Innovation in Metal and Glass

It’s enough to make you smile: a dental building constructed with innovations in metal and glass that yield cost control, performance and beauty. Buzbee Dental in Springfield, Missouri, features 5,400 sq. ft. of 4 mm Alucobond® Material as exterior cladding panels in colors of Birch and Cadet Grey. Chosen in part for their superior formability, the Alucobond panels were engineered, fabricated and installed by Universe Corporation, St. Louis. “This project uses a rainscreen system that has a non-progressive installation, meaning that any one panel can be removed and re-installed without disturbing adjacent panels,” said Matt Ford of Universe Corporation. “We worked with the designer on panel module size and other details to control costs.”

“The tall, blue channel glass is Pilkington Profilit,” Ford added. “Universe engineered, furnished and installed the Profilit channel glass as well.”

Pilkington Profilit, a relatively new product to the United States, is a translucent linear cast glass structural glazing system. According to Ford, the system of self-supporting glass channels with a metal perimeter frame permits a cost-effective cladding system adaptable to almost any building design, including curved constructions, such as the Buzbee Dental building. The product has been used for glass facades and interior glass walls in Europe for more than 30 years.

Also used on the exterior were precast panels stained a beige, relating well to the color of the Alucobond Material panels and the blue glass to create a very pleasing color palette. Architect for the Buzbee Dental project, completed in April 2005, was Butler, Rosenbury and Partners of Springfield, MO. The general contractor was Southwest Builders, Inc., also of Springfield.