Protean Construction Products is pleased to announce that they supplied custom, perforated panels for a Minnesota AIA Honor Awards Project.
The Mill City Parking Structure has been recognized with an Honor Award by the MN AIA. The structure is in the City of Wayzata, which is located just west of Minneapolis on Lake Minnetonka. Wayzata has always been a popular destination, and until recently, congestion and parking were a problem. City officials began exploring the possibility of adding a parking ramp, but a large parking ramp would be out of scale with the quaint, upscale town on the lake.
The project was at an impasse until Minneapolis-based HGA Architects and Engineers developed a design that would serve the vibrant, energetic and upscale Wayzata community. The 385-stall structure was completed in the summer of 2017.
“We partnered with Atomic Sheet Metal on this project”, said Troy Ethen, President of Protean. “Due to the custom nature of the vehicle entrances, we perforated the material for these panels in-house from 1/8” thick aluminum. Despite the very custom nature of the project, we were able to finish the project on time and on budget.” Working together, Protean and Atomic were able to coordinate efforts with other trades so panels could be fabricated prior to field dimension being provided. According to Rick Schmidberger, the responsible Project Manager at Atomic, “This project would not have finished on time if it wasn’t for Protean’s help. I personally would like to thank Ken Eury (VP at Protean) and his team on all their efforts to help make this project a success.”
Protean contributed to the project by providing custom, perforated-metal panels. These panels are at the entrances to the lower level and are backlit by LEDs, giving drivers a clear sense of navigation even in the dead of night. “The custom gradient perforation pattern at the Drive-Through Entry Portals had to be developed and created to give the desired look”, said Schmidberger. “The end product turned out exactly as the City and HGA were hoping for.”
The structure extends from a hill with residential housing and is designed to recede into the downtown environment. Protean also provided perforated panels that create a smooth transition from residences on the hill above. Perforated panels at the pedestrian entrances and staircases faced the street below, creating visual corridors so they could easily be seen from the street below. As a result, it is intuitive for users to find their way back to their car.
The panels on this project were adaptations of Protean’s AP-2000RS rain screen and AP-1125 plate panel systems. These systems can use perforated material or alternative metals. In the case of the Mill Street Parking Structure, the AP-2000RS rain screen system was used to exemplify the crisp look when backlit by LED lights. It was important that no fasteners were showing.
Protean Construction Products has been a leader in the manufacturing of high-tech architectural metal wall panel systems since 1989. They focus on a wide variety of standard honeycomb, plate, foam insulated, MCM and column cover systems which can be adapted to specifically meet the design intent of the architect. Offering a single source of responsibility to their customers, Protean has the flexibility and versatility needed to fabricate systems to meet their customer’s project specific needs. With experienced design staff and unique manufacturing processes, Protean produces a wide variety of custom panel systems at a competitive price. Their panels take the form architects desire to meet their vision at the cost owners need to meet their budget.
Atomic Architectural Sheet Metal has been a leader in fabrication and installation of architectural metal products for over 25 years. They focus predominantly on the architectural needs of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, creating some of the most recognizable building in the Twin Cities, greater Minnesota and surrounding states. Their expertise expands to fabrication of metal walls and soffit. metal roofing, and perforated, phenolic and composite (ACM) panels.
