BUILDING APPLICATION
Fitness center
LOCATION
Houston, Texas, USA
COMPLETED
2010
AREA
107,000 sq. ft. (9941 sq. m)
ARCHITECTS
Kirksey Architecture
DESCRIPTION
Clean, modern aestetics for new downtown building, where light fixtures are visible above the ceiling plane
TECHNICAL DETAILS
A metal ceiling without the mainenace issues, LEED gold certified
PRODUCTS
SQUARELINE Metal Ceiling Tiles
The architect and design team for the Tellepsen Family Downtown YMCA in Houston was inspired by a perforated stamped metal ceiling it had seen in a public building in another city. They knew, however, that ceiling was a maintenance nightmare; screws had to be removed from panels to access fixtures and change light bulbs. They wanted a similar look but an application that fit into a ceiling grid. Their search revealed a viable option, SQUARELINE Ultra Metal Ceiling Tiles from pinta acoustic. Kirksey Architecture, in Houston recommended the pinta product, and 8,300 square feet of chrome SQUARELINE tiles were installed in the new YMCA, which opened in September 2010.
“We wanted a clean, modern aesthetic for a new downtown building, with the light fixtures visible above the ceiling plane,” says Scott Cutlip, AIA, senior associate of Kirksey. “We wanted to keep the ceiling height, which we could not achieve with a solid ceiling plane. The lattice or mesh look of expanded metal tiles achieved the airy look we wanted in the public spaces of the project.”
The 107,000 square foot state-of-the-art fitness center is LEED gold certified. The project has received awards, including Recreation Management Innovative Architecture and Design Award (2011), AIA Houston Design Award: Architecture (greater than 50,000 square feet, 2011), Houston Business Journal, Landmark Award 2011 and Texas Construction Best of ’10 Award of Excellence: Green Building (2010).
Brian Malarkey, FAIA, executive vice president at Kirksey, says the ceiling application contributes to a unique look for the YMCA public areas. “The lighting above the ceiling casts shadows, and the light reflects off the product. The shading gives the space interesting visual effects. When you look across the horizon of the ceiling, however, it looks opaque. We were excited to find a product like this that fit a ceiling grid and was within the project budget. We got a great look for a fraction of the price of the product we originally looked at.”