehouse side is built on a grand scale, but it is an honest and direct architecture, highlighting its function and the way it was built. The office portion is appended to the warehouse, but they took more liberties with the office or front side, giving it a more sculptural feeling. The two pieces, while differing in function and to some degree form, work very well together.”
A glass and metal canopy links the two buildings. “The canopy between the warehouse and office building acts as a sculptural piece in the drop-off area,” Cardona explains. “Two important attributes of the canopy are the sensation of weightlessness and the transparency that was made possible because of the use of metal as the main structural material.” The canopy breaks the horizontality of the office portion of the building and provides an interesting detail against the warehouse portion.
The project blends metal cladding with precast concrete panels. On the warehouse, concrete panels were used on the skin of the building base, acting as an oversize wainscoting, and metal insulated panels clad the majority of the structure.
Punctuating Horizontal Lines
“The use of different materials emphasizes the horizontal thrust of the building,” Cardona says. “The horizontal lines were broken at regular intervals where the steel storm sewer drains are located. The pipes give the impression of being structural elements carrying the upper portion of the warehouse.”
The office building has a steel-frame system and aluminum composite panel cladding on the east and west façades, as well as a continuous aluminum composite overhang on the north and south façades. That overhang emphasizes the horizontal lines of the building, contrasting with the red painted concrete panels on the north and south façades.
Cardona chose metal for its versatility, affordability and low maintenance costs. “Metal has a low impact on the cost and construction schedule,” he says. “And the metal finishes give a clean and even appearance supporting the architectural expression.”
By Lisa Anderson Mann