Completed in 2016, the Stephen A. Levin Neural & Behavioral Sciences Building at the University of Pennsylvania has a number of design and construction awards, including the Architectural Institute of America’s – Educational Facility Design Award (2017) and the General Building Contractor Association’s – Construction Excellence Award (2017.
Designed by the Smith Group architects, Washington, D.C., the brief was to combine the life sciences programs at the University of Pennsylvania into one state of the art facility. The result was a six-story, $68.6 million, 78,000-square-foot building that consolidated the biology, psychology and behavioral sciences under one roof. The functional exterior design also ensured a controlled environment for the laboratories through inclusion of a glass and aluminium sunscreen that filters soft, yet expansive light throughout the day.
Photo courtesy of Fairview Architectural North America
Sven Shockey, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, design director at the Smith Group said in an article for metal architecture magazine that the sunscreen helped temper the light, reduce solar gain and therefore, heating loads, while greatly reducing glare. “We experimented with different form factors and found that a planar sunshade can significantly reduce solar gain, but allow expansive views out”.
The Stephan A. Levin Building presented a new and highly visible public façade for UPenn that highlighted the University’s commitment to the sciences and research. EDA Contractors of Bensalem, Pa., were chosen to install the façade panels using Fairview’s Vitrabond MCM. The Vitrabond panels were perfect for achieving the unique design features whilst still complementing the other university buildings. The exterior is made up of 20,000 square feet of “Aria White” panels; 8,000 square feet of “Nordic Green Pre-Patina Copper” panels; and 1,400 square feet of “Cannon Grey panels”.
Photo courtesy of Fairview Architectural North America
Cory Robbins of EDA Contractors commented “We were delighted to be involved in the UPenn project. This project lent itself perfectly to our EDA Envelope concept, where we do our best to surround the exterior enclosure and absorb as much of the scope as possible, to gain control of the tricky details and issues that arise on every construction venture. It offered some installation challenges which our experienced team were able to overcome with ease and we delivered the project on time and in budget”.
Fairview Architectural North America stated Vitrabond façade cladding is a popular choice for infrastructure projects such as education facilities as it is cost-effective, easy-to-install and fabricated and comes in range of attractive finishes as well as being fully customizable. More information on the project can be found on our website.
