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Final 4/5/05FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Local firm produces expanded metal for Walker Art Center
Media Contacts:
Kristi Nelson and Mary Lilja
Lilja Inc. for Spantek
(952) 893-7140
kjn@lilja.com
Spantek Expanded Metal, Inc., collaborates with Herzog & de Meuron, M. G. McGrath in one of the U.S.'s first applications of expanded metal as key architectural feature
HOPKINS, Minn. -- April 8, 2005 -- When two designers from an architecture firm appeared unannounced on his Hopkins doorstep one day, little did Sales Manager Chris Hedrick know that it would be the beginning of a unique project for Spantek Expanded Metal, Inc., a manufacturer of expanded metals for industrial products.
"The designers had a piece of our expanded aluminum mesh in one hand, and a drawing of a lacy baroque pattern in the other," Hedrick recalled, "and they were asking us if we could marry the two ideas into a single product."
It was a unique proposition: take expanded metal, typically created for original equipment manufacturers to use for mundane things like fan vents, gutter guards and air filtration, and use it as a design element for the Walker Art Center's building. While a more common trend in Europe, this is one of the first such architectural projects in the U.S. to incorporate expanded metal as a key part of a building's design.
Today, more than 126,000 square feet of expanded metal can be found both inside and outside the new Walker. Spantek's original expanded metal, developed and tested over hundreds of man hours, has been shaped and shifted into forms inspired by designs created by the acclaimed Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, and realized through the expertise of Maplewood, Minn.-based M. G. McGrath, an architectural sheet metal company.
Expanded metal, metal that has been punched and stretched, is used in a variety of industrial applications, typically as part of the internal structure. The Walker Art Center marks the first time the local firm's expanded metal has been used to adorn, well, just about anything.
"Expanded metal typically is used for structural support in a variety of industrial applications. This marks the first time we've taken the next step of use, using expanded metal in a truly architectural manner," said Rod Miller, president of Spantek. But the firm sees the possibility for more uses of its metals, and hopes to cultivate more architectural projects in the future.
New applications of expanded metal in the Walker Art Center include the facade of the building's new five-level tower, consisting of expanded aluminum mesh panels -- three-dimensional pillows -- stamped with creases and rotated in a randomized pattern. A Newsweek reviewer wrote: "The tour de force of their building is the silvery five-story cube . . . and the whole shebang wrapped in shimmering aluminum-mesh panels that look as light and luscious as crumpled silk." An expanded metal ceiling greets visitors in the new Hennepin Lobby, and black expanded metal walls, embossed with a decorative baroque pattern, adorn the walls of an intimate 385-seat theater -- the original idea expressed by the two Herzog & de Meuron designers who first visited Spantek that day.
Spantek's expanded metal is also used in more traditional spots, such as theater lighting catwalks and ventilation grills.
From Switzerland to Spantek
After the designers' visit in October 2002, the project began in earnest in January 2003, when a Herzog & de Meuron team member came over from Switzerland to spend a day at Spantek. "We dedicated one of our expanding lines to his work, and kept trying a variety of patterns until we hit upon the one the architect liked," said Spantek VP of Engineering John Nyquist, who led the development efforts on the project, devoting well in excess of 100 man-hours to create the perfect metal pattern and win the business.
Herzog & de Meuron project manager Tom Gluck continued to work directly with Spantek. "The people at Spantek have been great -- it's been a critical part of the whole thing," Gluck said. "While it's a rather banal material used in things like commercial grills, we've actually been using it quite a bit in various projects."
M. G. McGrath created the unique shapes in the expanded metal panels. According to Bruce Reed, M. G. McGrath's senior estimator and project manager, the firm took the sample expanded metal from Spantek, and then created the models and dies for the patterns in its shop. To create the baroque pattern on the theater walls, M. G. McGrath created a die based on a hand-pounded wooden design created by Herzog & de Meuron.
To create the unique texture on the exterior, M. G. McGrath engineers rotated the pattern four times to give it an undulating look. Given the geometry of the building, five different sized panels were created. Each panel is actually a box with four sides, and each was installed individually on the building.
M. G. McGrath works with metals for architectural uses throughout the U.S., but Reed says this was the first time they'd worked so extensively with expanded metal. "We work with a lot of different metals; however, we have never used expanded metal in this type of application before," he said.
"There was a trick to working with it, since some fracturing occurred early on, so we did a lot of testing along the way. It was a collaborative project with the architect and Spantek each step of the way," Reed said.
The end result of this collaborative work is the stunning new Walker Art Center, which opens to the public April 17, 2005. "We are honored to be a part of this landmark building," said Spantek's Rod Miller.
About Spantek Expanded Metal, Inc.
A recognized leader in the expanded metal industry for 35 years, Spantek designs and manufactures custom-sized expanded metal coils and blanks for original equipment manufacturers. Based in Hopkins, Minn., the company operates plants in Hopkins, Minn. and Greensboro, North Carolina.
About M.G. McGrath, Inc.
Located in Maplewood, Minn., M.G. McGrath, Inc. has been in business for 20 years engaging in architectural sheet metal fabrication and installation on commercial and industrial projects and is one of the largest architectural sheet metal companies in the United States.
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Today's Date:
09/04/2010
