The vision of Texas’s Aldine Independent School District (Aldine ISD) is to “Produce the Nation’s Best.” And for that to happen, its physical environments need to be durable and inspiring.
That’s part of the reason why Zolatone® Interior Coatings from ICP Building Solutions Group have been utilized for several of the district’s building interiors, including its recently completed elementary school. With a distinctive, diverse color palette and unique textural options, Zolatone delivers multicolor finishes that can be easily cleaned and maintained—ideal for schools and other environments where heavy traffic and contact are constant.
“Designers and architects know there is real cost–economically and environmentally–to specifying products that must be continually repaired and reapplied,” said Aaron Dimmel, marketing director of ICP Group’s Specialty Architectural Coatings. “Our focus has always been to create products that not only have a distinct look, but are also low-emitting and long lasting.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of ICP Building Solutions Group
In the summer of 2018, Aldine ISD unveiled its new Lou Vardeman School for early childhood, pre-K and kindergarten students. Serving about 800 students each day, the new school was designed by Molina Walker Almaguer Architects, Inc. (MWA Architects), a Houston-based firm and one of the region’s leading designers of educational facilities.
Aldine ISD and MWA Architects have worked closely on many of the district’s state-of-the-art buildings for a number of years and have utilized Zolatone coatings throughout many of them. As a 100 percent acrylic, textured coating with varying shades and layers of colored particles, Zolatone offers movement and depth not found in solid-color paints, allowing Aldine ISD to create learning environments with unique dimension, texture and visual appeal.
At the new building, Zolatone was used throughout all classrooms, along with the school’s auditorium, dining hall, gymnasium and corridors. In a few instances, Zolatone was specified over more traditional surface options like vinyl wall coverings, allowing for more versatile color and finish options.
Photo Credit: Jeffery Tennyson, courtesy of ICP Building Solutions Group
“Our firm has used Zolatone for years throughout numerous projects with Aldine ISD, and it has provided a number of benefits,” said LaTonya Tennyson, senior project coordinator with MWA Architects. “It makes wall surfaces easier to clean, and it stands up well to mask markings from hand- and fingerprints, and overall it doesn’t generally require a lot of maintenance, making it easier for educators to preserve clean and attractive learning spaces.”
To create distinctive visual appeal throughout each of the classrooms, MWA Architects specified the Zolatone Polomyx finish, which helps create a beautiful tactile surface that performs as great as it looks. Marks and stains from everyday people traffic are concealed so walls look better longer and require fewer repairs. The ICP Building Solutions Group provided a modified Polomyx formula for the classrooms, with a larger and more prominent speckling pattern, helping the architect and the school create a truly unique look and feel that better masks dirt and stains that might occur.
Photo Credit: Jeffery Tennyson, courtesy of ICP Building Solutions Group
And in addition to its visual appeal and performance, Zolatone Polomyx can be easily applied to just about any vertical interior surface with the right preparation, including CMU, brick, tile, cinderblock, plaster, MDF and previously painted surfaces. Installers can utilize conventional air spray equipment and guns, with the proper calibrations.
That workability allowed installers to stay on schedule while working to complete the numerous surfaces in the new school. And throughout the project, Tennyson noted that the ICP team was quick to provide exceptional service and support to solve any challenge that occurred.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of ICP Building Solutions Group
“Our Zolatone representative, Lisa Pezzia from Koroseal, was dedicated to making sure we got the information and the support we needed in a very timely manner,” said Tennyson. “Our goal is always to complete our projects within the scoped timeline, so whenever any sort of issue may pop up, we appreciate working with vendors and suppliers who can provide quick-turn service. ICP was able to do just that when we needed it.”
Overall, Aldine ISD has been pleased with the performance of Zolatone coatings in the new school as well as its other facilities where it has been applied throughout the years. It’s a testament to the product’s versatility, aesthetic benefits and overall durability that can help beautify and protect interior surfaces in a range of applications.
For more information about Zolatone coatings, including color and finish options, technical information and more, visit www.Zolatone.com.
Details:
Company: The Building Solutions Group of the ICP Group (Innovative Chemical Products)
Product: Zolatone (ICP product)
Architecture Firm: Molina Walker Almaguer Architects, Inc.
Project: Aldine Independent School District
