Oct 1 2010
The Newtown Youth Academy, a multi-use sports complex, is getting rave reviews in both its community and the building industry.
The Newtown, Connecticut building was designed for LEED-Silver status and has been honored with a national architectural award from the Tilt-up Concrete Association for its seamless merging of tilt-up concrete and steel superstructure.
Claris Construction, a firm specializing in architecture, engineering and commercial construction, led the project from its Newtown location. Claris worked with Butler Manufacturing, the nation's largest provider of pre-engineered steel building systems. But for this athletic facility, Butler exercised its capabilities in conventional design and construction.
Newtown Youth Academy
Butler supplied the custom metal building system that created the steel structurals and roof for the two fieldhouse wings. Butler also supplied the MR24 standing seam metal roof system with a Cool Roof coating.
"This is a large pre-engineered building with a two-story office component, so we needed a conventional solution," said Phil Clark, project architect and President of Claris Construction. "It made sense to have the same source supply the steel, and Butler made it an absolutely seamless process where the various parts came together just perfectly," said Clark.
Most manufacturers of pre-engineered steel buildings are not able to combine traditional construction processes with their products. "Butler is known to do that successfully," said Clark.
Sustainability was a key ingredient
The structure is brimming with sustainable features including three electric generating solar arrays on a highly reflective Butler MR24 roof. This roof system was configured to provide one third of the facility's energy needs. Claris Construction has led several projects combining the MR24 and solar arrays and has more on the drawing board.
"The solar subcontractors love this combination, because it's an easy installation. And since Butler's MR24 roof reflects heat much better than a flat rubber roof, the heat load is kept away from the panels and their efficiency is optimized," said Clark.
To add to this, the recycled steel used in manufacturing the framing and metal roof system, as well as the power plant fly ash in the tilt-up concrete walls, produced a building envelope with 28 percent recycled content.
"It is a new-generation facility that's sustainable design and operational efficiency will serve the community's needs for decades to come," said Clark.
Source: http://www.butler-northern.com/